Catch 22 Revisited
It’s always two steps forward and one step back isn’t it! Just as screen media technology starts to roll, up comes an obstacle or two to cause a stir.

Screen media technology, digital signage is certainly gathering momentum, its certainly an upcoming buzzword amongst traditional signmakers who are showing more than passing interest. They know they need to take the technology on board, to offer solutions that sign users are now more aware of. Even the sign shows are scrabbling to take in digital into their mix of signage.

And more generally, the advance is reflected in screen sales and in the fact that digital signage is becoming more of a fact of life. In the US, and the trend will undoudtedly spread here, it always does, the purchase of flat panel screens is tending towards buying TVs rather than commercial monitors, they are cheaper! But are they as good? Different suppliers will tell you different things but predominantly it all comes down to how long each day you want to run your screens.

In the run of things, the underlying fact is that more and more want to take up digital signage and are looking at ways to keep the costs down. And at the other end of the scale, more and more companies want to use screen media to promote their brands. But when it comes to the crunch, are pulling back because venturing into such territory is seen as a high cost involvement.

Similarly in the States, Broadsign’s Nurlan Urazbaev’s blog tells us that media buying is taking a turn towards only buying media that can produce more advance metrics – media that can substantiate the claims.

The important thing is that the ‘want’ is there in all these scenarios! More and more want to get involved from whatever side in digital signage. And for that, it is down for sectors within the industry to get the sums right so that whatever happens on screens is good and for the long haul.

John Taylor
Editor