The article, edited by Bill Yackey, follows:

LAS VEGAS — The buzzphrase of the first day of Digital Signage Expo seemed to be “small-to-medium businesses,” or customers that have only a small number of screens or deployments. There has always been a segment of the digital signage industry focused on this long-tail market, but the economy has no doubt lead even the big players in the digital signage industry to reconsider their target customers.

That was highly evident when Scala issued a press release this morning, announcing six new initiatives to “lower the barrier to entry to digital signage.” Most notable of the six is a partnership with FASTSIGNS, a traditional signage provider that announced in January that it is offering a packaged digital signage solution using NEC hardware and Scala software. FASTSIGNS CEO Catherine Monson said that in the six weeks since the product announcement, the company has received $2 million in quotes for the system.

Scala’s other initiatives consists of:

• A partnership with Frame Media to launch SignChannel, a new low-cost, self-service, easy to use, entry-level digital signage service based on wireless photo frame technology.

• Scala as a Service, a hosted version of Scala Content Manager that provides an online digital signage network for a monthly fee.

• The “Ultra Low Cost PC” (ULCPC), at approximately half the cost of traditional PCs.

• Support for several all-in-one devices that include a “PC built into the Screen” form factor.

• An initiative to support cost-effective video appliances (aka “MPEG Players”) reducing the total cost of ownership of both the hardware and software per Player.

Although NEC Display Solutions was highlighting its impressive 82-inch LCD and its ultra-thin bezel MultiSync X461UN for video walls, Mike Zmuda, director of business development, made a point to emphasize the release of NEC’s MultiSync 15 Series and the 46-inch LCD4615, designed for entry-level digital signage applications.

“You have to give up the thin bezel for the 15-series, and there is less firmware, but the 15-series easily allows the addition of touch overlays and protective panels at a cheap price,” Zmuda said.

In the sense that time is money, Omnivex’s next release of its Moxie software (due March 1) is engineered to save users time scheduling content using a system similar to iTunes’ Genius, where songs are given attributes and tags and play when those attributes are selected. Here digital signage content is given meta-tags and assigned to play based on the user selecting relevant tags.

Black Box Network Services has had the SMB customer in its mind all along, offering a complete digital signage solution and emphasizing its 24/7 tech support specific to digital signage. Although the company has more than 180,000 SKUs in its catalog, it showed the iCompel, a player designed for small deployments which comes with software already installed in the player. Brian Kutchma, director of marketing, also said that although the software is licensed, customers aren’t charged for future upgrades.

Check back to Digital Signage Today all this week for constant coverage of Digital Signage Expo. For live updates from the show floor, follow us on Twitter.

From the January 20, 2009 Marketwire website comes this VERY good article about why a business should use digital signage. The FASTSIGNS people are absolutely spot-on right!  (The words belong to FASTSIGNS; the bold-facing was done by me.)

Advertising is about communication and image, and nothing conveys those messages more affordably, flexibly or effectively than the right sign or graphic. The effective use of signs and graphics are an integral way to extend the value of an advertising campaign, especially in these economic times. From in-store posters to vehicle graphics, trade show graphics to floor graphics, promotional banners to special event signs, at client meetings and in prospective client presentations, signs and graphics are being used to reinforce advertising messages.

Because of their relatively low cost, long life, and 24-hour-a-day work ethic, signs can carry a marketing message to more people per dollar invested than almost any other medium. A well-designed, well-placed sign can generate tens or even hundreds of thousands of impressions per day for months or years at a time — and depending on the nature of the business and the type of sign selected, it could pay for itself with the very first customer it attracts. According to a survey of 2,475 shoppers by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 50% of those surveyed learned about a business from their on-premise sign.

“Signs and graphics affordably extend any advertising message,” says Drue Townsend, senior vice president of marketing with international sign and graphics franchisor FASTSIGNS International, Inc. “Signs can put your advertising message in front of the customer when and where they are ready to learn or buy. With today’s technology, virtually any wall, window, ceiling, vehicle, or floor surface can be turned into a work of marketing ‘art’ by simply utilizing a vibrant graphic.”

Ad agencies are increasingly using signs and graphics to extend the value of their clients’ campaigns and reinforce its message. Signs featuring large-format, full color graphics are powerful tools that grab the buyer’s attention, and help put the campaign in places beyond where television, radio, the internet and other media typically reach.

There are virtually no limits to what a good signage program can do for a business, organization or event. Keep these tips in mind when putting a signage plan into effect:

--  Make it memorable -- fast.  You only have a few seconds to attract
    attention. Limit the number of words and use full color, large format
    digital graphics to bring products or services to life to make the message
    more memorable.

--  Keep it simple.  A logo, a colorful representative image, and a
    message that gets right to the point are effective designs for impactful
    signs.

--  Add variety.  A good signage program isn't just a single sign. Carry a
    theme through all signs and graphics: on vehicles, on walls, the floor or
    windows, the side of the building, and more!
    

Bottom line… advertising is about communication and image. Implementing signs and graphics can help convey messages for any business, effectively and affordably.

FASTSIGNS® sign and graphics centers use innovation and technology to make the sign buying process fast and simple by offering consulting, design, production, file transfer, delivery and installation for a full range of custom sign and graphic products. For more information, visit www.fastsigns.com.