This year’s Digital Signage Summit Europe provided insight into the evolving digital signage and digital-out-of-home (DOOH) industries during the two-day conference.
Attendees gathered at the new venue for this year, the Sheraton Hotel in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, on July 4 and 5. They heard from over 40 leading digital signage and DOOH individuals, exploring market trends and identifying growth areas. DSS Europe delivered a twin-track of keynote conferences, as well as panel discussions, presentations and hands-on workshops.
Close to 500 registrants participated in the conference and co-located expo, which featured companies such as NEC, Samsung, LG Electronics, Philips Professional Display Solutions, Elo Touch, Sharp, BenQ and Epson. With a host of innovative solutions on display, delegates were able to combine new ideas and technologies to form future business plans and capitalize on this ever-expanding market.
“DSS Europe 2018 delivered its promise to retailers, integrators and manufacturers for a technology-focused business road map. The conference explored how digital storytelling and digital touchpoints are adding real value and ‘changing the narrative,’ using technology to improve customer engagement,” Florian Rotberg, Managing Director of Invidis Consulting and DSS Europe 2018 Chair, commented.
The conference deconstructed how digital storytelling, combined with technology, can add value for customers and help brands to maintain a narrative in the online and offline worlds. With e-tailers becoming more influential, traditional retailers are looking at ways in which physical stores can become experiential destinations to drive further in-store purchases. The program of talks and case study presentations provided attendees with the opportunity to learn from market experts.
Customers now expect more than just a “wow factor” from technology. Digital signage, LED, OLED, electronic shelf labels, AR and VR are just some of the technologies that retailers can make use of.
“Retailers today are looking for new ways to create unique user experiences,” Rotberg said. “By integrating new technologies and increasing digitalization in a value-creating way, ‘story telling’ becomes the key to this success.”
The panel discussion “Rebooting Experiences – The Future of Consumer Connection,” saw experts sharing their knowledge on the consumer experience, and how this is dominating the retail and advertising sectors today and into the future. Panelists included Alastair Kean, Development Director at Dalziel & Pow; Florian Rotberg; and Richard Offermann, Managing Director of Ströer Digital Group.
Similarly, Raphael Gielgen, Head of Research and Trend Scouting at Vitra, discussed how innovative technology is impacting everything from the way we learn to how we work and where we live. During this talk, attendees learned how digital signage can create a new driver for the economy by breaking out of the ordinary workday environment.
“Attendees at DSS 2018 gained a thorough understanding of how digital signage can be integrated into a number of market sectors. Tomorrow’s most successful companies are driven by curiosity and creativity, so retailers need to be aware of the challenges, the solutions and how to take advantage of this today,” concluded Rotberg.
Mike Blackman, Integrated Systems Events Managing Director, added: “As the leading strategy conference for this vibrant market sector, DSS Europe continues to set the agenda for the digital signage and DOOH industry in Europe. The 2018 edition was incredibly successful, with a strong conference program and exhibition of the latest technologies and solutions, all hosted in a brand-new venue. We’d like to thank our supporters who contributed to this success, and look forward to seeing integrators, end users and manufacturers at the next event.”
A key highlight of DSS Europe was the annual Invidis Awards ceremony, which took place on the evening of the conference’s first day. The winners of each category were as follows: Displays (DACH): Samsung Electronics; Software (DACH): MDT Medientechnik; Mediaplayer (DACH): Giada (CONCEPT International); Integrators (Germany): xplace; Integrators (Austria): feratel media technologies; Integrators (Switzerland): JLS Digital.
The two-day event concluded with a behind-the-scenes tour of Frankfurt Airport. Attendees were able to take in the digital signage and DOOH solutions on site, and understand how the systems work within one of Europe’s busiest airports.
DSS Europe 2018 is a joint venture between Integrated Systems Events, the producer of the Integrated Systems Europe exhibition, and Invidis, a Munich-based digital signage consultancy. DSS Europe 2018 was the 13th edition of the event.
The next Digital Signage Summit takes place during ISE on February 6, 2019 in Amsterdam.
For further information on the Digital Signage Summit events, visit the event website.