The coming digital sign revolution
As of now, there are two new items listed in the RedPost/Store: a 32″ and a 37″ LG LCDs. These are not TVs, these are professional grade, made-for-digital-signage LCDs that ship with a 3 year warranty and are designed to be on 24 hours/7 days a week. They retail for $689 and $889 respectively.
For professional grade LCDs, this price is unheard of, and really, we have the economic downturn to thank, due to the lower demand for LCDs.
This is, of course, a very good thing. As the economy recovers, we’re going to see spending on digital signs increase. And the companies that will benefit most from that recovery will be those of us positioned with products that are simple, “just work” and don’t cost an arm and a leg.
But it’s not about recovery. It’s about revolution, in the long tail to be specific. Let me explain.
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve talked with several colleagues in companies who are roughly targeting the long tail, companies like FrameChannel, Photovu, MyDigitalAd. I’ve also seen more and more announcements from companies going after the long tail with hosted, software-as-a-service products, most recently Wirespring, and even market giant Scala is getting into the act.
Of course, major hurdles remain:
- complexity of hardware and software
- total cost of installation, maintenance (although, this is rapidly lowering)
- transparency (have you ever gone to a digital sign company’s website and tried to figure out what their product costs? yeah, it’s near impossible with most)
- content (there’s some exciting stuff coming down the pipe here)
Overall, however, no one has figured out “the formula” — the business model for successfully selling to the long tail. We’re getting closer, however, and falling prices just make it easier. 2009 into 2010 will prove to be a huge turning point for this industry that, to date, has been mired in a muck of broadcast-style thinking, top-down implementation, and little innovation.
At least, here’s hoping :-)
