DailyDOOH

Arbitron continue their impressive research work and EYE continue mounting it up and releasing it, here we see them both release the EYE Adult Shopper Profile study which can and should be viewed at www.eyecorp.com/shopperprofile

The study was conducted in November 2008 (Arbitron surveyed adults aged 18 to 64 as they exited shopping mall) to allow marketers and advertisers greater insight into today’s mall shopper including their consumer behavior, psychographics and engagement with EYE mall media with a particular focus on the impact of the new economy.

Alton Adams, Chief Marketing Officer, Arbitron Inc. told us “The Adult Shopper Profile is a key measure of consumer spending and engagement with advertising. Advertisers can better target shoppers near the point of purchase by including these profiles in their place-based advertising decisions.”

In the data analysis, three distinct shopper segments emerged from the average group: carefree shoppers, power shoppers, and value shoppers.

Each of these segments has a distinct psychographic profile and spends significantly more money per shopping trip than the average shopper.

The carefree shopper tends to be between the ages of 18 and 24 and belongs to one of the segments of the population least affected by the economy. While half of the segment has jobs, they may still receive supplemental financial support from parents. That additional support and a relative lack of obligations allow them to spend around USD 500 each month at EYE malls.

Power shoppers skew female, tend to be between the ages of 25 and 44, and are more likely to have children in the household. The power mom shops for the entire family, visits more stores per mall visit and spends over USD 9,000 per year in EYE malls.

The value shopper specifically looks for sales while shopping and is twice as likely to buy items on sale as other shoppers. Even with these sale strategies, the value shopper spends nearly twenty-five percent more than the average shopper as they are triggered to spend more than they intended when they see good value in an offering. Almost three-quarters of value shoppers are female and are likely to be between the ages of 25 and 44.

Cassandra Thomas-Smith, EYE Global Insights Director told us “This research project gives EYE a new layer of insight for advertisers looking into motivators and influencers that make shoppers a valuable audience to engage with. We have been able to uncover higher spending segments, moods and factors that increase activities like store visits in the mall, and engagement with mall media.”

We sadly announce the recent sudden death of Michael Terni, a founding partner and executive vice-president at the growing digital firm iGotcha Media, Montreal.

Terni had been accidentally injured playing hockey while in Las Vegas.

Terni & Adelstein in happier times

An engineer, athlete, globetrotter, and proud father, Terni partnered with Adelstein in 2005.

“Michael was intelligent, honest, fair and hard working,” says Adelstein. “He knew when to push and when to pull back in all our business dealings. He was a very savvy guy with great business instincts. Mike wasn’t afraid to bring lessons learned from his past to our office so that we could use his experience to create a successful future for our business.”

Prior to iGotcha, Terni was account manager for American Express worldwide at Melita, a call center software solution provider. He earlier worked in marketing and sales at Locus. He was a graduate of the University of Waterloo.

We offer our sympathy to Terni’s wife Cullen Pilot and young daughter Tatiania, as well as his parents, sister, other family members, friends and colleagues.

Rush Media have recently acquired the rights to Hotel lobby TV in New Zealand

This is a network of screens located in the lobby area in some of New Zealands’ premium hotels.

The offering itself has been developed over the last 3 years and uses Scala IC5.

Three years ago these folks in Cambridge, England had a red hot product on their hands (ITrans) but corporate ineptitude and wanton waste of investors’ money surely did for them.

Even a nice OEM deal with a reputable far east OEM such as LiteMax wasn’t enough to save them – though perhaps someone like a LiteMax may want to step in and buy any of the IP that may still be in the business.

Chris Williams and Andrew McTear of McTear Williams and Wood were appointed joint administrators of Screen Technology Limited on 19 May 2009 and of Screen Technology Group plc on 20 May, in both cases by the directors filing a notice of appointment in Court.

The Joint administrators’ are working to find a buyer for the business and assets and anyone interested should contact Chris McKay on +44 1223 903021.

