DOOH: What s in a Name? Digital signage musings on what s working, what isn t and what is needed. Stuart Armstrong is president of EnQii Digital View Media North America (digital viewmedia.com), specialists in digital displays for out-of-home and in-store solutions. This is the first of what I hope to be many columns for Sign Business. I am delighted to be the monthly contributor on the topic of digital signage. However, let me come right out of the gate and say: digital signage is not the topic I am going to focus on. I am not a fan of this overused and simplistic term digital enhancing the effectiveness signage a term I only of advertising, promotion use as shorthand, so people and sales. Rick Adler, pres know what I am talking ident of WHEN (Wellness about when I first introduce Health Education Network, the subject. Laura Davis Taylor of Retail Media Consulting likes to say, this is not a Screen on a Stick , but that is what the term digital signage connotes. On the other hand, digital out-of-home (DOOH) is a more accurate description because it is a variety of complementary media that engage consumers with mes sages at the right place at the right time. Narrowcasting also works, contrasting this medium from broadcasting and un derscoring that this is not a one-size-fits all medium. So what is DOOH? It is a commu nication medium that needs to engage, inform and entertain within an envi ronment, whether that is a retail store, doctor s office, fitness center, hair salon, or airport terminal. The onus is on the design which, in order to be effective and not intrusive, needs to consider optimal location, size and orientation, and most importantly the content. 76 Simply put,the content needs to match the mind-set and needs of the viewers while also taking into consideration staff personnel that may be in the vicinity of the media for hours at a time. Anything short of this will lower the engagement levels and will not be a sustainable busi ness model for the network owner or the advertisers. DOOH shouldn t be considered an isolated marketing medium, but rather an essential part of an inte grated marketing program, http://www.whennetwork. com) calls it Proximity Marketing. His network of more than 200 wellness centers throughout the country is seen as a valuable asset by both the staff and the members. Why is that? Wellness content is highly informa tive and entertaining Wellness center owners have access to a portion of the screen to drive local ized content Real-time news and weather Participating advertisers offer up content that is informative and entertain ing... not a 15-second ad spot designed for TV WHEN surrounds the screen and brand engagement with take-one bro chures, instructor-led seminars and sam pling programs Staff training can be offered off hours Mobile marketing through opted-in SMS text messaging is being explored Programs such as this are seen as highly valuable to all constituencies and significantly helps to drive the revenue models for DOOH media owners. DOOH has also been referred to as Captive Audience . A term I find lazy and misleading. As a consumer of media, just like we all are, I do not regard my self captive to any messages. It s easy to divert your eyes to any message whether it is in New York City s taxis, elevators, gas pumps, or in grocery store checkout lines. It implies that the audience has no choice but to watch what you want to push onto their retinas and into their brains. The broadcast model of reach and frequency is quickly becoming archaic as it is being replaced with targeted reach and frequency. The ability to get the right message at the right time to the right person best practice digital out-of-home media accomplishes this and will therefore captivate an audience and more likely make a brand impression and initiate a desired behavior. What s in a name? Everything. This medium is not a Screen on a Stick which is what digital signage suggests, nor is it Captive Audience, which implies the viewer has no control over what he or she is seeing. Instead, I ll call it digital out-of-home media or simply, DOOH a variety of complementary media that en gage consumers with pertinent messages at the right place in the right time. Please feel free to engage me in dis cussion or send me your views at stuart. armstrong@enqii.com. SB April 2008 SIGN BUSINESS SBAPR.indd 76 3/5/08 12:04:54 PM