A recent article from technology and advertising blog PSFK asks whether or not retail-focused smartphone applications make self-service solutions redundant. Even though the piece makes positive mention of Microsoft Surface and Intel’s intelligent digital signage proof of concept, it lists six reasons why retailers should exclusively focus on mobile development:

1. The phone is personal. It already knows who you are and can access what you like and even your purchase preferences like clothing sizes. With an interactive display you often have to start from the beginning.

2. The phone is social. The phone knows who your friends are and allows information before and after purchase to be shared between you and your peers. Sure, interactive displays can be connected to social media but are you really going to put your password to Facebook into an interactive display in a store that you visit once a month?

3. The phone is touchable. Would you rather tap away at the screen on the phone only you use or would you want to touch the smudged screen of the chain-store retailer where thousands of people pass through each day?

4. The phone is consumer-powerful. The phone keeps the power in the hands of the consumer while the interactive display offers the controlled world of the retailer. The interactive display doesn’t provide access to the world of group buying sites, deal services or comparative pricing apps.

5. Because a retailer can doesn’t mean they should. Just because WalMart stores have TVs throughout with advertisements running, it doesn’t mean that this service must be replicated across all retailers. Stores want to program specific environments that create subtle experiences that drive sales. A TV blasting ads – even if it’s interactive – might actually be a turn off for shpppers in many instances.

6. The phone is becoming sensitive. Technology is evolving to allow the phone to notice RFID tags and other ‘internet of things’ technology.

The above points are valid, but they look at the retail sector from a singular perspective. Smartphones are becoming an increasingly integral component in how we shop. They are not, however, the end all and be all of the consumer shopping experience. Just as the functionality of cellphones are growing more advanced so too are interactive digital displays. Retailers are right to focus significant energy on developing applications for mobile phones, but they must also devote resources to alternative in-store communications channels. Mobile is great, so too is digital signage.

What were once little more than computer stations in retail stores are evolving into immersive multi-touch gateways. Interactive video walls and intelligent self-service solutions are beginning to be integrated seamlessly into store environments. Their flexibility begets their utility. They function as integral parts of a store’s atmosphere. They can exist as omniscient sales associates, multi-user entertainment systems, or large-scale online catalogs.

Mobile phones and interactive digital signage should not be looked at as being mutually exclusive at retail. One doesn’t diminish the other. In reality, when they are positioned to enhance each other, consumers reap the greatest benefit. As I detailed in an earlier post, mobile applications and digital signage are allies, NOT adversaries. Whereas the mobile channel is geared around one-to-one interactions, digital displays at retail can be used to extend the engagement to a broad segment of consumers.

Mobile Applications and Digital Signage are Allies, NOT Adversaries

An in-store digital signage network is a one-to-many communication platform, yet still has the potential to foster a deeper connection than a one-to-one mobile interaction. Such is the nature of advertising when the medium is part of the message. It doesn’t mean that one platform, mobile or digital signage, is better than the other. It just illustrates that they offer alternate means of achieving the same goal: Lead Customer X to Purchase Brand A.

Rather than looking at the two platforms as adversaries, one harnesses each technology’s full value when pairing them as allies. Two arrows are always better than one. And, when one medium can increase the impact of another – use them together.

There are times when a brand may be better suited to use mobile instead of digital signage, and vice versa. But, in reality, given the fragmented nature of today’s media environment, its best to develop content for multiple platforms and target your message to reach consumers across various outlets.

Integrating Mobile and Digital Signage: Opportunities Abound

When given the choice of viewing content solely on a smartphone or interacting with the same content on a massive multi-touch display, which would you choose? I would go for the interactive digital signage, selecting the option that extends the boundaries of the user experience. What can be considered more exciting than selecting one option or the other is alternating between the two. Using a mobile phone to interact with a digital screen can create a unique experience that draws in multiple users and builds significant brand awareness (SEE: Locamoda, MegaPhone, Snaptell, Akoo)

Thanks to the portability of content, and innovations in the realm of cross-platform communication, shoppers can move between mobile applications and digital signage without skipping a beat. Each platform can function as a unique retail touchpoint, whereby each shopper has the ability to choose his own digital path though a store.
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A core factor of the retail customer experience is advertising. But, how we speak to a potential customer versus a point-of-sale customer is not the same.

