Where Is Digital Signage Heading in 2016?

Wearables, scoreboards, kiosks and smart devices: it’s all on tap for 2016 and beyond.

CI Staff

The new year is of course, a time for reflection, but more importantly, it’s a time to look ahead. That’s why everybody makes resolutions before midnight on December 31. It’s the perfect opportunity to take stock of the year that was and how you can improve for next year.

The same is true for businesses. No time is better than now to not only review where you’ve been in 2015, but also to strategize for the year to come and all the changes that are in store.

As we head into 2016, the digital signage industry is healthier than it’s been in years, which means there are also more opportunities for customers to use technology in new and innovative ways. It’s not just about corporate communications, menu boards, and kiosks anymore. New technologies, solutions, ideation and the continued growth of systems platforms mean there are more ways than ever to exploit digital signage to its fullest potential. So what will the key trends be in 2016?

Targeting Your Audience

One of the biggest trends we will see next year is truly smarter signage and intelligent content delivery. While in 2015 we saw many attempts at this, in 2016 expect organizations to double down their efforts to integrate intelligent advertising and signage systems within their digital signage initiatives. 

Instead of just filling in spaces with random ads and content, organizations will truly deliver content based on the interactions and characteristics of their audience and market. These technologies will allow companies to target their audience as they move throughout their days with hyper-specific content that’s both localized and personalized to their interests and activities.

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An explosion of apps developed in recent years is allowing customers to interact constantly with retailers. Data can be gathered about them through everything from beacons to RFID to facial detection systems, which can then trigger content that is both of interest and relevant to them.

Related: Airports Tap Digital Signage to Improve Travelers’ Experience

Some large retailers are geo-tracking customers and deploying appropriate content as they walk through the store – with information about promotions or coupons that they can access through their mobile devices for products frequently purchased as well as complimentary goods already in their shopping carts.

Will 2016 be the year that the industry achieves programmatic buying? Are we at the tipping point for the DOOH industry? Will beacons, RFID, and other triggers be actively deployed to increase engagement? Exciting possibilities.

Engage Your Customers and Employees

Increasingly, customers are able to interact with digital signage on their mobile devices through their social media accounts. It’s becoming common, for example, for ballparks to display a message asking fans to tweet photos while at the game, along with a hashtag including the team’s name.

Moments later, those photos appear on the large LED scoreboard, creating a fun, engaging fan experience that also helps build the team’s brand and even allows for future target marketing to the consumer.

event page of the DSF website.

Richard Ventura is Vice President of Business Development and Solutions for NEC Display Solutions of America, managing the focus on developing new business and strategies for key vertical markets. He is responsible for the growth and market penetration of NEC’s award winning portfolio of products, as well as responsible for development of new go-to-market strategies and products for the solutions market Rich is a long standing member of many organizations within the digital signage industry and is the incoming 2016 Vice Chair of the Digital Signage Federation.

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