Vol. 3, No. 6 | January 17, 2008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Industry News [[HOT TOPIC]] 2008: The Year of the Sign Though many of us may still be hungover from celebrating the arrival of the New Year just a few weeks back, some revelry remains to be had. Not until February 7th does the official Chinese New Year kick in, and 2008 happens to be The Year of the Rat -- admittedly, not the most pleasant of symbols one would want to imagine when doing business the next 365 days. So, taking a page from the Chinese, SBI Update would like to announce that the SBI New Year officially begins today, January 17th, and we hereby declare 2008 The Year of the Sign. So break out those noisemakers and funny hats one more time; pop open a bottle of bubbly, and plant another New Year's kiss on your nearest loved one (but please stay out of Times Square...), cuz it's party time! In 2008, The Year of the Sign will see growth in several markets already flourishing pre-SBINY (SBI New Year). Digital signage will continue to offer advertisers and sign makers a flexible platform for expression, creativity, and easy/constant/economical changeability (check out the next Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas on February 27th). If you don't believe us, just check out the final two news items below: "Digital Billboards Displayed Iowa Caucus Results Live" and "AzureFire Opens Hospitality Industry-Focused Digital Signage Division." Digital printing equipment and supplies, for creating banners, posters, and other media, will maintain as a profitable market, with technological advances and new products seeping into the industry. Channel letters, LED, RIP software, panel saws, wayfinding, adhesives -- hey, it's a large industry, and there are many roads to success. The Year of the Sign will also be a big one for vehicle graphics. This industry segment seems to be sweeping the nation like Chubby Checker doing The Twist. Every sign shop out there should take notice: get trained, get good, get profits from this market. It's hot! For more on getting started or getting better or getting ahead in the vehicle graphic business, check out SBI's supplement publication, Vehicle Graphics 101 available in digital form here: Vehicle Graphics 101. And for some hands-on education, go to www.sgia.org to find information on the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association's next Vehicle Wrap Workshop scheduled for March 3 - 4. We invite you, our readers, to join in celebrating The Year of the Sign in 2008. Make some changes in your business practices; improve one thing a day; strive to be attentive and adaptable to this constantly changing sign industry of ours. And if you're too stubborn to do all that, you can always revert back to the Chinese New Year come 2009 -- The Year of the Ox. LED Advertising Hits Vending Machines In this burgeoning era of digital advertising, every LED screen is a potential venue for ads. Enter the next frontier in digital advertising space: the vending machine. According to Amonline.com, Phoenix, Arizona-based MB Media Brokers is working on the first phase of a national network of digital screen message boards on vending machines. Currently, there are one hundred snack machines in greater Phoenix that have digital screens running LED text messages of stock reports, public service announcements, and even paid advertising. The project is two years in the making by company owner David Levine, a former vending operator. Earlier attempts on LED vending advertising occurred in 2005, when a company called The Media Stores attempted to sell advertising on video display screens mounted on vending machines, according to the online journal. The Media Stores also marketed compact video discs in glassfront machines. That company has since ceased operations. Another company, Automated Vending Technologies, a vending equipment manufacturer and technology provider, has also conducted field testing for machines that have built-in, video display screens using LCDs. While working with vending machines, Levine considered selling ads on Lexan machine fronts, but found this method impractical, deciding a digital screen would work best since it could be changed remotely. When he saw a digital screen displayed in a store, he realized it would translate well to a vending machine. Levine came across a remote-controlled LED sign at a retail store, and recognized that it would be fairly simple to retrofit such a sign in a vending machine. "I knew this would work well because the LED came with a wireless remote, so if I had to change a message, I wouldn�t have to do it from inside the machine," he told the journal. "I instructed my vending machine repairman to wire the sign directly into the power supply and hang it on the door." The LED screen Levine uses is about 26 inches wide, 3.9 inches deep, and 1.8 inches thick. It fits just across the bottom of a five-column snack machine and is attached with Velcro. Levine is also working on a screen for a four-column snack machine that will be about twenty-one inches wide. "Installing the LED screen was not easy; we spent several months to ensure that product would not jam inside the machine, and developed a proprietary LED shield for this purpose," he told the online journal. -- Lori Andreozzi Digital Billboards Displayed Iowa Caucus Results Live For the first time, Iowans were able to see the results of the Iowa caucuses as they happened, thanks to the latest technology in outdoor advertising. According to a press release from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), digital billboards across the state provided real-time election results from the January 3rd caucuses. As precincts began reporting, the three candidates receiving the most