Sacrifice for the Greater Good

In a consumer’s home, the advertiser competes with everything; there is nothing “endemic” about a TV program, a magazine, or the internet. During a break of a recent sporting event I saw the following ads: Nextel (Wireless), Taco Bell (Food), Zantac (Medicine) Progressive (Insurance), and Ford (Auto). Each advertiser thinks you need their product more than anything else.

Something about the proposition will be sacrificed for the greater good of brand awareness due to factors like broadcast running times and lack of actual products or services. You can only drive a car when you get to the dealership. You can only experience a wireless device by actually using the wireless device. Lifestyle benefits are a core proposition of broadcast advertising; it’s easier to show how your life will be with the product because you can’t actually use the product…yet.

Terrific creative and understanding the audience and the environment is crucial in winning a viewer’s attention.

But retail is different. Very different.

At retail, the competition narrows down to the category. When Nike competes with Budweiser at home, it’s only a matter of who likes shoes and who likes beer. But when Nike competes with Adidas and Reebok and K Swiss and Puma on a wall of footwear, the category focus by both the customer and the advertiser at the point of sale is paramount. This is where the brand “wins the last 10 feet.”

And, in many cases, you can use the product. You can try on the shoes or the clothes. You can test drive the car, or make a wireless connection.

So why do advertisers and venues accept external advertising for the network in a retail environment? Why do so many brands and manufacturers just re-purpose their 30-second awareness ads to run on the shelf?

The Push (or Pull) for Better Content

The simple answer is insufficient data to support the theory that custom content does any better at selling a product than regular broadcast advertising. Numbers get thrown around all too easily: 70% of shopper decisions are made in-store. Or is that 50%? I recently read that POPAI’s MARI project claims that only “… three percent of in-store marketing communications is currently passed and seen by shoppers…” So that means that 97% is ignored? Or is it missed completely? How does this affect the 50-70% of shoppers who make the purchase decisions? In a 2008 study from IMI Consumer Track, North Americans were asked what influenced them to purchase brands they don’t normally purchase. The respondents said they were influenced by an ad they saw on TV 24% of the time.

Statistics, always subjective and often misleading, should compel an argument, not decide it. They should not stand in the way of engaging the customer. Instead of believing in one side of the statistic, look at the other side: 50% may be influenced, but 50% are not. 50% is a really, really big number.

Why should retail marketing push brands and advertisers to create custom content?

You have to stand out. The amount of retail environmental stimuli waging a war for the customer’s attention is close to immeasurable.

Re-purposing advertising does two things: It tells the customer what she already knows, and it tells her you don’t have anything to add to your proposition. Result: She deselects you because there are other, newer things to look at.

Decisions. Decisions.

The customer’s mindset is different in the store. Marketers must stop believing that “purchase decisions” and “unplanned decisions” are the same thing. A purchase decision usually starts outside the store.

I need bar of soap.

Where do I get soap?

At the store.

I’m going to the store.

I’m at the store.

I’m here for soap.

There’s the soap.

External advertising starts the path to purchase by compelling the viewer to decide whether or not he needs what you’re selling. In-store advertising must pick up where broadcast left off – at the curbside or front door – and guide the customer along the path, not simply reiterate what he already knows.

Purchase decisions may lead to unplanned decisions. An unplanned decision is based on impulse. Oh…I need shampoo, too. While I’m here… Where the two types of decisions mix is in the shopper’s mindset at the point of sale. Therefore, the approach to the customer should be different.

Advertising is part of the equation, not the solution; it must work in tandem with everything else.

The Effort Starts Here

The marketing team must collaborate with merchandising team to create that holistic experience. Merchant teams will negotiate massive deals with brands for product placement with little regard for how the product is actually presented to the customer. A big victory for the brand is a prominent location, but the surrounding presentation materials may not complete the entire experience. Marketing must sit at the table and be a part of the deal so that proper attention can be given to the messaging that accompanies the product.

To this end, the need for extra money to create custom content will diminish. The content and production will be part of the negotiated deal for the product life-cycle in the store. It will not be an afterthought tapping into other budgets. Further, because of its separation from any other kind of advertising, it will give marketers the ability to better measure impact.

