I moved to San Francisco in 1999, ground zero for the dot com boom. WebTV was the future of network TV, Kozmo.com delivered just about anything you wanted for free, I couldn’t switch over a TV channel without seeing the Pets.com sock poppet and “convergence” was the next big thing on everyone’s business plan. We all know how that ended.
But let’s revisit convergence for
a moment: it promised to bring together technologies into one easy to use
medium, converging your home computer and TV into one user-friendly device. Ten years later and we’re still
struggling with this concept and despite great technological leaps of consumer –friendly
electronics such as Apple TV, Netfilx ready devices and Hulu, it’s still one
way traffic: you order, they deliver, end of story. But, of course as soon as
you figure out one business plan some smart, young entrepreneur comes up with
Facebook or Twitter and you’re scrambling around trying to figure out how to
integrate them into your business model. Now, I believe, is the perfect time
for the DOOH industry to take the lead in developing an out of home convergence
strategy.
Simply pushing content out to screens and hoping consumers notice will inevitably lead to viewer fatigue; if something’s not holding their interest, they’ll move on. Consumers are already looking for more interactivity with outdoor screens and unless we deliver them an experience that takes them beyond the screen some DOOH companies could suffer similar fates to the beloved Kozmo and pets.com. I see a future for digital out of home where screens are not just digital billboards but interactive opportunities. Advertisers will need to get savvy as to how to position their brands and messages for this platform and network providers will need to push their technologies to accommodate the medium.
When developing creative for DOOH I’m always thinking beyond the screen: how does what I’m creating relate to the world beyond this immediate viewing experience and what relevance does it have in mobile and social networking applications? Can I push consumers to mobile while they’re in a “wait” mode like a check out line, elevator or taxicab? What about scaleable, interactive screens in stores that link consumers to their social networking pages? How can brands take their Facebook or company blogs to digital out of home? How will DOOH screens eventually converge with mobile technology and what’s the optimum creative execution that’s going to engage the consumer? We may not have all the answers right now, but by asking the right kinds of questions our industry stays vibrant and relevant.
Right on Dylan! Thanks for the insight and taking charge of the conversation. Looking forward to reading more.
-Joshua
Posted by: Joshua Pollack | 07/10/2009 at 01:45 PM