The Digital Signage ExpertWasn’t it just a few celebrations ago when we gathered to reflect on past success and future dreams? The dreaded first quarter has arrived and passed with the resultant drama in countless boardrooms across the world. Days and weeks before the grand performance the two driving parties of industry prepared their battle plans. Management and Sales Directors carefully choreographed the ceremonial dance and beheading (firing) of errant salespeople. To counter, the sales teams assembled data about future deals having been let down by their prospects.
Gone are the days whereby you could count the deals of a year on two hands, in some years one hand was enough. The economy provided lethal environments to work in, some didn’t survive. Fueled with double-digit growth projections, all expected a nirvana. Still I remember it like yesterday; many specialists heralded a new dawn and paradigm shift. All watched as the double glazing teams left the stage and the bright kids from universities entered the ranks. Some too bright for their own good. Only recently I published a link that confirmed the UK market in itself was worth $1 billion this year. If that money is spread evenly among all the market contenders then we should be ordering our new cars. We said we are big boys now, so check reality and cool down.
A part of that reality check is The Blotter. Having myself attended many seminars and forums I was often asked about all the deals that recently went down . So many had crossed my desk in the fury of editing the daily rag that many were just forgotten. We expect a good year for digital signage, so how did the first quarter pan out? The two hands mentioned earlier are now not enough to do the accounting. The list I have put together only reflects those deals that are in the public domain. I admit that some of the larger companies on the block are not allowed to boast and toast due to NDA’s signed and filed in the backroom. I say this because we are not trying to promote one or the other supplier; we are trying to see the big picture. The smart money will know what I am talking about, what we see is only the tip of an iceberg, happily, this year, that tip is big.
Time with technology moves fast, the buzz at the beginning of the year was measurement which quickly morphed into 3D. Who can tell where the next challenge will be found? With each development we are offered and opened to new opportunities.
Doing some of my own research into various verticals I notice that opportunities abound and despite all the deals of the last few years, we’ve only scratched the surface. Opportunities as big as a barn door stand open unaddressed. There’s plenty out there for everybody’s pipeline, the idea now is to crank up the marketing, punch the telephone numbers and visit the shows.
See y’all there. Jim. James van Etten, Executive Editor of CLIPPINGs