As is often the case it is the small investor who gets screwed – in the event that a (new) Nominated Adviser is not appointed on or before 7.00 am on 22 June 2009 then in accordance with Rule 1 of the AIM Rules for Companies, the admission of the Company’s ordinary shares to trading on AIM will be cancelled.

As we said about Screen Technology in our post ‘HOT or NOT – The Companies We Told You To Watch In 2008‘ back in December 2008…

We thought there was a chance that this Cambridgeshire based company could be turned around. Initially burning through almost UK PDS 10 million of investors money and with nothing at the end to show for it of note – they entered voluntary administration to seek protection from their creditors, raised a little bit of money from some Russians to get out of that but have struggled again since. What was once an exciting piece of technology now looks expensive for what it as well as being old and tired.

They think it’s all over – it is now!!

Westinghouse Digital Electronics, Santa Fe Springs, California-based provider of premium digital signage displays for gas stations and convenience stores, has introduced the Car Wash Display, promoted as a powerful and cost-effective way for car washes to educate and up-sell customers.

The self-contained system includes all of the hardware, software and simple-to-use content needed to easily create compelling ads and promos. The Westinghouse Car Wash Display is a unique solution that provides car wash customers with the latest product information and the day’s best deals while they wait in line before making their purchase. It‘s also a great way for car washes to inform customers of the newest products and services available.

The Westinghouse Car Wash Display is sold exclusively via SONNY’s Car Wash Factory, the largest supplier of conveyorized car wash equipment, parts, and supplies in the U.S.. The Display includes an all-weather one-sided 19” Westinghouse Digital LCD screen and stand; Westinghouse’s proprietary neonSource software for easy creation of ads and promotional messages; and car wash related advertising content by Bclip Productions. The all-in-one solution comes loaded with ads and product demos but can be easily customized so car wash stations can display their own content.

“Small to medium businesses like car washes need all the edge they can get to succeed in today’s economy and our PumpTop Topper is already a proven solution at thousands of gas stations and convenience stores across the country, “ says Rey Roque, vice-president of marketing at Westinghouse Digital Electronics. “Westinghouse’s full suite of cost-effective, out-of-home digital signage solutions – which includes hardware and software to meet the needs of all kinds of businesses and environments – offer a very powerful way to drive sales by reaching customers when they are in purchase mode.“

Westinghouse’s Car Wash Display’s proprietary neonSource software is digital signage software that allows businesses to advertise their latest product solutions, informational messages, daily specials, and promotional launches throughout the day on a timed schedule. neonSource displays current broadcast/satellite/cable TV or pre-recorded video while inserting banner ads along the top and bottom of the screen. The programming remains uninterrupted as the ads are dynamically inserted around it on the sides, top and bottom of the screen.

Here’s a very interesting Virtual World digital signage installation for Coca Cola Israel for the Coke Zero brand.

Tom Parnes, Coca-Cola Zero brand manager at Coca Cola Israel, told us “we are very excited from the new technology introduced by DigiGage, and we are confident it will provide our customers with a unique and special experience to engage with our brand values as part of our overall brand strategy.”

Using the DigiGage software platform, Coca-Cola has created a unique ‘Coca-Cola Zero’ virtual world in which the user simulates flying an airplane by physically manipulating the screen as if it was the airplane control stick.

The virtual world is presented in both small LCDs connected to stands that viewers interact with, and a large wall mounted LCD, that presents the non repetitive content while constantly moving with an axis motor.

Sounds complicated but we told that it is fun and compelling.

Boisbriand, Que.-based Groupe VIVA , formerly known as Sportech Media since its founding in 2002, has concluded a private $1.1-million round of financing with a group of investors including the Fonds d’investissement économique régional (FIER) Ville-Marie.

This investment will help Groupe VIVA accelerate the growth of its various digital out-of-home media properties, strengthening its position in the Canadian industry.