While statistics may support some of the arguments, they should never make a case. Knowing that the customers at home and customers at a store are different should warrant the argument for custom creative at the point of sale.

Terrific creative, coupled with understanding the audience, is crucial in winning a viewer’s attention.

There is really only one goal for digital signage: enabling initiative, getting the customer doing something with what he or she has just seen. Regardless of the engagement, a positive outcome is the only desired effect.

Here are three very general areas where digital signage can play a positive role in a customer’s experience within an environment, and the potential pitfall each encounters with poor planning and execution.

Environmental Navigation

Navigation is usually the first impression a customer gets of a store. “Where can I find…?” Good navigation will make the shopper’s experience positive and can reduce time and stress. Digital signage can play a key role in making sure that two goals are met: Showing the customer exactly where to go and showing the easiest way to get there. But you don’t get a second chance at a first impression. Poor navigation techniques, or making the customer work too hard to locate the destination, will disengage a customer before he is even at the destination.

Do we now need GPS in a store?

Education

Learning about a product or service through digital interactivity allows the customer to learn at her pace, not the pace of the employee or the store. The ability for digital engagement (most likely in a kiosk) to be flexible for the customer’s depth of knowledge and desire for education will generate interest, respect and loyalty from the customer.

In contrast, poor education or programming that makes too many assumptions about the customer’s knowledge and has ignored important messaging will sour the experience.

Perception of Time

The ability to cut down on a customer’s perception of time is taken very seriously by environments where waiting (hospitals) or poor attitudes (returning an item that gave you a bad experience) are part of the customer’s experience in the space. Engaging content can change behavior and ultimately reduce a customer’s perception of time.

However, poor execution on basic guidelines, such as the running time on a looping program being shorter than the average time a customer waits, can be a big disappointment. Customers don’t want to see the same thing twice. In addition, creating programming that does not effectively draw attention away from the customer’s purpose in the environment can backfire by making the customer even more aware of the time.

The detail that goes into each category is dependent upon the venue’s strategy with digital signage. Great care should be taken each time. Poor execution with one screen can wreck a customer’s experience in the entire environment. A bad digital signage experience can drive customers away just as fast as bad customer service.

To avoid that end, constant research and understanding will keep your digital experiences fresh and appealing for the customer and the venue.

The sessions were well attended…
I did the opening keynote session and a final session of the conference, and both were well attended. I heard most sessions had good crowds.

…but there are too many of them.
Day One had three full day seminars, a half day seminar, and a half-day tour of Vegas. Days two and three had 43 sessions. This is too much, and I’m certain there is a lot of redundancy. I hope that over the next 11 months, the DSE will find a more efficient way to make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn, network, and explore without having to decide between one session or another.

The DSF was on people’s minds…
One of the interim DSF board members asked me if I thought it was the right thing to do.  It is, if you take this opportunity to do what the industry needs. If not, the DSF and the DSA will battle themselves into apathy while the NRF, InfoComm, and other shows continue to lure away the exhibitors and experts.

…but not on all minds.
One executive told me, “The companies in there [the trade show] couldn’t care less about these boards. They care about landing clients and buyers.” Ouch. But I see his point.

#dse2010 was pretty cool…
Many screens throughout the show floor displayed the Twitter hashtag tweets, and it’s really great to see so many engaged with a community tool to spread the cheer of the show. There were over 1,200 tweets.

…but not very cool
So we all tweeted. Big deal. The DSE promoted that session attendees could use Twitter to ask questions of the session moderators and panelists before the conference. I was in two sessions and never got a question. Did anyone else? I doubt it. Was anyone not at DSE really “following” what was going on? Twitter is here and will be a great tool for communication, but we’re trying too hard to jam this into the ecosystem without allowing it to grow organically.

Good Rumor.
There is a deal for PRN on paper in the range of 80 million. That’s a song compared to what Thompson paid for them, but I believe PRN is doing a lot of good stuff. They are refining their business model, breaking apart their bundled services, and partnering with key companies to offer better solutions. What I mean is: They ain’t Walmart’s bitch anymore. I hope that continues. There are good people there working hard.

Bad Rumor.
One service provider told me his company learned they lost a bid for a client to their competitor. They heard it from their competitor. Bad form, folks.

