DailyDOOH

We have another buyer – we use that term ‘buyer’ in its loosest possible sense, Ed – that has, over the years, been spending a lot of the industry’s money looking at digital signage and it would seem that they are up to yet more nonsense.

My Balls In A Juice Maker

This was originally scheduled for Tuesday August 31st, 2010.

“We would like to host your firm so our partners can talk directly with you and see first hand your products & services related to Drive-Thru store operations” said the invite.

Harbucks was gathering its internal thought-leadership team for an in-house trade show (the aforementioned ‘Supplier Showcase’) to, and we quote “review the latest opportunities in the market place that would support our store of the future planning”.

We loved the line in the invite “… we must remain true to our Harbucks Mission and we need suppliers <sic> input that are void of empty promises” – that phrase ’empty promises’ works both ways and will have struck a chord with many suppliers who have been working at the account, with nothing to show for it, for years.

In this particular Supplier Showcase the emphasis is / was on Drive Thru and some of the specifics that Harbucks were looking for included: –

• Does RFID have a role in our DT stores?
• Can self-payment posts be a fit?
• How do we accommodate 5 tender types?
• How does digital signage play a role?
• What tools are available to speed transactions, improve the customer experience?
• Does mobile POS accommodate any of this?
• How can we bring the café experience to the DT lane?
• What will push the envelope that continues to differentiate Starbucks DT stores from any other QSR thru commercially available off-the-shelf solutions?
• What key contacts for suppliers do you have that we may want to consider?

To be fair the Retail Procurement team are not without a sense of humour, we quote “As you read this it’s not 100% green field but we are thirsty for what is possible yet embodies how innovative Harbucks continues to be” – oh how we ROFL’ed with that one!

Roll on a few weeks and vendors received another email missive “Harbucks has decided to change the structure and content of the Supplier Showcase and we are scaling back our efforts for the time being”

Then, in an incredibly similar manner to the broadcast-joke that was sending the Dunkin’ Donuts RFP to 18+ Vendors the Harbucks email continued “After reaching out to you about the planned Supplier Showcase we have learned a great deal in the last week and realized we’re biting off more than we can chew and literally more than we can physically host”

At the same time as saying “We will not need to see all of you in Seattle on August 31st … in order to make the best use of your time and ours we will be reducing who we invite to Seattle” they had the gall to add “For suppliers who are not coming in this first meeting please feel free to send me any written product or service information you have”.

One (potential) supplier who did not want to be named for obvious reasons told us “They have been bouncing this around for ages and completely wasting suppliers’ time and money and as far as we can see with no senior management direction whatsoever”.

However, never fear Harbucks will “continue to explore what role digital signage might play in our drive-thru store of the future” and we can all look forward to the ‘mini-RFI of sorts’ that they tell us they will soon be issuing!

Minicom Digital Signage, Dübendorf, Swizerland, manufacturer of advanced multimedia platforms and media distribution solutions for the Digital Signage industry, has launched DS Vision Digital, its new solution platform which allows advanced media distribution, as well as network-based control and monitoring capabilities of multiple remote.

DS Vision Digital is a powerful solution that distributes real-time digital non-compressed full HD content to multiple terminals and enables remote management with Proof-of-Performance technology.

Ronni Guggenheim, Minicom Digital Signage’s CEO, says, “The digital signage market is rapidly moving with the deployment of millions of high-definition digital displays. Today, operators rely on high performance distribution systems. Integrators need a solution that offers remote management capabilities to give the level of transparency needed to establish reliable system performance, and to provide automated proof that content is actually shown. This has a direct impact on the bottom line ROI of the DOOH networks. In order to meet the digital signage market’s requirements, Minicom Digital Signage is launching a solution that does it all: DS Vision Digital.”

With full HD media resolution and scalable media extension (up to 600m/2000ft.), DS Vision Digital provides maximum content fidelity by distributing real time non-compressed (i.e. lossless) digital media from the server room to the display without compromising on optimized quality.

DS Vision Digital enables remote display management, available through the Screengate Management Gateway, which provides reliable remote monitoring and control of display assets of any digital signage network. This solution features a unique Media Feedback Mechanism (MFM) – including the patented Proof of Performance proprietary technology – so advertisers can evaluate the value of their network and operators can improve visibility and reduce system downtime while lowering operational costs and increasing return on investment.

Innovative, comprehensive, powerful and flexible, DS Vision Digital can be deployed in a host of diverse environments including retail, transportation, entertainment, hospitality, healthcare and education.

They should sack Katana (who did their website design) cos’ it’s truly awful but here is a very interesting tie up between Headland Media and Hip Hotels offering Boutique Hotels and Luxury Hotels around the world a music service.

See Hip Hotels Music. There’s even an iPhone solution and a tie up with Warner Music for album deals. Very clever way to market.

