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Friday, January 12, 2007

Digital Signage in the Seventies?

This article from Ryerson University's unofficial student newspaper (nice site, BTW) mentions how Scala digital signage is being used to keep the students informed. Most interesting, however, is the reference to a system they implemented in the 1970s, long before Scala came about:

Brad Fortner, the RCC program director of operations & technology, who is responsible for the RCC screens said, “My hope in reestablishing Scala (news system) in the RCC was that Ryerson would enter as whole, take common information and move it to a central screen and another screen that is local.”

Fortner said that in the seventies, Ryerson had news feeds in a wheel that included 6” by 4” cards with messages that were taped with a camera, then broadcast to the campus. They were presented on screens at every entrance and every main office. However, during cutbacks in the 1980s, the system was abolished. “I thought the effect of the message system then was to bring a sense of community.”

“Without a coordinated messaging system it’s really difficult to promote (information) across campus and it would be pretty easy to put that in place.”

If I recall correctly, my college had Scala running on the campus cable channel in the mid-1990s, which played in many locations throughout campus as well as in anyone's dorm who could afford a television :-) It was actually a very handy way to get campus announcements and was probably one of the most watched channels when severe weather might lead to cancelled classes.

As for Ryerson, one student quoted in the article states that the screens seem unlikely to influence purchases, but we know that 75% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sale....

Tags: digital signage | narrowcasting | Scala

posted by Steve Elsner   # 1/12/2007 08:45:00 AM

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