Everyone is busy…
Everyone I asked said they were busy. And many that I spoke with said they had the resources (read: money and people) to make traction in 2010. Let’s hope that’s true.

…so don’t waste their time.
One guy wrote to me and asked me to meet with him. He wanted to talk to me about some “new retail initiatives” his company was working on. I was excited to hear this news and made it a point to connect with this gentleman. After shaking hands, he proceeded to tell me how drunk he got the night before. Then he walked away from me. That was the meeting. Oh, and he did this in front of his CEO. Classy.

Shoes, Socks, and Business Cards
Adrian Cotterill, of DailyDOOH.com fame, has a small list of suggestions for your next show visit.

Want to read more? Head over to these blogs and get more first-hand accounts of the show. Lots to read, but all of it worthwhile.

Dave Haynes, Sixteen-Nine
DSE Impressions…So Far
More DSE Impressions

Mike Cearley, 11th Screen
2nd (and last) Official Session of the Day #40
Cutting Through The Clutter at DSE 2010
Top 5 Moments of DSE 2010

Adrian Cotterill, DailyDOOH.com
#dse2010 – The Gossip

David Weinfeld, DS Insights
Thoughts from Digital Signage Expo 2010

Ken Goldberg, Broad Thinking. Narrowcasting
Themes from DSE

Finally
The UMA Motorcoach Expo was taking place at the same time as our little shin-dig at the Convention Center. I snuck into their show and checked out a few of their rides. There was a huge banner that said, “We’ll see you next year in Tampa!” I don’t know about you folks, but I’m liberating one of those moving condos and going on a road trip to Tampa next year. Right now you should be hearing the theme song to Vacation.

The panel discussion, entitled “Do it right the first time:  the politics and pitfalls of digital signage deployment and how to avoid them” was well attended.  The room was jammed with prospective or current network operators.  They all seemed to be  long on entrepreneurial spirit but short on experience.

The young man’s situation was typical.  He has started a doctor’s office network that currently has just two locations.  His questions for me (and the focus of his two-day fact finding mission at DSE):  “Should I get serious and expand?” and  “Where is digital signage/digital out-of-home going?”

It’s a fascinating question for the entire industry:  where is this thing going?

DSE veterans (some of us have been around since DSE’s predecessor, the Digital Retailing Expo, barely filled a small hall in San Francisco in 2004)  have never seen as much activity nor felt as much energy as we just experienced in Las Vegas.  Exhibitors entered DSE 2010 anticipating the norm:  that they would spend the majority of their time educating the “tire kickers”.  But instead, we heard that buyers were qualified/legitimate and conversations were pointed/positive.  Some vendors were even writing business on the trade show floor.

So the future is bright, right?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Certainly the  short-term view is encouraging.  Digital signage/digital out-of-home finally seems to be approaching a heightened level of maturity.  After dipping their toes in the water in past years, two mega-players, Intel and Cisco, reportedly are diving into the deep end.  And established entities, LG, Sony, NEC and others, are expanding their traditional/conventional DS/DOOH offerings.  All of this suggests money is about to pour into the space which, logically, means the good times are about to roll.

Good times, with a caveat.

Geri Wolff works for Exponation, the company that produces DSE.  Geri busts her ass, compiling  the collective wisdom of DSE’s advisory board and passing that wisdom along to the DS community at large.    At the DSE Advisory board meeting in Vegas the night before the show opened,  Geri polled the board for advice.  She asked us, what are we (DSE & the digital signage industry) missing?

Patrick Moorhead, VP at Chicago-based agency Draftfcb, did not hesitate.  Patrick said, flat out, there simply are not enough ad agency types in attendance.  None of us disagreed.  We acknowledged that currently, there’s no reason for agency folks to care, let alone attend.

Ironically, this comes at a time when agencies are slowly warming up to the idea of sharing the wealth and spreading the buy.  The TV audience is shrinking.  That can’t be disputed.  But those TV dollars won’t automatically default to DS/DOOH unless the agencies see it as a media buy that makes sense.  Right now, they generally don’t.  And that can’t be disputed either.

Thus, unless the focus of DSE and the industry overall shifts more toward the audience and less toward bright, shiny tech, the agencies will continue to stay away in droves.

And that’s when this industry’s good times could slow to a  crawl.

