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Heading to NRF Retail’s Big Show

Posted by admin on January 7th, 2010 No Comments

Our bags are packed, extra layers of clothing will be worn (we are from Texas…) and we are headed to the National Retail Federation’s Big Show which starts Monday, January 11th, continuing through January 13th. We invite you to join us at the Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center in New York City. If you are planning to attend, we’ll be in booth #2164. If you are in New York and haven’t made plans yet, have no fear as we have some complimentary free passes so that you can be a part.

In case you didn’t know, Starmount will launch Marquis, a new digital signage solution at the NRF. Read the rest of this entry »

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In the spirit of giving…

Posted by admin on December 22nd, 2009 1 Comment

As the end of a busy, challenging yet successful year comes to an end, Starmount employees pulled through with another important goal that we set for ourselves. This time the goal wasn’t a product launch or a successful software implementation, instead our goal was to help those not as fortunate this holiday season. Collectively, our team here in Austin came together and raised money and gathered boxes of canned food items for the Capital Area Food Bank.

Our employees raised $555 in cash to donate and that $555 was then matched by our company which means we collectively gave $1110 to families in need this holiday season. Sometimes, we may take our day to day life and lifestyles for granted, but as someone who has visited homes like the ones that Capital Area Food Bank provides assistance for, I know what an impact even a little help can have on a family in need.
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Software as a Service, really!

Posted by JoseVega on December 21st, 2009 No Comments

Before I start, I believe a short introduction is in order. I’m a software engineer but those that know me will tell you that I’m probably the least techie person they’ve known. I’ve even been called a technophobe by my son since I still own AND program my VCR at home, and will probably never own an iPhone or similar since I’m the guy with the “Don’t touch my screen” sign on my laptop – and I mean it! And yet, here I am writing my first blog entry ever…

I’ve been writing software for about 20 years, implementing retail solutions for the last 12 years, one year in between implementing web sites for non-profit organizations, and yet I’ve never been as touched by a potential client’s visit as I was a couple of weeks ago.

In the span of a couple of days we visited a pediatric ward busting at the seams, and a family clinic’s pharmacy. The pediatric ward experience is almost impossible to describe. It was truly one of those times where “you had to be there”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Digital Signage and Electronic Price Tag System

Posted by admin on December 4th, 2009 1 Comment

I read an interesting article today entitled “Altierre: Bringing Retail Industry to the Digital Age” concerning new technology for the retail industry. The company, Altierre, has developed a retail digital price tag system that employs shelf-level digital tags that communicate with a store server over a wireless infrastructure.

The tags in the Altierre system are wireless LCD display devices that can be placed on shelves like normal price tags. Since the Altierre system is fully networked, pricing and promotion data can be generated for all stores at the retail headquarters and downloaded to each store. At the local store, the Altierre system takes over and automatically sends the data ‘over the last mile,’ so to speak, over its wireless platform to the RF Display Tags. The system makes dynamic pricing and promotion a reality, giving the flexibility to change the price of any product in one or all of the stores in a chain, based on store traffic, season and competitive strategies. As an example, the tags let retailers launch promotions such as ‘Buy One, Get One Free’ almost instantly. At the local store level, with the click of a mouse, a grocery store manager could drop prices for a happy hour sale, and just as easily with another click return prices back to normal just in time for the dinner rush.

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Unearth the Holy Grail for DOOH

Posted by admin on December 1st, 2009 No Comments

Holy Grail I read an interesting article on Digital Signage Insights concerning the future of digital-out-of-home (DOOH). The article poses the question “Why can’t the next great media company emerge from the digital out-of-home space?”

For years digital signage vendors have focused their attention on developing powerful digital signage software that accommodates small networks through large enterprise deployments. The number of companies that exist in this space is amazing, approximately 300 or more by some accounts. However, as all of us in the industry know, the technology is evolving very quickly and just providing a digital signage product that facilitates placing text, graphics, and video on digital screens is no longer enough to compete in the industry – the bar is rising. Vendors have to consider online, social media, mobile, place-based media, user-generated content, hand-held devices, and wireless to be competitive.

The article goes on to say that “it’s critical to leverage the fullness of the medium while paying attention to, and planning for, our shifting media landscape. The DOOH industry cannot be looked at as though it were outside of the sphere of other media properties. It isn’t a separate entity. It is a piece of a robust ecosystem, in which symbiotic relationships foretell success.”

