By Sanjay Manandhar

Digital signage and digital out-of-home media are finally becoming more pervasive, yet it is evident that content going one-way only towards the viewers is not enough. It was clear from attendees at Aerva’s booth at the recent Digital Signage Expo that people are starting to understand the value of information going in BOTH directions—not just coming at viewers from screens, but going from viewers to the screens themselves. Granted, the amount of information going back from the viewers may be very little, but it is very important and relevant to those viewers. It also becomes one very valid basis of measurement for marketers and network operators of digital screens.

A good example of a viewer-engagement application is ‘Man-of-the-Match’ (or MVP of Tonight’s Game) - a mobile application that asks “Who is going to be the MVP of the game during halftime?” on the digital screen in a sports bar or on the Jumbotron in a stadium. The answers are sent in by viewers using their own mobile handset. The dynamic information can be seen filling up a pint jar, making it highly engaging to the viewers. For the marketers, it is highly measurable data.

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