Digital signage is changing the face of advertising and promotion.
It's taking shape across billboards on highways, at point-of-sale signage in retail stores, and digital screens are even popping up on vending machines. In New York City, CBS Outdoor, the outdoor advertising arm of CBS Corporation, is changing the face of Manhattan with its "Urban Panel" initiative, featuring more than 100 digital signs atop New York City's subway stations.
These two-sided, 55-inch, displays are placed at the top of stairwells at key Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) subway entrances around the city and are viewed by more than 2.8 million Manhattan residents, visitors and commuters each day. Subway passengers are greeted by fresh advertising messages as they run downstairs to catch their next train, and some are even slowing the pace of a "New York minute" to see what will pop-up next on the screen - helping to further engage advertisers with their audience.
"Mobility and video are changing the face of digital advertising and new technologies are helping us create more personalized and engaging ads for advertisers and consumers,.'' said Jodi Senese chief marketing officer for CBS Outdoor. “The pace of advertising is constantly changing and rich media such as intelligent digital signage will continue to play a key role in the advertising evolution.'''
In the CBS Outdoor solution, each sign has a static IP address tied to a router powering a series of static images, commercials and movie trailers to be delivered to displays over the Verizon Wireless network. The ads change eight-to-15 times per minute and have featured CBS programming, including holiday parades, the David Letterman Show and other content.
In the traditional paper banner ad world, billboards had to be changed by hand. By using wireless technologies, CBS can change content quickly and respond to changing opportunities. In addition, the machine-to-machine connection enables the company to monitor the health of the connected urban panels and provide maintenance if needed.
In addition to creating more value for CBS Outdoor, the digital solution allows it to sell same location to multiple advertising "tenants."
"Creating a connected network of digital signs creates new opportunities for CBS Outdoor and its advertisers," said Jim O'Brey, vice president for Verizon's media and entertainment team. "CBS Outdoor is creating more valuable New York real estate for its advertisers, by offering a dynamic medium for their message. Deploying signage in conjunction with 4G LTE creates even more new opportunities, allowing advertisers to create, more personalized, more interactive and more mobile advertising including real-time broadcast video.''
CBS Outdoor is also increasing the value of its real estate by increasing audience engagement. If a daily commuter had seen a static sign once, they would tend to run by it again without viewing. With digital signage, some commuters are now standing outside the subway stations, viewing signs with its changing messages.