Another rumour from Malaysia is that Stewart Chen, previously at award winning communications agency for in-store digital and interactive media, Kreateevee is moving on in September to start up his own business offering bespoke display solutions including the likes of ‘mirror tv’.

The iHollywood Forum is holding a Mobile Apps Conference on 5th October in San Francisco.

Conference Tickets range from USD 125-250 (Early Bird rates apply; prices increase closer to event).

Described as a way to discover strategies for success for developers, content owners, publishes, brands, carriers, device makers, chip designers and their partners and understand how mobile Internet and broadband technologies are creating massive new market opportunities for enterprise and consumer applications including content and smartphones.

The conference also Includes discussions centred around augmented reality and location based services.

Topics will include: –

• Explain how to use apps to generate revenue, engage customers, and build brand loyalty
• Discover the next generation of mobile services, apps, business models and profit centers
• Learn how developers can best work with platform owners, device-makers and carriers
• Deploy social media and viral marketing strategies to create demand for apps
• Develop relationships with operators, carriers and strategic investors
• Create strategies for development and marketing for mobile and iPad apps
• Form partnerships with brands for advertising, marketing and amortization strategies
• Generate revenue from new types of apps
• Overcome challenges for developing on different platforms:iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Nokia, Opera and RIM deployment

Our San Francisco contributor Dylan Jones will likely be speaking and covering the event for us.

Whilst (at the moment at least) slightly more focused on the gaming community than what we would typically expect in our industry we get a lot out of reading Intel® Visual Adrenaline – Intel’s magazine about graphics and 3D animation in relation to video games and various digital media products.

The seventh issue of Intel® Visual Adrenaline magazine is particularly good, highlighting the advancement of visual computing, with an insider’s look at:

• How DreamWorks Animation has taken the world lead in 3D cinema
• How Star Trek* Online ups the visual level of MMO gaming when run on Intel® HD Graphics
• How the insiders at Intel used tips and tricks, optimizing their own demo of Fireflies to run on power-sipping netbooks
• How Sid Meier’s Civilization* 5 was built with a new architecture and a new game engine for this genre-defining franchise
• How the international academic community teams up with Intel to demonstrate how visual computing can enhance our lives through more realistic simulations
• How Adobe Creative Suite* 5, the video editing and rendering package, is put to work by the Bandito Brothers, taking full advantage of multi-core and 24 threads

Download the PDF and have a read.

Espoo, Finland-based Nokia announced Friday that it is acquiring Motally, a provider of mobile analytics based in San Francisco.

Research in Motion, the Waterloo, Ontario-based developer of the Blackberry, has reportedly been in talks to acquire Baltimore-based mobile ad network Millennial Media – although the talks have hit a snag over the company’s value, according to The Wall Street Journal.

And Quattro Wireless mobile ad network, bought by Apple last year for $275 million, will be closed by Apple so that it can concentrate on its own recently introduced iAd format.

Financial terms of the Nokia-Motally transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2008, Motally has raised $750,000 in financing, from BlueRun Ventures and angel investor Ron Conway.

The company’s mobile analytics service offers in-application tracking and reporting, designed to help mobile developers understand how users engage their applications. The service will be adapted for Qt, Symbian, Meego and Java developers, while continuing to serve its existing customer base.

In the possible RIM transaction, Millennial reportedly has been seeking $400-$500 million, based on the recent acquisition prices of rivals AdMobof Mountain View, California, and Quattro Wireless, though RIM is apparently balking at paying so much.

Millennial Media, which claims the largest mobile ad network in the U.S., has raised $37 million in venture capital since its launch in 2006, according to WSJ.

And Apple plans to shutter mobile ad network Quattro Wireless, which it acquired for $275 million last year, in order to focus squarely on its own recently introduced iAd advertising format.

A notice on the Quattro Wireless website says, ‘We are no longer accepting new campaigns for the Quattro Wireless Network, and we will soon begin winding down existing campaigns. As of September 30, we will support ads exclusively for the iAd Network.’

We’ve learned that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has tasked Clear Channel Outdoor to install some pretty advanced digital out-of-home technology in bus shelters in the city – the first of which is scheduled to be active October 18 this year.

The shelters will feature a fully interactive screen where those waiting for Muni can touch the screen, enter an ecommerce web site, select a product, slide their credit card for payment, and have their purchase delivered to their door – all this before they even step on the bus.

One big caveat – the screen has to be bullet-proof. (Apparently SF has a history of people taking pot shots at bus shelters, which may tell you something about the quality of public transport here.)

We’ll be following this story with interest, especially as the president of Clear Channel Outdoor, Todd Hansen, at the Display Search conference yesterday practically begged any manufacturers in the audience to help him. Eight weeks to go – seems to me he’ll need all the help he can muster from our industry experts!