Let’s return to the flight home from Las Vegas.  My new friend said that by walking the trade show floor, he felt he received an adequate overview regarding digital signage hardware, software, etc.  But he had a nagging question.  “I need help creating content that will look different from all of the other content,  content that makes sense for my doctor client and his patients.   Why isn’t there more help at the show regarding custom content solutions?”

My knee-jerk answer: “Because it is extremely difficult to make a living creating custom content solutions as custom content is not valued in the digital signage industry.”

Oh, there was plenty of content literally jumping off the digital displays on the trade show floor.  From an aesthetic standpoint, some of the content was truly spectacular.  (The Christie Microtiles were amazing.  Christie could have simply tapped into  a live feed from a convenience store security camera and still would have been stopping attendees in their tracks.)

But from an editorial standpoint, the content playing on the show floor was, at best, generic. Mind-numbingly generic.  No-one-pays–attention generic.  As my Preset partner Paul Flanigan tweeted from Vegas, “I know the weather in every city in the world by walking the show floor.  Does everybody do weather?”

Unfortunately, it does seem that everybody does do weather and/or stock tickers and/or news.  They combine to form an easy default.  But weather/stocks/news are not the answer

Back to the board meeting and another question from Geri Wolff.  “Where should DSE/this industry be in 5 years?”

I don’t have  a crystal ball but I do have a feeling in my gut. So I spoke up.  “Unless this show and this industry changes its focus from being transaction-based, unless it shifts its focus away from hardware and software and starts focusing on the audience, the person on the other side of the screen, and focuses on the messages we are sending to that audience…unless that happens,  in five years, digital signage will still be a bunch of technology folks talking to each other.”

And the digital signage show, as Patrick Moorhead observed, will be nothing more than vendors “selling picks and shovels”.

Shifting the priority, from an emphasis on prettier pixels to an emphasis on compelling consumer communication, will not be easy for this industry.  It will be like changing the course of the battleship.

But the opportunity has never been more, well, more opportune.  Digital signage/digital out-of-home has momentum and momentum attracts resources and buys time.

Time to provide an offering that compels the agencies to recognize digital out-of-home as a viable alternative.

Time to pay more attention to what plays on the screen and a little less attention to the screen itself.

If that shift in emphasis comes to pass, every DS operation will benefit:    the mammoth enterprise projects,  the two-office network operated by new friend, and all networks in between.

Can’t wait to see where we’re at in five years.

The thing that I enjoy most about shows like DSE is connecting with industry contemporaries and those who I have established connections with via online communication platforms. Having the opportunity to meet face-to-face with industry friends I have made through this blog, Twitter, Linkedin, and other social media channels is something that I cherish. At DSE, it’s the people you meet and the conversations that you have which make the event unforgettable. I always welcome the opportunity to meet new folks and share interesting conversations with people who exude passion for digital signage, retail customer experience, emerging communication platforms, etc.

I shared conversations with a wealth of uber-smart individuals on topics such as location-based mobile services, real-time news, the future of digital out-of-home media, social media pollination across the enterprise, using digital technologies to enhance internal communications, digital signage as a brand/customer experience gateway, emerging mobile platforms, etc. It’s in these conversations that industry participants and I waxed analytical on digital signage’s role in our communications ecosystem and the technology’s advertising future. To those who I shared conversations with, thank you. To those who I didn’t get a chance to connect with, please feel free to reach out if you would like to talk (best way to reach me is via email: david.weinfeld@presetgroup.com). I am always happy to talk and help out in any way that I can.

Thoughts from the Show Floor

I don’t think that a single person who attended the show would argue that the technology on the event floor wasn’t impressive. As you entered the expo hall floor, it was like a treat for your eyes. Digital signs stretched as far as the eye could see. From thin screens to video walls and outdoor displays, the technical side of the industry was more than well represented. If you love digital signage (I assume that you have at least a passing interest in the technology if you’re reading this blog), your feelings about the environment would run parallel to my own.

The technology that powers the digital signage and digital out-of-home media industries was front and center on the show floor. While screens, media players, and interactive elements stretched across every square foot of the Las Vegas Convention Center, such a setup ran counter to the goal of educating newcomers and longtime attendees about digital signage and future industry developments. For anyone that was new to the digital signage industry, they likely left the show floor with more questions than answers.

