Digital signage is a form of electronic display that displays information, advertisements and other messages.

Digital signs (such as LCD, LED, plasma displays, or projected images) can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores and corporate buildings. It is usually controlled by a personal computer by means of a licensed software program, avoiding large capital outlays for control devices. Advertising using digital signage is a form of out-of-home advertising in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs with the general purpose of conveying targeted messages to a specific location at a specific time. This is often called digital out-of-home or DOOH for short.

The benefits of digital signage over static signs, in situations where changing signs are preferred over static signs, are that content can be exchanged more easily, animations can be displayed, and signs can adapt to context and audience. , even interactive. It can offer a high return on investment compared to promotional signs made from other substrates.

The Market and Its Applications

While digital signage is a term that has taken root in most of the world, some companies and organizations prefer to use the terms narrowcasting, "screen media", spot-based media, digital merchandising, digital media network, digital out-of-home or listener network. . China currently leads the world in displays of 400 digital signage deployed and the number of NASDAQ IPOs with the country's largest digital signage company, Focus Media Holding, operating more than 120,000 displays. Total revenue from the digital signage tools market in the United States -including hardware, software, installation, and maintenance -is expected to grow by approximately 33% in 2009. Digital signage is used for a variety of purposes and there is no definitive list. However, below are some of the most common applications of digital signage:

• General Information - news, weather and local (location specific) information, such as fire and travel information.
• Internal information - company messages, queues, health & safety, news, and more.
• Advertising - whether related to the location of the signage or simply using the screen reach audience for general advertising
• naming – in-store digital signage to promote brands and build brand identity
• Influence customer behavior - direct customers to a different area, increasing the residence time in the store premises
• Improved customer experience - applications include reduced waiting time experienced in restaurants waiting for a place to be seated and then order food or use a service, bank queues, etc., as well as recipe demonstrations in food stores
• Enhance the environment - with interactive screens or with dynamic wayfinding.

Technology used

Digital signage of an internet cafe and online game
Digital signage relies on a variety of hardware devices to deliver content. Components of a typical digital signage installation include one or more display screens, one or more media players, and a content management server. Sometimes two or more of these components are present in a single device, but usually there is a display, media player, and content management server connected to the media player via a network. One content management server can support multiple media players and one media player can support multiple screens. A standalone digital signage combines all three functions in a single device where no network connection is required.