The industry seems to love making light of the DPAA – err do you mean the Doberman Pincher Alliance of America or do you mean the Draught Proofing Advisory Association?, Ed but I believe that lightheartedness can be seriously counterproductive.

The New DPAA President?

I think that in its current form and direction, the DPAA represents a potential danger to the survival of the DOOH industry in general. They are not a joke, they are in fact in my opinion, a problem that needs to be addressed.

They represent only a small fraction (approximately 16 networks) of the actual DOOH providers and an even smaller fraction of advertising-acceptable screens-available in the US yet they position themselves as speaking for the industry as a whole.

Their structure fosters a division within the industry of ‘haves and have not'” with an annual fee of USD 30k to USD 50k it effectively shuts out those that cannot afford it and those that think it is far too expensive an entry fee to a ‘club’ that endlessly does free tests off of the backs of its membership.

I believe that the DPAA is a place where there is a concentration of people that actually believe the best thing for the DOOH industry is for it to consolidate down to 20 or so networks which, from an advertising / marketing and industry perspective is probably the worst thing imaginable.

Let’s recap the downsides of such a (smaller number of networks) scenario: –

1. what if you have a very large buy that 20 providers simply cannot handle, do you walk away or do you retain that capability to service these large buys
2. who gets to decide which 20 providers are allowed to live
3. there are more than 20 venue types so who gets to decide which venue types are unworthy
4. the whole beauty of DOOH is that, in combination with several providers; DOOH can provide meaningful campaigns at the local level. DOOH can provide national support-but only where you want it, DOOH plans come in at far lower CPM’s than TV, DOOH delivers to clients high levels of target message frequency which TV cannot do, DOOH has hundreds of providers each with their own flair and personality and approach to the medium

There is a real danger with what I believe are the DPAA members’ real motives that DOOH is ‘flattened’ into a commodity product instead of the value product that it is today.

My business is effectively a marketing agency and as such we deal with clients on a different level, clients want MORE messaging options, not fewer and clients want better DOOH plans, not plans based on, at best 6 or 7 % of the actual screen inventories out there.

The DPAA also seemingly refuses to view mobile or digital outdoor as DOOH. I suggest that they look at the term ‘Digital Out of Home’ in a bit more detail – mobile compliments and enhances DOOH screen campaigns via the addition of interactivity and digital outdoor enhances DOOH campaigns via the addition of ‘quick reminder messaging.

The claim that the name change from OVAB to DPAA was at the agencies request is frankly ridiculous. All the agencies I, and many others deal with, refer to the medium as Out of Home and Digital Out of Home.

DOOH has a hard enough time now selling in this crazy environment. This type of myopic association does not help reverse that issue and it is now time for the DOOH industry to come together properly as one coherent/easily purchasable mass messaging system for all the agencies and brands out there.

As Benjamin Franklin said “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately” and I would suggest that any association needs to be managed properly by DOOH providers and for the sole benefit of DOOH providers. That would mean…

• There would be no large fees (maybe USD 300 – USD 500)
• No aggregators to poach on the membership to join their ‘rep firm’
• No market research folks trying to sell the membership
• No media folks unless there is some form of a counter-balancing client marketing advisory board

Unfortunately I don’t believe that the new DPAA President will make any difference (or more precisely have any power to make any difference) to the organisation so maybe what we actually need is a new industry association?

Again in the words of Benjamin Franklin “God helps those who help themselves”

Sunnyvale, California-based Retrevo recently released its first two reports from the first Gadget Census looking at gadget ownership across the country and world.

The 2010 Retrevo Gadget Census is believed to be the largest study of people and the consumer electronics they own and use. This census was conducted online from March, 2010, through July, 2010, and received over 7,500 individual responses from Retrevo users distributed across gender, age, and location. Questions were related to the ownership and usage of the following product categories: TVs, computers, cell phones, home theater electronics, cameras and camcorders, and other consumer electronics.

While the reports are lengthy, we’ve found some interesting points to share.

Among U.S. States with households most likely to have gadgets
• New York has the most iPads;
• Maryland has the most smartphones;
• Colorado has the most laptops;
• Massachusetts has the most e-Readers;
• Michigan has the most point & shoot cameras;
• Maryland has the most HDTVs;
• Pennsylvania has the most featurephones;
• California is the greenest state when it comes to gadgets.

Highlights from the report on metro areas with the most gadgets per capita include:
• The New York metro area has the most emerging technology owners (gadgets like iPads, netbooks, smartphones and Blu-ray players);
• The Phoenix metro area has the most ‘old technology’ owners (gadgets like CRT TVs and VCRs);
• The San Francisco metro area is the ‘greenest’ with gadgets (people who have recycled electronics and have the lowest percentage of power hungry CRT TVs);
• The Atlanta Georgia metro area has the most houses with more TVs.