The hallmark of the digital signage industry – its selling point, its raison d’être – is that it allows advertisers to reach an attractive and targeted audience in a captive space When we talk of a “captive space”, we are talking about a location where there are no other distractions to capture the attention of an audience

The term ‘narrowcasting” refers to the distribution of multimedia content – pictures, moving images or animation and sound – to arrays of monitors in specific locations, or even to individual monitors Evermore frequently arrays of monitors can be seen in waiting rooms, in office lobbies, in public transit and in elevators – virtually anywhere people congregate - narrowcasting mixtures of infomercials, news, feature stories and advertisements to so-called captive audiences

Changing consumer habits, particularly among younger demographics (the teens and young adults that drive retail sales), and improved technology have reached a point where it can be said that digital signage as an advertising medium has truly “come of age” as a marketing vehicle “The digital signage market has finally reached a stage where all the enabling technologies – both on the hardware and software sides – are firmly in place,” writes Sanju Khatari in Digital Signage Magazine

Digital signage, with its eye-catching video played on state-of-the-art monitors, can play many roles in a retail store – roles that have at one time or another been filled by various sales staff The advantages of relying on digital technology to deliver your messages to customers are pronounced

Digital signage and narrowcast advertising systems – from the arrays of monitors featuring short clips and advertising that play in stores, lobbies, and over the gas pumps, to the small screens in elevators, commuter trains, airplanes and even taxis - has proliferated Hardware systems can be set up to market outside products to consumers, or to advertise products and services at the location where digital signage is displayed