DIGITAL SIGNAGE & THE ANIMIST IN ME

I am a big fan of Music Think Tank--a blog that has been generating some very constructive dialog about the future of the music business from a diverse cast of writers for some time now. My favorite writer happens to be Bruce Warlia. A brief post of his called "Keep Shooting HD Music Video and Related Material" caught my eye back in November. The post got me thinking about the explosive growth that the digital signage industry is going to experience over the next few years.

Audio & music go hand in hand with video and I get excited thinking about the mass-exposure potential for music and other multi-media art. I thinking here about retail establishments, bars, music venues, art houses, cafes, etc. Messages / markets are targeted and the need to post fliers or other print media is also reduced. I saw a post recently (I can't find it right now!) that had pictures of stackable LCD cube screens, similar to the ones used in sporting areas, configured in a unique concert stage set-up. The creative, educational, or artistic potential for this increasingly accessible technology is exciting.

However the animist in me is disgusted by what this means for billboards--on highways and in our parks, scenic areas, and neighborhoods. Saint Paul has the most billboards of any city in Minnesota with 561. Although, it should be noted that one of the many reasons I enjoy working downtown Saint Paul is its character--no billboards, Victorian Architecture, and a few red-brick streets & intersections. Compare that description with the much more vibrant, yet more aggressive, downtown Minneapolis landscape--a pair of large digital signs at 7th and Hennepin, lazerbeam-focus speakers pumping muzak from restaurants & hotspots, lots of bright lights & billboards, and a post-modern blend of various architectural styles. Sure its got it goin' on, but downtown Saint Paul just feels like home to me.

Of course I still see billboards everyday. The pro-life ones near my house are particularly dreadful. The "We Buy Ugly Homes" signs are exceptionally ugly. They are a considerable eyesore and serious blight to the environment as well. I think it is safe to say that an abundance of outdoor digital billboards would have even more intrusive and detrimental effect on our culture, collective mental well-being, and sense of community.

Veteran media producer Ossian Or has become a regular over the past few months at DEMO's weekly showcases at the Saint Paul Eagles Club. Ossian's public access show about Minnesota's music scene, SearchMode TV, won an MMA in 2006 for "Best Minnesota-Produced Visual Media" from the now-defunct Minnesota Music Academy. I mention him, because I recently discovered that he's also the executive director of an advocacy organization called Scenic Minnesota that is working toward establishing a moratorium on digital billboard construction and having the State return to local authorities the power to amortize property. There is a sense of urgency in their mission as it is estimated that 500-million connected screens will be in the market by 2013--Ossian briefly mentioned being partly inspired by seeing giant digital billboards already installed in downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I'd urge any fellow Minnesotan to check out their site and /or donate HERE. Vermont, Hawaii, Alaska, and Maine all prohibit billboards entirely.

At any rate, the overall digital signage industry will continue to grow, regardless of the fate of outdoor advertising in Minnesota. For more, about the technology involved check out the slideshow below.

Digital Signage in Arts And Entertainment

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