Had an eye-opening meeting yesterday with a blind man who is head of sales for a digital signage company here in LA. He has a terrific model that has his screens generating revenue by filling the 15 minute loop with 30 second ads from businesses within a 5 mile radius of the business that has a screen. This helps business owners generate revenue (as they participate with a percentage of ad-revenue) as well as local businesses who don't want to advertise on local cable or radio.
If I have a barbershop, it doesn't make sense to advertise on cable or radio because 98% of the viewers and listeners will not be in the vicinity of the barbershop and will not travel across town for a haircut. I see an ad on cable for Tito's Tacos in Culver City. It is indeed an amazing taco, but the same ad is running all over Los Angeles. If I'm in the valley or Hollywood, the chances of driving to Culver City for a damn taco is remote, no matter how good --- especially now that gas is about to be 5 bucks a gallon!
As natural resources become more valued, communities will become more insulated. Needs will change for small business owners and residents alike. I for one would like to discover a new dry cleaner or bank in my neighborhood. Smart marketing.
While not as scalable as other business models, I think my sightless friend has a unique community-based "vision" that can be replicated in other markets. Perhaps we tweak the model to include some "targeted entertainment" and streamline content management, we just might find a worthy niche. Many business owners would like to get the word out to the people who may indeed populate their stores or use their services! What a concept!
We laughed at the fact that this blind man was educating sighted small business owners all over town about the power of digital signage.
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