Digital Broadcasting

For one of my first posts, I wrote about the importance of having the right digital signage hardware and software and compared them to the Wonder Twins. (And ironically enough, that post is found more often than others in Google search. Thank you Wonder Twins.)

And a year later, the message still holds strong. Without the right software, LCD screens are worthless. And without the right hardware, digital signage software does you no good.

So you have some decisions to make. You have to think about how often you're going to be using your LCD or...Read More »

As digital signage practitioners, we all spend a lot time and energy explaining to our customers why digital signage is “not TV” – yet the brand marketers, network operators, or corporate communicators all seem to naturally call it “[something, something] TV." [Insert Brand Name, Store Name, School Name, Company Name etc.]

Digital signage networks differ from broadcast or cable TV for a long list of reasons.  For digital signage:

• The audiences are not captive;
• The content must always be relevant and localized;
• The business objective for the...

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My background in internal communications has largely been in the manufacturing environment. When I would attend various corporate communication shows, i would be envious of several communicators. They would complain about why their employees wouldn't read emails.

I wish my coworkers even had email.

But this envy only lasted a few seconds. I enjoyed the challenge of not being able to rely on the easy communication methods. It's hard work reaching employees who don't live in Cubicle World (it's a real place - I've seen it). You can't shoot off an...Read More »

When you hear "SOMETHING in a box," what comes to mind? Every thing's there? Every thing's included? No muss, no fuss. (But for some, a certain Saturday Night Live sketch may also come to mind.)

Anyways, our Digital Sign in a Box delivers true plug-and-play features to the digital signage world. No servers. No mystery black boxes. No wires or cables. No IT. To the naked eye, it really your network won't look much different than a simple set of LCD screens.

So here are the top five advantages of our Digital Sign in a Box technology:

1. A commercial...

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Growing up, I couldn't tell you how many times I heard that when I was a kid. AND it was always an annoyance because it seemed interrupt my GI Joe cartoons. And thankfully, it always only seemed to be a test. But the Emergency Broadcast System was in place a valuable crisis communication tool, giving the government the ability to alert communities if there was a crisis at hand.

We are now giving that same ability to MediaTile digital signage network operators. Just announced last week, users can now implement what's called an Emergency Media... Read More »

"Is it easy to manage the content for the screens?"

This is a consistent question I get from prospective customers pretty routinely. It's an understandable concern. People don't want to start a new process or tool that's a pain to manage. Just yesterday I met with a development company who has a marketing staff of one. They don't want their one resource "to be wasting time with the network."

And just as I told them and now telling you, I know first-hand how easy it is since I once managed my own MediaTile digital signage network. It is...Read More »

I'm a bit behind on my magazine reading, having just now read the pre-tournament edition of Sporting News. But last night I caught up on the March-April 2009 issue of IABC's Communication World.

There was some interesting info in this issue. IABC, in conjunction with Mercer Consulting, gobbled up feedback from the worldwide membership to better understand how the economic downtown is affecting corporate communication professionals.

There were many interesting highlights of the survey, but the one I want to focus on is how companies are...Read More »

With the launch of Mediacast 4.0, we added a new feature that's going to be huge for all of our MediaTile customers, including those running employee communications networks. With the previous broadcast portal (our online digital signage software), you could preview individual piees of content separately, but NOT your full playlists of multi-zone playlists.

But now with Mediacast you can.


This preview feature will give you a "live" look at what your viewers would be seeing on their screens. What you see above is a three-zone layout, which...Read More »

This morning I read this very insigtful article on IndustryWeek titled, "Making the Case for Employee Recognition in Tough Times." Frankly, the headline speaks for itself, but here's some interesting data presented in the article:

• Companies that manage people right will outperform companies that don't by 30% to 40%
• 97% of managers agreed or strongly agreed that recognition improves morale
• 98% of managers felt recognition improved people's sense of belonging and increased their levels of commitment

The article went on to point out that only about...Read More »

This post just goes to show that you never know when you'll be inspired with a blog topic.

Last night, I tripped across VH-1's countdown of the top 100 songs of the 90s. I'm a sucker for countdown shows like that. On came MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This." I forgot how much of a phenomenon that song was. I didn't have any baggy pants, but that's not to say I didn't want them. Though there were a few cool kids in Springboro who did.

So you're probably asking yourself what does MC Hammerhave to do with digital signage? The song "U Can't Touch...Read More »