In an environment where image overload can make us oblivious to the messages around us, where can digital out-of-home find its real wow factor? Geny Caloisi talks to a select group of industry experts to find out how DOOH can have a greater impact
[KEY POINTS]
With multiple stimuli competing for people’s attention, brands need novel ways to reach customers
MANY RETAILERS believe that selling a good product or providing a good service is enough to earn their customers’ loyalty, but brand awareness and customer loyalty fluctuate enormously in today’s marketplace. The modern shopper has high expectations, is technology savvy and has a low threshold of tolerance when the application doesn’t work. His attention span and desire to impulse buy are very short. All of this means it is important to use the digital out-of-home (DOOH) medium wisely.
The agreement among interviewees is that, to attract people’s attention, there needs to be a balance between technology innovation, creative content and system usability. One way to stand out from
the crowd is by using screens that go beyond the traditional
It’s not just about using flash new technology but rather about finding the right technology for the specific application
landscape or portrait rectangular format. Pufferfish, for instance, manufactures rear-projection globe screens; Mitsubishi has created curved and globe OLED displays; while eyevis and Christie use rear- projection on smaller size tiles to create unusually shaped screens. Ben Allan, sales and
marketing manager at Pufferfish, says: “The proliferation of screens in our urban landscape means that they become part of the environment, barely more noteworthy than anything else that makes up the fabric of things. “There have been some
hardware innovations in recent years that have started to push the physical boundaries of screens and helped reinvigorate the medium with the unexpected. Christie MicroTiles, eyevis’
A successful DOOH installation will depend on the level of creativity and innovation shown in the concept and execution
omniShapes, PufferSpheres, Dreamoc with its video holographic display (invented by RealFiction), floor projection, curveLED, various LED meshes/shapes and large-scale projection mapping have all found their place in the DS market, allowing the formation of unconventional screens that form 3D shapes or transform existing structures and surfaces.” Peter van Dijk, business
development manager, Mitsubishi Electric Europe, thinks there is still a lot to be seen: “I don’t think we have even begun to approach the limits of possibility. For example, versatile control or content management systems can turn a bunch of standard LCD panels into a display that really grabs attention. Other kinds of display technologies, such as our modular OLED display for
Mitsubishi Electric has installed a total of 100 display units at Narita International Airport, Japan, including the 9.6m x 1.9m Panorama Vision, the world’s first seamless and smooth 160º OLED concave screen
example, free the designer to use size and shape to create visual impact.”
THE RIGHT IMPRESSION But it’s not just about sizes and shapes: creative agencies need to learn to think of screens as being in a 3D environment and interconnected – not just as moving posters. Sometimes they also have to use the screen manufacturer’s own creative programs to be able to employ the displays to their full capacity. Serge Konter,
communications manager at Swiss media player manufacturer SpinetiX, believes that the secret of having attractive DS is not so much on the display but rather on the possibilities that the media players offer. “In the past, the marketing department was the one driving what would go on the
‘I don’t think we
have even begun to approach the limits of
possibility’ Peter van Dijk, Mitsubishi Electric Europe