How Blockchain Transforms Digital Signage?
Blockchain might transform audience targeting tokenized advertising models, content rights protection and management, and decentralized digital signage applications.
Experts, facts, and real-world cases depict the disruptive potential of the blockchain and the challenges of adoption.
We need to understand blockchain to understand how it will impact the signage sector.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain aims to perpetuate the distribution of digital information through a network of computers without duplicating or modifying the information.
It is decentralized, transparent, and, by definition, secure.
Bitcoin has made blockchain technology a very far-famed technology that powers cryptocurrencies. Besides, blockchain has more potential use cases in recording transactions and data.
Here are some statistics….
ResearchAndMarkets.com projects that the digital signage industry will experience rapid growth, reaching over $26 billion globally by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% between 2023 and 2028.
According to Precision Reports, in 2021, the worldwide digital signage software market was worth $6435 million. By 2027, analysts predict that it will have grown to a value more than $12000 million.
Digital signage focuses on electronic displays that present advertisements, menus, notices, weather updates, transport schedules, and a variety of other things in public venues such as malls, airports, transit stations, and sidewalks.
Can Blockchain Be A Revolution?
Could blockchain technology be a revolutionary tool that will bring changes even beyond the level of interactivity of digital signage, which is today closely connected to the web?
Believably, the digital signage industry can be revolutionized by blockchain technology, which is a decentralized and open system.
Indeed, using a trustworthy, immutable ledger, blockchain enhances the integrity and efficiency of digital ad trading.
According to the report by Grand View Research, the global digital signage market reached USD 21.49 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% during the period from 2021 to 2028.
Growth can be promoted by the integration of blockchain, which enables advertisers and content creators to confirm ad delivery and audience engagement in real-time, as well as provide trusted data analytics and fraud reduction.
The Blockchain Council’s research shows that blockchain’s smart contracts can automate the payment processes of the digital signage industry, making workflow easier and reducing overhead costs.
This technology will also allow advertisers to communicate directly with the owners of the venues, thus eliminating middlemen and resulting in targeted and efficient advertising campaigns.
How Blockchain Could Transform Digital Signage?
There are several keyways that blockchain could disrupt the digital signage industry:
- Improved Targeting through Audience Metrics
Blockchain enables fully transparent and tamper-proof data collection and analytics.
Digital signage screens with blockchain could leverage much more precise information about customer demographics, purchasing behavior, and engagement.
This data can be made available to advertisers and venues via decentralized apps to enable better targeting and optimization of ads and messaging.
Blockchain-enabled screens would make high-quality analytics the standard across the network.
- New Digital Advertising Models are Extremely Beneficial
Blockchain also facilitates the new tokenized advertising models.
Display advertisers could pay for venues using cryptocurrency via smart contracts that reward the impressions.
Venues could then pay the media publishers and even audiences.
This creates a transparent digital out-of-home advertising (OOH) ecosystem that better rewards attention and enables permission-based data sharing.
- Anti-Piracy & Content Protection
With the blockchain’s immutable ledger, it also becomes far easier to establish ownership rights and distribution contracts for any digital content displayed.
Music, videos, and other media can be tokenized as unique digital assets.
It would be very easy to identify any unauthorized use across the network.
This helps content creators with better control and monetize their work when showcased in public venues.
- Decentralized App Platform
A global, decentralized network of connected digital signage screens also becomes a very ideal platform for blockchain-based apps.
Developers could build engaging experiences like multi-player games, interactive maps, and responsive art on the displays.
Participants could earn rewards, and studios could achieve a wider distribution of apps.
The blockchain integration makes it much easier to manage digital rights, access, payments, and data flows at each screen location.
Already, gaming leader Animoca Brands has acquired digital property rights in the gaming and metaverse industries, to capitalize on blockchain development opportunities in Australia.
Industry Opinions on Blockchain are Abundantly Promising.
Here’s what the experts have to say….
“Retailers today understand that many customers are doing research online prior to entering a store to make a purchase. The challenge for retailers is to provide the same level of customer experience in the store as the consumer is finding online.
The same is true for retail banking, restaurants and hotels. Scala selected BT as its global provider for immersive intelligent digital experience because of its global networking capabilities and its deep expertise in the retail industry.
BT is already a provider of Scala-based solutions supporting customers world-wide and delivers innovation and rich content services, from media production through to fully managed multinational end-to-end support, in various sectors all around the world.” said Tom Nix, CEO of Scala.
“Businesses are continually looking for ways to enhance the customer experience, drive loyalty and increase sales. Research shows that digital technologies influence 36 percent or $1.1 trillion of in-store sales. Successful retailers must therefore blend digital and physical worlds so that customers have the same amazing experience however and wherever they shop.
From intelligent fitting rooms to digital displays where the content is triggered and personalized by age, race and gender, there is a lot to choose and it is a real challenge for businesses to choose the right technology, make everything work seamlessly as they expand worldwide.” Remarked Hubertus von Roenne, Vice President, Global Industry Practices, BT.
However, providers are beginning to make significant moves in this direction.
“The OOH industry is evolving quickly in terms of technology and data. Education is critical to ensuring buyers and sellers take advantage of the latest advancements to maximize campaign impact. Broadsign is proud to have been the founding partner of doohx and the impact that it has made on OOH, and we look forward to this next wave of community and industry education,” said Liseanne Gillham, Vice President of Marketing at Broadsign.
It will open up the opportunity for new revenue streams that didn’t exist in the DOOH (Digital Out Of Home) before.
So, while blockchain integration faces challenges, clearly there is a major interest in better leveraging data and enabling automation for digital signage.
Over the coming decade, we may well see blockchain transform digital out-of-home advertising into an online-style transparent, targeted, and accountable ecosystem, creating value for brands, publishers, venues, and audiences alike.
The fact that blockchain is expected to revolutionize the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising industry is gaining more and more attention due to the possibility of introducing transparency, targeting, and accountability that are typical for online advertising models.
The possible impact of blockchain technology on DOOH is the facilitation of ad delivery verification, an increase in the quality of audience participation metrics, and the establishment of a more direct link between advertisers and space owners – thus reducing fraud and enhancing campaign efficiency.
In this regard, we are already seeing how the integration of emerging technologies such as QR codes, AI, and the metaverse into DOOH advertising improves targeting and engagement, making ads more interactive and personalized.
According to the projections of Allied Market Research, DOOH market growth is likely to reach $58.67 billion by 2031 from $18.80 billion in 2020, supported by the adoption of AI technologies, which help to adjust ad placements and content personalization in real time.
This article provides an overview of how blockchain could revolutionize the digital signage industry, touching on key opportunities like improved audience targeting, some new tokenized advertising models, better content rights protection and management, as well as enabling decentralized apps.