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Platt Retail Institute Predicts a Growing Digital Signage Market

Posted by admin on November 25th, 2009 2 Comments

graph_dotsI received the PRI Q4 North American Digital Signage Index from my friends at the Platt Retail Institute. I applaud the work Steven Platt and his colleagues are doing for the industry. They provide measurable research on the digital signage industry allowing industry providers to predict the direction of the market. Nice job!

The comprehensive report highlights the continued growth of the digital signage industry and predicts a bright future for the next 6 months or so. PRI indicates that the digital signage Index has grown 10.83% from Q2 to Q3 2009 indicating a demand for digital signage products and services. Looking at the Near-Term Index PRI, an increase of 15.12% indicates an optimistic outlook for the industry for the next 3 to 6 months. Increases in index components like planned capital expenditures and hiring indicate that companies are ready to invest in the anticipated growth. Specifically, the digital signage software industry growth from Q2 to Q3 was 18.25% and predicted increase for the next 3 to 6 months is 37.69%.

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Digital Signage for Every Segment of the Market

Posted by admin on November 17th, 2009 No Comments

every-segmentI read a whitepaper from Scala entitled “A Digital Signage Solution for Every Company Regardless of Size or Budget“. The paper explores the different segments of the marketplace and how specialized hardware solutions can be effectively utilized to address the range of market segments. Unfortunately the paper is a sale’s collateral as opposed to an objective evaluation of the market segments but the meat of the paper identifies the necessity for different solutions for the myriad of digital signage customers.

The paper talks about the concept of “value for the money corridor” – the best hardware solution for the various customers employing digital signage. On a chart that maps cost vs. platform capability the lowest cost and lowest capability is the photo frame. Scala is using the IAdea Photo Frame.

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Discussion about DOOH or Digital Signage

Posted by admin on October 23rd, 2009 No Comments

doohThere is an ongoing discussion in the blogosphere concerning the name of digital signage. Some claim that the term digital signage doesn’t fit the ad-based digital signage networks – they prefer Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH). However, to most, DOOH doesn’t fit the implementation of digital signage in corporate communications, education, public spaces, transportation, etc.

I remember going through this discussion several years ago when the technology was referred to by a myriad of names including: narrowcasting, captured audience, digital posters, corporate TV, etc. Back then POPAI took on the chore of developing some guidelines and specifications on the naming characteristics of the technology. These standards and more can be found on the POPAI Digital Signage website.

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Digital Signage: Needs to become Mission Critical in the Retail Industry

Posted by admin on October 19th, 2009 No Comments

According to the study, “Marketing & Media Ecosystem 2010,” a joint effort by the Association of National Advertisers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and management consulting firm Booz, Allen, Hamilton, 51 percent of respondents identified limited experience with digital media. The study indicated that fewer than 25 percent of respondents to a recent study of marketers, agencies and media companies said their organizations were “digitally savvy,” while more than 90 percent reported they plan to increase what they spend on their digital marketing efforts. The disparity highlights the inherent problem with advertising on digital signage networks.

As I have said in the past and continues to be true today is one of the serious impairments to growth of the digital signage industry is the fact that retailers do not recognize digital signage as a mission critical application. Because of this, retailers who are considering digital signage are easily convinced to delay the implementation of digital signage networks when the economy or other internal business issues are encountered.

This intrigues me because studies of digital signage deployments around the world have indicated that over 90+ percent of customers who travel through a store recognize digital signage advertising and are attracted by the ads displayed on the screens. Up-sale of products and services, due to digital promotions and focused in-store advertising, has increased as much as 35+ percent is various retail locations around the world. Other studies have indicated that from 50 to 70 percent, depending on the research you read, of customers make purchase decisions while they walk through the store.

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Role-Based Administration of Digital Signage Networks

Posted by admin on October 14th, 2009 No Comments

By: Richard Trask, VP Marketing

administratorI read a very interesting article on the Digital Signage Blog entitled 6 Reasons Why Role-Based Administration is Essential to Digital Signage Success. The article’s premise is that network operators should look to the future and consider issues of security and accountability when they implement their digital signage networks.

Role-based administration can mean different things to different people. For the purpose of this article, role-based administration is the ability to carve up a single server, giving separate administrative access to separate users for similar and separate networks and the content running on the network.

Think about how businesses operate and the levels of accountability that exists within the company. This level of accountability should also manifest itself in the deployment of players, creation of playlists, and the delivery of content throughout the network. The ability to manage a subset of the content or playlist and have it approved by a network manager is critical to the integrity of the network. Read the rest of this entry »

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