An enormous focus was placed on digital signage technology at the detriment of featuring solutions that solve real business problems. The show floor lacked balance between the hardware/software side of the industry and the experiences that the technology powers. Too much emphasis was placed on the physical boundaries of the technology. Many missed the chance to feature digital signage as a gateway to expansive customer and brand experiences. The technology, and all of the bells and whistles, are great to look at it, but the sheen of these objects fade if they aren’t framed within the greater context of digital signage’s far reaching impact.

Many people I spoke with described the show floor as “cluttered” or “difficult to navigate.” For some, it felt like a summer camp reunion, drawing the conclusion based on a limited number of attendees outside of the digital signage and technology industries. If you got a nickel for every agency or brand rep. that was at the show, you would barely be able to afford a fast food combo meal.

One industry friend who is extremely knowledgeable on digital signage technology even admitted that he dreaded walking the show floor. This sentiment came from someone who loves digital out-of-home media. I can understand why he felt this way. For anyone who was new to digital signage, these end users were met with software companies all appearing to do the same thing (some claiming they could do more, others claiming best-in-class solutions, and none willing to admit that a potential customer would be better suited speaking to one of their competitors).

One of the few advertising agency reps. in attendance equated the expo to a “picks and shovels show.” He found the show lacking in relevance to his specific discipline. He commented that his agency colleagues don’t have anywhere near the same interest in technology as he does. They just want to know that it works.

A screen is a screen, but a true digital signage solution is an experience. This is an ethos that needs to be shared across the industry and, most importantly, carried throughout the Digital Signage Expo.

The people I was yakking with couldn’t figure out why, but it was pretty clear to me. The companies chose their thing. Their vertical. And then they went after it hard.

In a little more than a week the North American part of the industry will gather in Las Vegas for DSE, and prospective buyers will walk into the exhibit hall and be greeted by a sea of exhibits from companies that are all pitching pretty much the same thing. They will see countless booths and hear countless pitches about the nuances of why a particular company’s way of doing things is the cat’s pyjamas (always wanted to use that phrase …) but not a lot that distinguishes them.

Not that many companies at the show will set themselves up in a way that clearly tells prospects, “If you are looking for a solution that is laser-focused on doing this, or serving that, we’re your guys.” Almost all the pitches and positioning will be a riff on the right message, right time thing.

It’s all very general, and leaves the vendors engaged in an endless scrap over features, personalities and, what they really don’t want, price.

Then there are the other guys who are just quietly going about their business servicing a particular vertical category … and not a broad vertical like retail. I mean narrowed down to a sub-category of retail. Or maybe they just do campus. Or museums.

They got focused. They developed sector expertise and tailored their message and their product and service officer to a particular area. Instead of 300 software companies, maybe they’re competing with three on jobs. Or none.

There are companies in this industry who don’t show up at the trade shows. They don’t make a lot of noise. They just do their thing with their own narrowed list of targets. When they do trade shows, it is THE trade show in their vertical. Sometimes, they’re the only digital signage company there.

The people who run those companies figured out getting focused made more sense than trying to get noticed in the crowd.

If I am a guy looking for a solution, I am going to be a lot more engaged by someone who understands my business, and its dynamics and challenges,  than I am by someone else who may have more brand recognition and flashier material, but only a fleeting grasp of what I do and need.

People are going to walk up to booths at DSE in a few days and just flat ask salespeople, “What do you guys do?”

If all they’ve got to answer back with is some canned blah-blah-blah stuff with scale and reliable and cost-efficient lobbed in the patter, that’s a problem.

There are some big guys with big budgets coming into this sector now and they probably aren’t going away. But they’re just getting started and their offers are really undefined.

Pick what you’re really good at. Look at where the market opportunities are and what kinds of businesses are either recession-proofed and hopefully expanding. And look for those categories in which digital signage is a need to have, not a nice to have.

Get some focus, and you could flourish.

The show was great!

Not only did I enjoy countless engaging, vibrant conversations, I also came in contact with a wealth of exciting new technologies. The attendance was strong. Optimistic energy fueled the show’s atmosphere. You could tell that attendees recognized how important it is for them to integrate customer-facing technology into their environments.