votes from each party had their names and vote percentages displayed on digital billboards placed along roads and highways throughout the state. Because digital billboards are changed electronically, the percentages and relative places of the candidates were updated instantly. The digital billboards ran live throughout the evening. "We are very excited to provide a valuable service to the people of Iowa," said Jim Schumacher, Outdoor Advertising Association of Iowa president. "This new technology lets us provide this important information as it happens to the hundreds of thousands of people who see these billboards." The digital billboards went live shortly after the caucuses opened and were updated every seven to ten minutes until the winners were declared, when the boards switched to a winner graphic. As soon as a winner was declared in each party's race, the digital billboards displayed a message announcing the victorious candidate as well as an image of the politician. The digital billboards were utilized in cities throughout Iowa, including Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Dubuque. According to the OAAA, similar displays will be used for upcoming caucuses in South Carolina and Michigan. AzureFire Opens Hospitality Industry-Focused Digital Signage Division AzureFire Digital Signage announced the opening of their new Hospitality Digital Signage division in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to founder Helmut Kuhn, "The division was created to help industry clientele capitalize on a technology that can truly take them to the next level via content-rich, highly flexible, customized advertising." According to a press release from PRWEB, one of the key advantages of digital signage in the hospitality industry, says Kuhn, is that guests receive valuable, up-to-the-minute information on entertainment, special events, products, and services right at the moment they are making buying decisions. Kuhn believes the digital signage revolution is just getting underway. The technology driving digital signage and its infinite applications is growing at break-neck speed to meet the ever-growing demand for fresh, innovative and cost-effective means of communication and information distribution. In fact, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, Inc., the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry, forecasts digital advertising to reach $3 billion by 2010. Las Vegas, considered by many to be the country's digital signage capital, is setting the pace and raising the bar when it comes to new usages for the technology. Early adopters of digital signage, such as major Las Vegas casinos, have proven that digital signage is an exceptionally effective, targeted and impactful form of marketing, as well as a potential new revenue source, according to Kuhn. "At Hospitality Digital Signage, we make the process simple for clients," Mara comments, adding, "We create a very user-friendly, customized system that our clients can either purchase and maintain themselves; buy and let us handle the network operation and content; or lease and we maintain the entire system and content." Once the system is installed, it is simple for even the most non-technical person to log into a fully secure system and make text changes and post messages, which is an exceptional benefit when real-time messaging is imperative. Postings can be made from a cell phone, iPhone, web browser or sophisticated, integrated automation systems. Content may be mixed with announcements of specific events, live feeds: news and entertainment, stock updates, sports, weather; or any content the client desires. Projects of virtually any size and scale are possible. And, thanks to a very efficient, AzureFire-designed software template, estimating a custom digital signage system only takes a few minutes. "We're not just selling hardware," Kuhn says adamantly, "We're offering a turn-key package - a complete system including custom content - that allows clients to benefit from this rapidly advancing technology and our expansive array of creative development resources. It's our ultimate goal to show clients the immeasurable creative marketing potential intrinsic in digital signage."
New Appointments
SIGNARAMA has appointed Jim Tatem president. Tatem has been with the company since 1986, most recently in the position of vice president of training and global director. SIGNARAMA is part of the United Franchise Group (UFG), specialist in franchise development and services. The franchise's co-founder and previous president, Ray Titus, will now serve as chief executive officer for UFG and its brands.
SA International (SAi),
a provider of software solutions for the professional sign making, digital printing, proofing and CAD/CAM for CNC manufacturing industries, announces the appointment of Sarit Tichon to Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales. FASTSIGNS International, Inc., a sign and graphics franchisor with over 525 locations worldwide, has named Chris Brooks vice president of creative services. In addition, Brian Wieters has been promoted to director of franchise development, and Stephen Bigelow has been promoted to director of operations.
Meetings and Events
JANUARY January 28 - 30: Laminating & Finishing: Profits in Post-Print Finishing. The SGIA presents a hands-on workshop in roller lamination, liquid lamination, and post-print finishing applications, to be held at SGIA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. Read complete workshop details and register at: http://www.sgia.org/training_and_education/SGIA_workshops/laminating/DailyAgenda.cfm
FEBRUARY
345 Hudson St., 12th Floor • New York, NY 10014 212-620-7200
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LED Vending Machine Ads
