Chapter 1: History of Digital Signage Skykit Digital Signage Guide 1 Table of Contents Chapter 1: A History of Digital Signage . 4 Chapter 2: Digital Signage Benefits . 14 Chapter 3: 10 Biggest Digital Signage Challenges . 25 Chapter 4: What to Look For in Digital Signage Software (CMS) . 38 Chapter 5: Digital Signage Hardware: What to Look For . 50 Chapter 6: Cloud-Based Digital Signage . 65 Chapter 7: Google Chrome for Digital Signage .. 78 Chapter 8: What Content to Put on Your Displays . 93 Chapter 9: Installing and Rolling Out Digital Signage . 105 Chapter 10: Keep Up with Digital Signage Trends . 115 10 Digital Signage Topics You Need to Know Before Buying Digital Signage Guide The History Sales 1 sales@skykit .com of Phone D Toll i Free: 8 g 55 .383 ital .4518 Local: 612 .260 .7327 Signag Address e 4 20 N 5th Street Minneapolis, MN 55401 www.skykit.com Chapter 1: History of Digital Signage And Nordstrom’s digital denim kiosk is just one of thousands of potential digital signage campaigns, each targeted to a certain kind of user and designed to leverage unique strengths of different pieces of hardware . 1990’S TO TODAY: From holograms to jumbotrons, campus wayfinding, to tableside ordering kiosks, there’s a truly dizzying array of digital signage out there . A History of All these uses of the technology have a common root . Digital signage had its beginnings in Digital Signage fashion houses in the 70’s… or perhaps banks and trade shows in the 90’s… How it started is really affected by Digital signage is a powerful In late 2014, Nordstrom installed a how you define digital signage. technology, and you may have digital denim kiosk in one of their been involved with it for years, but stores so that customers could find It’s difficult to define digital signage do you know the origin story of this out which jeans would look best on because the term covers an technology? them without actually trying them on . ecosystem of uses . How it’s evolved over the years? Can you imagine such a campaign? If you’re looking at recent examples, Nordstrom did . Our definition of digital there are some pioneers who use signage is: software And their sales skyrocketed . digital signage in fascinating ways . content management By answering a few key questions on We’ll dive into the origin in just a system that drives a touchscreen, any customer could second, but first, I want to give you find out what style and size was ideal communications to a an example of what digital signage for her body type . The customer could has evolved to (there are a lot of variety of screens . then go fetch those jeans from the examples to pull from, and a lot of rack, try them on, and head to the technological innovation, but here’s a checkout happy . small taste) . But I need to really emphasize this No more struggling to find the point that digital signage is a catch- “perfect” pair for entirely too long in all phrase, so that’s why the definition the confines of a small dressing room. might not shine a ton of light into Now the customer could discover what it would look like . The term what she needs quickly and spend ‘digital signage’ has been around for a more time on the store floor instead of long time . As the technology evolved in the back of a dressing room . and the market penetration grew, the naming conventions evolved with it . This kind of customer engagement is You might know it as ‘screen media’ a game changer . or ‘interactive customer experience’ or ‘visual display .’ 4 Chapter 1: History of Digital Signage To understand the roots of digital signage, they were as lost as the early the movie “A Christmas Story” so signage, you have to look back— settlers were . admired? It was for the Red Rider way back!—to the beginnings of BB gun . He tucked it into the back of The chaos of unmanaged traffic sign-based communication itself, his mother’s “Look” Magazine so she preempted the need for traffic not necessary to the beginning of would be convinced it was the perfect engineers: Smart people willing to how we think about digital signage gift for a young boy . take the time to think of a process traditionally . that could show people the way . That ad hit his pain point for sure, I put together 5 examples of how some because without it, he couldn’t kill The engineers began to create sign of the biggest brands in the world use the imaginary bears lurking behind systems that consisted of road signs, digital signage in awesome ways . Pulaski’s candy store . arrows, and other wayfinding methods The PDF outlines exactly what that took the pain out of exploring Before long, photography overtook strategies and solutions these brands unchartered territory . hand drawn ads . Soon thereafter, are using in some of their flagship TV and radio showed up, with the As engineers were painting lines and stores internationally . You can first radio ad airing in 1922, bringing arrows, a car salesman was ordering bookmark it, print out, or keep it in a advertising into a completely different the first ever neon sign . It was 1929 . folder for reference . Get your PDF here . space and reaching millions more than Created with the newly invented neon magazines or newspapers ever could. tube that could be bent all sorts of ways, the neon sign was a roaring And not long after, the origins of the The Road to success—and an early indicator of Internet were quietly born . what was yet to come in the world of Dubbing it the Galactic Network, Digital Signage digital signage . computer scientist J .C .R . Licklider The Way, Way Back History The Next Phase wrote about a concept he Way back before technology was At the same time Ford was rolling out envisioned where computers were born, when signs were merely the first motorcar[1], other industries interconnected globally and data etchings in stone, people sought out [6] . were taking advantage of signs on the could be shared . The year was 1962 better means to find their way around. sides of buildings and in newspapers Digital Signage is Born The world is big, after all, and we can’t to share their products with the world . As television grew in popularity and possibly know where we’re going all Billed as sharing “goods on hand”[2] technology boomed, hardware like the the time . with consumers, they often appeared VCR was born. in the back of magazines or as a very People went wild . When stone walls weren’t available narrow sidebar in newspapers . along paths to etch on, settlers took Not only did the to bending young trees a certain way As the early 1900’s rolled into the clunky machines to point travelers in the direction of an mid-1900’s, ad agencies began to allow us important place . focus on the psychology of why to see a favorite people buy[3] as they created hand- movie over and It worked for a while, but like most drawn advertisements for the back over again, it things we create, the technique soon of magazines like Vogue or Harper’s was also the first begged an upgrade . Bazaar[4] . indication that video could be Some time after cavemen shed their Ad men learned quickly that hitting a produced, stored, animal skins and dusty roads were consumer’s “pain points”[5] was key, and played back marked out with boots and hooves, and advertising took off like a shot . for promotional the motorcar was built . People purposes . everywhere stood in awe of the Speaking of shooting, remember the electric vehicle . But without proper hand drawn ad that Ralphie from 5 Chapter 1: History of Digital Signage To clarify, a VCR connected to a concept of broadcasting screen for promotion is not digital on a larger footprint signage . As I said before, digital outside of a store or signage is, specifically, a display run business started to turn from some type of media player . But I in the minds of techno- mention this evolution because it was geeks and advertisers the precursor to what became digital everywhere . signage . From here, an even The retail industry[7] first took bigger idea was born: advantage of the “produce and play Use video, commercial information again and again” idea . displays, and players to spread advertising and By the 1970’s[8], retailers were using messaging everywhere the now-ancient machines[9] to play The video wall, a form of digital via the Internet . Those commercials or advertisements in- signage using multiple tiled and that utilized the technological house for customers to see as they coordinated displays, came into concept, they realized, shall reap meandered through the store looking use in the 1980’s . However, splitting great financial rewards. for good buys . the video signal to multiple displays Digital Signage Grows Up One of the very first industries[10] to required computer processors—which, The term ‘digital signage’ was born in recognize the potential for this sort in those early days of computing, [16] of video-based signage was the were prohibitively expensive . early 1992 in a UK shopping center . fashion industry . That makes sense, Apparently a security guard didn’t As a workaround, some businesses of course—fashion is all about looking know what the network of video walls used separate, synchronized forward to the next big thing . he was looking at was called, so he LaserDisc players and specially referred to them as digital signage .