While digital signage was a part of the Douglas Davis keynote, and was touched on in Renee James’s talk Tuesday, it’s one of my passion points, so I am devoting a whole post to it. It came up at IDF 2009, when Sean Maloney pointed out that digital signage is a whole new market segment. I personally want to design the interfaces that will emerge into these digital signs.
There should be plenty of opportunity for user experience designers, developers, and creative teams to get involved, since this is one of the fastest-growing marketing and communications mediums in the world. In 2008, the digital signage worldwide ad spend was greater than one billion dollars, with 1.1 million digital signage players. By 2012, it will be over 4 billion dollars, and by 2015, they expect over 8 million players. About a third of them will be in China.
Smart signs can identify the gender of the user, targeting products and location-based services with dynamic ad management, based on time of day, and remote management, to download new content or repair signs. Doug didn’t mention it, but a visitor’s body type could also be identified, so a plus-size woman wouldn’t get pointed to the size 0 swimwear.
Atom, Core i5, and Core i7 are powering these experiences with things like the SeeYou coupon machine running on Atom from Renee’s keynote, and more intensive displays with analytics, remote management, multiple high-def screen support, and content blending happening on the Core i5 and Core i7, though Core i7 also supports large multi-displays like billboards and stock exchange displays.
Over 60% of the signs today are in retail. That’s probably not going to change, so Ed Stock from Intel Digital Signage Team, and Rowan Lodge, Head of Retail Development for Asia Pacific Adidas Group, came out to demo an in-store display they designed. The Intel Intelligent Signage proof of concept has a 70-inch digital panel that is touch-enabled, letting users engage in a number of ways, including choosing which ads they want to see with an unobtrusive vertical scroll.
The AR holographic glass acts as a way-finding device and product promotion space, letting customers know exactly where a garment is located and suggesting associated products. Someday, customer purchase data could show what other people have bought with a particular item, helping a guy pick the right tie, belt, and shoes for a specific suit. Once I can set a profile and have it point me to the stuff I like, I will be much happier. This technology could convert a brick-and-mortar storefront into a 24X7 mobile device integrated shopping experience. Adidas will be opening a flagship store in Shanghai later this year, and will partner with Intel to bring this type of display into that location. The best flagship stores make shopping personal.
And if something goes wrong with one of the displays, there is a remote management solution that allows access to analytics, quick fixes, reboots, and content updates.
I guess I’ll need to take a trip to Shanghai in a few months to see exactly how Adidas can top the virtual mirror installed in their shop on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It’s for research purposes!