“This helps us pump up into second gear,” says Pierre Gendron, chairman and CEO. “We are an end-to-end solution provider, where we acquire the equipment, install, manage, develop content, create and sell advertising. However, we’ve concentrated recently more strongly as a content provider, to create a ‘Wow! effect on the screens. This investment will help us put more attention on all aspects.”

Groupe VIVA’s main property is a digital place-based media OOH network with a mix of personalized content, local news and advertising –
established mainly in retail stores, public areas and health establishments in communities throughout Quebec.

Groupe VIVA’s management believe that its next steps could transform the province’s local media landscape.

“We are convinced of the strength of digital media at point-of-sale and
in the strong potential of Groupe VIVA’s growth plan,” says Pietro Perrino, spokesman for the FIER Ville-Marie regional investment fund. “FIER Ville-Marie is delighted to support the growth of this dynamic company that is well-established north of Montreal Island.”

Gendron says, “We are excited to be able to count on the support of a select group of investors led by FIER Ville-Marie. Their involvement will not only help us on the financial side but will also be an important asset in the development of our business. This investment has also triggered job creation within our organization and we are actively pursuing the hiring process in order to strengthen our team.”

The new money has already helped Groupe VIVA build its staff from 13 to 20 and the company is still hiring with the hopes of adding another 20 within a year.

Groupe VIVA is also unveiling its new brand image, developed in-house and a direct outcome of the diversification of its activities in recent years.

“As founders, we were a group of ex-hockey players and so our first clients were developed through our sports contacts,” says Gendron, who played professionally for the Edmonton Oilers. “But now we’ve diversified so much with groups like Groupe Archambault (music) and L’Aubainerie (clothing) that we felt it was time to show ourselves as more than just sports-related.”

Beyond its scalable technology, Groupe VIVA offers its clients expertise in marketing and management of point-of-sale digital content that helps them effectively broadcast their marketing messages, thus optimizing consumer experience and brand positioning. Sound and video are becoming a more important part of the content side of the business.

Groupe VIVA currently feeds personalized programming to thousands of screens within private networks across Canada, including Archambault, Cage aux Sports, Forzani Group (Sports Experts, Fitness Source) and Pro Hockey Life. The company also operates various digital media properties located mainly in retail stores, public areas and health establishments in communities throughout the Province of Quebec.

“Some of our recent moves have been to develop video walls for L’Aubainerie and Sports Experts, and to add new advertisers for our clients to help them increase revenue,” says Gendron. “For example, we recently signed contractswith General Motors and Poker Stars for Cage aux Sports. Progress like this really gets our staff excited.”

Gendron says that the one area that the company tried to handle itself but found too much and finally farmed out was research and measurement which is now handled by Ipsos Descarie, Montreal.

If digital signage software had a birth place it was probably Las Vegas but the baby itself has definitely grown up in both Canada (with a solid history of misbehaving) and in Israel – where it can probably be best described as a cocky teenager

DigiGage is a relatively new startup, established back in 2008 by Ben Kidron and Jonathan Einav (and guess what? based in Israel) that claims to have a revolutionary technology (at least a patent pending software based platform and framework) for embedding 3D reactive real time worlds in to digital signage applications.

The idea here is that the content reacts to real world physical inputs such as spatial movement of the display or object movement (such as people) in the display surroundings – the content in the 3D worlds is not repetitive and is based on behavioral patterns that are applied on the objects by using a rule engine.

As with all Israeli startups we feel there’s no real news to speak of until they get deals outside their country – this first one is with Coca Cola Israel for the Coke Zero brand but it’s interesting nonetheless and we will have a story and some pictures up shortly.

About DigiGage

DigiGage is a provider of a patent pending software based platform and framework for embedding 3D reactive real time worlds in to digital signage environments. The content reacts to real world physical inputs, such as spatial movement of the display or objects movement (such as people) in the display’s surroundings.

The content in the 3D worlds is not repetitive and is based on behavioral patterns that are applied on the objects by using a sophisticated rule engine.