I had to navigate large crowds throughout the day, especially as I walked through the Innovation Station, a collection of hand-picked retail solutions driving the future of the industry. Kudos need to be given to CRI for bringing together such a great, and diverse, array of solution providers.

The IBM booth (more like a control center) was picked with digital goodies and innovative retail solutions. Just like at the Innovation Station, I had to navigate crowds of engaged attendees to get from point A to point B. Within IBM’s “showcase,” I saw a range of technologies, including location aware mobile applications and in-store augmented reality displays. The company sees the writing on the wall, and knows that the world of bricks-and-mortar is undergoing an in-store digital revolution. IBM sees its deep involvement in various aspects of retailers’ operations as a clear foundation on which to build new media experiences.

NRF 2010 will be remembered for a number of different things, one of which is sure to be the number of tech giants showcasing new digital signage solutions. The show saw digital signage solutions from tech stalwarts like HP, Dell, Intel, Microsoft, and IBM (just to name a few). It is an exciting development for our industry to see the aforementioned “big boys” step into our pond. I’m not saying that they’re not going to stumble here and there along the way. As these companies acclimate themselves to the world of digital signage, they will learn from their mistakes and discover nuances of the market. Their depth of talent, experience, sizable R&D departments, and tech industry leverage is sure to drive DS forward. I see it as a ringing endorsement of the auspicious future that lies ahead for the digital signage marketplace.

With companies like Intel and Microsoft taking a major interest in digital signage, such activity is guaranteed to accelerate the growth of the industry. Not only do many of these DS newcomers want to grow their presence in the sector, they want to take leadership positions therein. We all know that such a thing is easier said than done, but I’m sure that some of the executives I met with are going to have a major impact on this industry. One such individual is Jose Avalos, the Director of Digital Signage at Intel.

Unless you were living under a rock, you heard about the multitouch, holographic intelligent digital signage concept that Intel featured at the show. Equipped with anonymous video analytics (facial recognition software from Cognovision) and an array of top-notch digital and technical features, the innovative solution captured the imagination of attendees. I must applaud Intel and Microsoft for recognizing that one must make a big splash when entering new markets to get people’s attention. Jose Avalos sees and understands the lasting place digital signage will have across the retail ecosystem. Speaking with Jose, even for just a few minutes, was illuminating. He spoke passionately about Intel’s approach to the industry and desire to deliver solutions that will enhance how we shop.

Looking around the show, you couldn’t help but feel the energy that circled the Javits Center floor. The time is upon us to grasp the ship carrying the future of retail. The vessel is filled with impassioned individuals who see the potential inherent in bringing real-time, efficient, and smart technology to the corner store and neighborhood shopping mall.

I welcomed connecting with professionals in the show’s Design Studio. Design houses and architects are definitely keen to the coming flood of technology at retail. I connected with RFID providers, audience analytics firms, customer loyalty companies, and automated retail companies (I love ZoomSystems). With everything I saw, and all of the people I spoke with, I can confidently say that the tide is rising. If you want to ride the wave of new retail engagements and experiences, you better jump on board.

The folks at VeriFone, who just acquired Clear Channel’s Taxi Media operations, are definitely thinking beyond the payment space. With VeriFone’s technical footprint across retail and a range of other industries, they are surely a company to watch as media begins to get further integrated into these solutions. It’s a natural progression to equip POS systems with small-form factor displays that enhance the retail environment.

While Intel’s partnership with Microsoft in developing a multi-touch retail solution has garnered the most press from the show, I was equally captivated by another solution from one of Intel’s partners at NRF. Mark my words that the company I mention next is one that will have a long, prosperous future in the digital signage industry (and beyond!).

YCD Multimedia displayed the robustness of the company’s software solution in driving a nine screen Samsung video wall (plus a tenth interactive screen) from a single player (powered by an Intel processor, of course). The video wall was capable of playing out 9 different channels of content, unique to each screen. I was blown away by the fact that the system was running from one media tower. The screen displayed 4K content, meaning 4X HD resolution, given that each display was running at its native 1080p resolution.

That by itself was impressive, but then Josh Kampel, YCD’s head of business development, took the covers of off the company’s most recent innovation – RAMP. An advertising management system that is as intuitive and beautiful as it is robust, RAMP bridges corporate and local network control, while supporting easy content creation, data management, playlist creation, and campaign scheduling. Their solution is a next step for the digital signage industry.

