Campuses use digital signage to deliver information on emergencies and more
Primary Topic Channel: Emerging technologies
Billboards are getting a makeover, and not just at the mall or your local bank: On university campuses from coast to coast, administrators are realizing there's more to digital signage than just a pretty picture--it can enhance communication and maybe even help save lives.
Electronic digital signage (EDS) includes LED, OLED, LCD, CRT, plasma, digital, or e-link displays and digital projection devices.
Often, the technology uses a computer-routing system made up of hardware and software that channels content to the system's director, who forwards the coded signals to the display.
From a central management distribution center, multimedia display systems are fed electronic messaging (created by image and graphics software) by either telephone or IP network lines or a wireless narrowcasting system to display changeable (animated, video, or still) messages from a real-time or prerecorded source.
Designers of digital signage projects look out for "dwell zones," or those spots where people pause to watch a video display and are likely to be influenced by the message.
Dale Smith, director of business development for Peerless Industries, says today's ad dollars are being shifted from "at home" content to content viewed away from the home. "Content providers must take into account specific viewing times, repeat trips, and the need to inform, educate, and influence," he said.
In fact, spending on out-of-home video advertising in the United States reached $1.28 billion in 2007 and is projected to reach $3.22 billion by 2011. A study conducted last year by Online Testing Exchange said that digital signage catches the attention of more people than any other comparable advertising medium.
And that's one reason a growing number of colleges, universities, and even K-12 schools are opting for digital signage.
According to Sanju Khatri, a principal analyst at iSuppli, the top three venues for digital signage use are retail, transportation, and indoor venues; however, many businesses and universities also are adopting the technology.