Comments on: Industry Shakeout: Exclusive Interview With Chris Riegel, STRATACACHE CEO

By: neil farr

neil farr — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:18:29 +0000

Well said Chris. Most of this market is (as is the rest of industry) based upon a certain level of hype and optimism. Recently there have been a spate of ‘new boys on the block’ and underpricers, willing to just grab a market share at any cost, spinning on certain ‘new advances’ to confuse the customers into thinking they have got a good deal.

Although unfortunate for the people involved, it is certainly time for a thinning-out of the players so that customers know who to trust (and who will be around tomorrow).

Of course, as suppliers, we also need to be mindful of whether the customers will be around tomorrow. Digital Signage can be used for many things – NOT JUST ADVERTISING and still make and/or save money. Networks based upon a revenue derived from advertising models are going to find it hard going over the next few months as advertisers pull back (note even our own industry players are pulling out of ad deals!)… So as long as everyone (buyers and sellers) are confident, I think there will be a lot of win-win deals still being made – and often the longer players in the game will be able to stick it out (sellers who have invested in the technology, and have already built ongoing sales, and buyers who have existing locations/history for advertising OR don’t need revenue generation from this ‘new’ technology)

I think it is not all ‘gloom and doom’ and overall I think the players with less hype around them will win in the end. Nice to see an article that is balanced

By: Lyle Bunn

Lyle Bunn — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:07:43 +0000

Well said Chris, while caution is responsible, optimism is warranted as well. This “cautious optimism” was reflected by the 40 investors attending the 3rd annual Strategy Institute’s DOOH Investors conference which I Chaired in New York Oct 7-8. They noted in particular the strength in the core value propositions of digital signage, its ability to deliver high ROI for communicators, the growing display investory and maturing in both ad sales and DOOH media planning/buying capabilities. Additionally, the Stratacache fund, recent $18M round completed by Enqii and numerous M&A transactions and smaller round ($2-6M) were cited as indicators of consistant and healthy growth in the sector. As investors are defined by “investing” and seek reliable and above average returns whatever the finacial weather, DOOH is seen as viable for investment consideration.

Again Chris, excellent commentary and outlook.

By: June Hagman

June Hagman — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:53:09 +0000

He’s missing the elephant in the room.

Ad sales, or lack thereof.

As someone who is out there selling every single day, this new media is not the slam dunk, no-brainer that some slick websites

It’s new, it doesn’t have a great tracking system, etc. It takes effort to sell it. My advertisers love it, but it has taken a lot of work to get them there…

A lot of folks get hyped without making sure they are ready to do what it takes to sell it.

By: J. Woolsey VMI

J. Woolsey VMI — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:53:18 +0000

Eloquently stated Chris and spot on…