With everyone that I met (it was a pleasure), and all of the technology that I saw, going to NRF was like walking into FAO Schwartz for the first time as youngster. I feel this way every time I go to one of these shows. As geeky as this sounds, I love technology. I especially love how technology can enhance our lives, how we shop, how we interact, how we communicate, etc. What was great about my trip to NRF this year, is that the vast majority, if not everyone, whom I came in contact with shared that same passion for technology.

In an effort to attract customers, retailers are becoming more category and product agnostic. Walmart’s consumer electronics department is beginning to look a lot like Best Buy’s layout. Best Buy adopted a red theme for their new Musical Instruments department. It looks a lot like Guitar Center. Amazon just takes on everyone with unrivaled inventory. The customer has two choices to make: Click-and-order, or brick-and-mortar. And if the customer can get the same product from any number of retailers, the brand experience becomes the deciding factor for the customer.

The most valuable thing a retailer can own is its position in a customer’s mind. At the retail level, digital signage augments that perception by bringing the brand to life.

A digital signage network is an investment in your brand, not a line item on your P&L sheet. You build it to create a differentiated experience, not to show an ad a customer can see on her TV at home, online, or in another retailer’s space. Running ads for the sake of revenue denigrates the brand equity you have built for the customer experience. The network has a higher purpose at the intersection between the brand and the customer.

Your digital signage network allows you to consistently deliver your brand proposition, withstanding the ebb of market forces, product sales, and incremental revenue. This reflects in a customer’s choice between you and another retailer. Relying on revenue to drive the programming or the experience will force you to rethink your strategy every time the market fluctuates.

With a customer’s ability to deselect messaging as she moves through the retail environment, it is critical that your brand engages her instead of becoming a casualty.

As the mobile web and smartphones approach mainstream adoption, we will see more robust uses of mobile technology in retail environments. The growth of the mobile application economy, spurred by the launch of the iPhone, has succeeded in bringing tools to market that make our daily lives easier (inside and outside of the home).

“We are at the cusp of this technology really driving a lot of activity during the shopping season,” said Stacy Janiak, United States retail practice leader at Deloitte. “It is both an opportunity and a challenge for a retailer, because you can have a consumer who can cross-shop your store with other bricks-and-mortar stores or online, all from the convenience of your aisle.”

Retailers need to embrace the mobile web and smartphone applications. Consumers are increasingly using applications from companies like ShopSavvy, RedLaser, and My Coupons to ensure that they are getting the best deals at retail. While it can be argued that applications like ShopSavvy and Red Laser, barcode readers for real-time price comparisons, hinder bricks-and-mortar retail, these consumer-based tools, in truth, challenge retailers to evolve. They push retailers to learn more about their customers, react more adeptly to changes in consumer demand, and enhance their shopper marketing efforts.

When a consumer pulls his iPhone from his pocket and scans the tag of a leather jacket to get price comparisons from nearby retailers and e-commerce sites, it creates a clear opportunity for the retailer whose store he’s in to rise to the challenge. Accepting the fact that consumers have product buying guides, price comparison tools, customer reviews, etc. at their fingertips, pushes retailers to adapt to a marketplace now dominated by empowered consumers.

Whether it be in the form of matching prices customers receive from mobile applications, delivering real-time mobile coupons, offering customer loyalty incentives, or providing value-added services at no cost, offline retailers must flex their marketing, customer service, and sales muscle to stay competitive.

If someone standing in one store scans a product with ShopSavvy, for example, a retailer down the street could deliver the shopper a coupon for the same item. A major retailer is already doing that in a few test cities, including Seattle, said Alexander Muse, co-founder of Big in Japan, the start-up that created ShopSavvy.

Other applications, including Yowza, use the GPS location information in cellphones to send shoppers coupons for stores within walking distance of where they’re standing. “This empowers consumers to make a smart decision,” Mr. Muse said. “Already, retailers are starting to figure out, ‘I need to be in this game.’ ”

There was a fantastic article in Friday’s New York Times that detailed the depths to which mobile applications are being utilized at retail during the holiday season. The piece is a must read. Not only do I recommend the article, but I implore you to read it.