Review: DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2009

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DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2009, presented in partnership with POPAI, the global association for marketing at retail, was held at the beginning of May at Messe Essen, Germany, once again alongside the world’s largest self-service show, KIOSK EUROPE EXPO 2009. The 2009 events consolidated the shows’ standing as an essential meeting point for industry experts and purchasing decision makers from around the globe.

The show was very well-attended, with almost 3,300 visitors – a particularly impressive feat given today’s market conditions. Moreover, there was a very strong proportion of end clients and an extremely high number of decision makers: two thirds of the visitors were decision makers, with managing directors making up 49% of the visitors, an increase of 30% over last year. By their own account, more than 60% of the visitors will install digital signage or self-service solutions within the next 12 months.
 
Jens Schindler, Managing Director of event organiser, hf media & events, commented, “It was particularly gratifying to see high-profile companies and brands, as well as several advertising and communications agencies, amongst the visitors. This shows that communications specialists have now recognised that digital customer information is a new communication channel, and will thus increasingly use digital signage and self-service strategically in the future.”
 
Particularly crowd-pulling solutions were Sharp’s 108” LCD monitor, which is the largest in the world, and Hyundai IT’s stereoscopic 3D display. Other exhibitors included 42MediaGroup, Bell Microproducts, Deutsche Telekom, Narcomm, NEC, Scala, Seen Media and Videro, to name just a few. Visitors were greeted at the entrance by Hyundai’s outdoor displays and Samsung’s video wall solution, and digital signage displays informed and guided visitors around the show, including live footage from the exhibition and the Forum.
 
The unstoppable growth of interactivity and digital signage was undeniable, with a wide range of different touchscreen technologies and solutions, as well as augmented reality-enhanced digital signage which brings products in a box to life. The INM-Institute for New Media and aurea hap.dig solutions presented real-time augmentations, three-dimensional digital models and other live customer interaction scenarios in the Futures Parlour to much interest and enthusiasm.
 
The Open Self-Service and Digital Signage Solutions Forum proved to be a runaway success this year, with its central location helping to draw visitors passing by in to learn about real life case studies and experiences. The drop-in, drop-out format made it very convenient for visitors to make the most of both the Forum and the exhibits. Talks which met with particular interest included a talk from Gregor Hickmann, T-Mobile, on the development of a telecom retail network with 5,000 digital signage installations across seven European countries, as well as a talk from Dr. Klaus Holger Kille from Blue Lava revealing highly compelling digital signage measurement study results from a German retailer, HIT Dohle. The results of an exciting new study into the environmental aspects of digital signage were announced by Hartmut Kulessa of Panasonic, who demonstrated how digital signage had been found to consume 7.5% less carbon than traditional poster signage (see page 12). In fact, this year the organisers offset all the carbon emissions from all visitors’ travel to the show.
 
The POPAI Digital Awards were conducted for the first time at DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2009 at the Content Centre in order to showcase good examples of digital signage solutions and raise public awareness of innovation and technological advancements. The finalists of six categories presented their project entries live at the Content Centre during the show and visitors were invited to vote on their favourite. Deutsche Telekom won an award for technology and sustainability for their Interactive City Light Display; Seen Media for best digital signage solution for their installation in an Audi showroom; MRM for content and creativity for Opel Insignia; Instore TV and TripleDoubleU for research at McDonalds and Vis-à-pix for best interactive solution, amongst others. Martin Eckardt, Head of Trade and Shopper Marketing at Kraft Foods, commented during his visit, “For me, the POPAI award area was one of the most interesting parts of the show. Here I could see a variety of excellent complete digital signage and interactive solutions, that give the non-expert an excellent impression of what can be accomplished at the point-of-purchase.”
 
Next year, DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO 2010 and KIOSK EUROPE EXPO 2010 will once again take place under the same roof from 15th – 17th June 2010.