The DigiGage platform can be utilized for a variety of applications such as horizontal and vertical motion reactive 3D worlds in elevators, trains, subways, taxis, busses, etc.; virtual world explorations, such as 3D virtual product views; virtual environment tours, virtual display shelves, simulations, games, and stationary digital signage that shows the living non repetitive 3D world and can react to different type of sensors (sound, vision, wind etc.)

GestureTek Inc., the Sunnyvale, Caifornia, pioneer and a leader in gesture-controlled interactive display solutions, has launched the Cube, a portable, ‘plug-n-play’ interactive projection display unit that brings the power of motion-based interactivity to any location.

The goal is to add impact and excitement to advertising, branding and promotional campaigns.

The Cube is an ‘interactive display in a box’ that comes pre-configured and pre-calibrated, and includes over 70 engaging games, special effects and video and sound applications. Flash applications are also available. Companies can also customize simple logo inserts themselves, or GestureTek can do it for an additional cost. Some companies simply choose to use the 70 included games and apps on the Cube.

With no onsite technical support required for installation, anyone can roll it in, turn it on and it is instantly interactive.

“We’ve taken the best features of our highly successful large, permanent overhead interactive display deployments and packaged them into a flexible and compact turnkey system that is perfect for even the most space-constrained venues,” says Vincent John Vincent, GestureTek president.

The Cube is an ‘intelligent’ box measuring 23” x 18” x 16” and weighing 60 pounds. It comes with a 4’ x 5’ mat, onto which an 80” diagonal display is projected. Multi-media content is displayed on an interactive floor, allowing users to control and manipulate this content by stepping onto the projection.

GestureTek’s sophisticated, multi-patented video gesture control software for body tracking monitors the movements of people using the Cube. Together with a high-end projector, camera and other hardware, the system detects motion and responds with changes to the projected content.

“After a year of research and development to ensure optimal resolution, zero technical support, flexibility to use on both floors and walls and the ability to allow users to make custom content changes with the press of a button, I’m confident in saying that the Cube is the most flexible and easy-to-use gesture-controlled interactive display system in the world,” says Vincent.

GestureTek’s customers who were part of the Cube’s ‘soft launch’ over the past few months gave the product high marks as an attention-grabbing, ready-to-use product. Sears, Old Navy, American Family Insurance, Diageo and Cineviz are among the businesses who have used it.

Target market is retail chains, hospitality locations and advertising rollouts. Its visual appeal causes passers-by to stop in their tracks and engage with the brand. Its portability allows it to be used for time-specific promotions, and to be easily moved from location to location, depending on the organization’s advertising and marketing requirements. The Cube is also suitable for trade shows and traveling events, due to its mobility and ease of use. Cubes can be set up anywhere, and within minutes are fully interactive.

“Any time an advertiser wants to market in a high-traffic location and deliver a strong advertising message that cuts through the clutter, or to provide an engaging game or activity that keeps consumers engaged with the brand for a longer period of time, the Cube is an engaging and cost-effective option,” says Vincent.

Companies can buy or rent the cube. To purchase, pricing depends on how much application development work needs to be done, but an average price is approximately US$13,000.

According to data from the Chinese Digital Outdoor Advertising Association released by Enfodesk at Analysys International, in the first quarter of 2009, the number of digital advertising screens in China has now reached 531,100.

The Public subway system, commercial buildings, and train stations are still among the top three markets for Digital Out Of Home in China.

The Analysys International study found that as a result of tough monitoring controls on traditional outdoor billboards by regional government bodies, as well as the continual decline in cost of electronics manufacturing industry, many traditional outdoor advertising businesses intend to switch over to digital-out-of-home systems.

In this way, the number of electronic screens is expected to rise significantly.

In the first quarter of 2009, the public subway system has had the biggest share of the market at nearly 40%, mainly due to its having reached a mature state of operation in the market, and the gradual improvements to the monitoring system. Analysys International suggested that during the transition to digital media, it is necessary to consider changing the traditional advertising business model, the number of cycles and repetitions of the advertisements, and whether analytical assessments are required for monitoring and supervising purposes.