Study: Digital Signage More Attention-Catching, Less Hated Than Other Media

Most adults say advertising on digital signage catches their attention - and they consider such advertising unique and entertaining, and less annoying than both traditional and online media, according to a study by OTX (Online Testing eXchange) conducted for SeeSaw Networks, reports sister site MarketingCharts.

The “Digital Out-of-Home Media Awareness & Attitude Study” is the first to compare digital out-of-home media to other media, SeeSaw said.

1. Advertising considered interesting and entertaining, by medium
2. Advertising considered annoying, by medium
3. Advertising catches attention and is unique, by medium
4. Those who pay “some” or “a lot of” attention to advertising on medium
5. Media attributes, 18-34-year-olds vs. general adult population

• Awareness of digital out-of-home media is high:
  • Some 62 percent of adults have seen digital signage in the past 12 months - levels similar to billboards (66 percent), magazines (67 percent) and newspapers (63 percent).
  • That compares with 92 percent for TV, 75 percent for radio, 78 percent for internet and 10 percent for mobile phones.
  • On average, people notice digital signage in six different kinds of locations during their week, giving advertisers the opportunity to intercept people at various touch points.
• Digital out-of-home advertising is engaging:
  • Respondents found digital signage advertising to be more unique (58 percent), interesting (53 percent) and entertaining (48 percent), and less annoying (26 percent), than other media. (See charts: 1. advertising considered interesting and entertaining, by medium; 2. advertising considered annoying, by medium.)
  • Some 63 percent of those who have seen digital signage say it attracted their attention, compared with 58 percent for billboards, 57 percent for magazines, 56 percent for TV, 47 percent for internet, 40 percent for newspaper, 37 percent for radio and 10 percent for mobile. (See chart: 3. advertising catches attention and is unique, by medium.)
  • Some 44 percent of adults say they pay some or a lot of attention to digital signage advertising, placing it ahead of traditional billboards, the internet and mobile phones, and on par with magazines, radio and newspapers. (See chart: 4. pay “some” or “a lot of” attention to advertising on medium.)
• Reaching young people is a strength of digital out-of-home media:
  • 75 percent of 18-34-year-olds have seen digital signage in the past 12 months and notice digital signage in seven different locations during their week.
  • This demographic finds the advertising on digital signage to be more unique (63 percent), interesting (57 percent) and entertaining (53 percent) than advertising on other media and rates the media even higher than the general population across these measures. (See chart: 5. media attributes, 18-34-year-olds vs. general adult population.)