# Research Indicates Digital Signage Is On The Right Track

Political watchers probably are familiar with this often-asked question -and even more often asked within an election year: Is the united states on the right track or the incorrect track?

I would propose that those who make their living communicating marketing messages, ads, information and even entertainment on digital signs should frequently ask themselves the same question. Is digital signage on the right track or wrong track? In other words, is digital signage a growing, vibrant communications medium that's headed in the right direction as a viable communications choice? Or, is it losing favor?


A new forecast from display market research specialists IHS iSuppli implies that, indeed, digital signage is on the right track, at least if its adoption is any indication. In line with the forecast, digital signage will see impressive growth.

Worldwide shipments of signage and professional displays this year will reach 17.2 million units, up from 15.4 million in 2011 and 13.5 million in 2010. For the year, the unit shipments will reach 12.6 percent, and by 2016 they are expected to attain nearly 26 million units, IHS iSuppli forecasts.

The study firm attributes the healthy growth to some factors, including a larger requirement for digital signs in public places spaces and the rapidly declining price of LCD panels.

The IHS iSuppli forecast also identifies the biggest digital sign markets for 2011. They include retail, hospitality/healthcare and government/corporate. The forecast also finds the education, outdoor and control room/simulation markets to be important.

Why are those with an email to communicate increasingly adopting digital signage? A few reasons are clear. First, digital signage has the initial ability to attain the public with clear, impactful communications when they are on the go.

Second, because it is a place-based medium, digital sign communicators can identify areas to locate signs that likely is likely to be frequented by their target audience. Like, a restaurateur has a very good idea that the people entering the restaurant have eating on their minds, and the registrar of a college knows students entering the administration building at the beginning of the semester are likely enthusiastic about class registration information.

Third, digital signs offer communicators the chance to change messaging frequently -at little to no expense- making the medium tuned in to rapidly changing requirements.

For all of these reasons and several others which have been well discussed in this space in the past, digital signage increasingly is being selected being an important section of a standard communications strategy.

As this nation enters the political season, journalists surely will report on the public's response to the right-track-wrong-track question. I'm sure each time I hear one particular stories, I'm is likely to be reminded with this column and the clear evidence from IHS iSuppli that [digital signage](https://www.outlynx.com/digital-signage-for-credit-unions/) for banks should indeed be on the right track as a communications medium.

While prognosticating about the results of any one of this political season's races is a craps shoot, a very important factor is predictable. Digital signage as a communications medium will stick to the right track as long as professional communicators need to attain people away from home making use of their important messages.