Why not? The latest conspiracy theory here is that DSK was framed by the nice folks at Sofitel, who happen to be little Nicholas’s buddies – so anything is possible. Both of these shops were important in my life – the only local source of proper tea. Now it’s (just) a Eurostar ride away, but at GBP 300 there and back it makes a mug of builder’s tea a bit pricey – out of reach of the average working man at least…but I digress.

I’m here on a wet and windy Champs Elysees because the Editor-in-Chief sent me to check out the screens in the new M&S store on this famous street.

In day time it’s full of tourists – at night time it’s the haunt of knife-carrying thugs from the suburbs who take the commuter train into town for a bundle. I reach my destination and see an orderly queue bending its way through elegant dark red ropes. A bit early for the Queen discotheque, I thought – but no, this is actually for the M&S shop next store– what a great marketing gimmick! Roll over Steve Jobs – this is not even a new product launch!

But after 10 minutes when I get inside, I realize that its simply good security practice – the ‘Flagship’ is actually miniscule – more of a tugboat I’d say. To be fair, no one told me it was a flagship, but that was indeed what I expected. So I fight my way through the crowds looking for the screens. What I do see is mirrors, cunningly trying to convince me that the shop is bigger than it really is – which might also explain the apparent crowds – but then there’s another security check blocking the entrance to the Food Hall – which is really where I wanted to go. Upstairs is the Ladies department, which always interests me, and downstairs is Lingerie – even more interesting but with my camera I might get mistaken for a dirty old man, so I stay on the ground floor.

And there I see it – the Virtual Store – and the penny drops. This is M&S getting back at eBay with their pop-up store on Tottenham Court Road. It’s the same thing backwards – a big retailer drags people into what looks like an ordinary shop so that they can sell them online stuff. Another marketing masterstroke!

The touch-screen looks good from a distance, but I can’t get too close since it seems quite popular, even with the wrinklies!

The company prides itself on its green credentials and has already undertaken several other projects to support the community, and saw this opportunity to give a second life to the screens and make contribution to charity at the same time.

The Emmaüs charity was created on 1949 by the late, charismatic priest, known as “l’abbé Pierre”, and works to help the homeless and the socially excluded. It has 117 centres in France and gives shelter to 3,860 homeless people.

The company was created in 1997 by Cyril Michel, Laurent Bolzon and Olivier Garosi, and has become one of the key players in France, with several important clients in the banking sector (Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, Crédit du Nord, Crédit Mutuel….) and in retail (Casino, QuickSilver, Castorama…).

According to CEO Cyril Michel “This strategic and financial partnership reinforces Mirane’s ability to develop new markets and to benefit from operational synergies with Madic, such as installation and maintenance services across France. Mirane will spearhead the group’s ambitious innovation strategy in digital media, which will include new offers, new supports and above all, a new vision, in the coming weeks.”

We are told that the programming will be targeted by region, and will include local news and sports, and reviews of upcoming films, albums and TV shows that are relevant to the population in question. Advertising will make up about eight minutes per hour, with McDonald’s itself taking a minute and a half.

McDonald’s is looking for increased viewer engagement to supercharge its advertising proposition. The plan is to combine interactive elements on Internet and mobile platforms with the channel.

“The intention is to catch and engage the customer, and then enhance their experience,” Leland Edmondson, founder of McDonald’s content partner ChannelPort, told the LA Times. “The McDonald’s customer is everyone, and we want not to be passive viewers but to be active and participatory with this network.”

It also serves another purpose: keeping people in the restaurant longer. Like its free Wi-Fi gambit, in-store TV will create a friendly environment to linger, and, presumably, snack and drink more.

The McDonald’s Channel will first be rolled out in 800 McDonald’s restaurants in Southern and Central California, reaching 18 million to 20 million people per month. That will make it one of the largest daytime demographics in existence. About 70% of the dining room will be able to view two high-definition 42- to 46-inch screens, with ceiling speakers broadcasting the audio. There will also be quiet zones for those wanting to consume in peace.

ChannelPort will be pulling together content from diverse sources, including “Survivor” reality show pioneer Mark Burnett, BBC America, local ABC affiliates and Burnett’s Vimby, which has a network of more than 150 filmmakers in 40 cities that will create new programming around fashion, art, music, night life, lifestyle and culture. A one-hour cycle of 20- to 22-minute segments will cover a range of topics and will include profiles of local high school and college athletes and so-called “Mighty Moms,” about moms with careers in sports. The Ronald McDonald House Charities will also be spotlighted.

50 million hopeful French people will have seen the campaign by the end of this week, when the All Blacks put an end to it all…

Digitopia – the biggest player in Belgium in digital signage – will complement N-Allo’s offer in the field of new digital solutions for optimising the interaction between customer and company. This strengthens both partners’ positions in their respective markets. 

Martin Claes, Chief Executive Officer of N-Allo, explains: 
“The partnership with Digitopia is about two dynamic companies joining forces to strengthen their positions in the market. The digitalisation and rapid evolution of communication channels require the contact centre sector to continuously adapt and optimise its offer. Digitopia will play an important role in this by delivering innovative digital solutions.”

Jan Bussels, General Manager of Digitopia, says: 
“As a successful, fast-growing and innovative company, we are looking forward to becoming part of N-Allo, a subsidiary of the international GDF SUEZ Group. This collaboration will provide us with additional opportunities on the domestic and international markets. Our continuous growth and partner strategy will be reinforced.”

N-Allo was founded in 1999 as a subsidiary of Electrabel, GDF SUEZ Group, and has experienced steady growth ever since. With six sites and 1300 employees, the company is a leading player in the Belgian contact centre market. The contact centre, which provides professional services as well as sales, marketing and customer services, has recently started operating in the French market too. N-Allo works with various large organisations in the utilities, public, financial, media and telecoms sectors.

Digitopia was founded in October 2006 and focuses exclusively on digital signage & touch applications. The company provides a full range of digital communication services in companies and retail outlets. Digitopia currently manages around 4,000 screens in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France. Its customers include Belgacom, bpost, Accor Hotels, De Lindeboom, Lunch Garden, Veritas and Multipharma.

To prepare my visit, I used the web site search engine to identify the Digital Media Exhibitors – very handy since this is the new official term for what used to be “l’affichage dynamique” or ‘”le digital signage” and is also the trade body’s new name – the Digital Media Association.

But to my great disappointment, out of the 43 responses, there were none of the big integrators and only a sprinkling of LED screen sellers.

It seems that once again the organisers have stretched the definition of “digital” to include digital printing and any process that uses digital technology. What did Bill Clinton say again?  “I did not have sex with that woman”…

So I probably won’t take the train out of Paris again to the vast exhibition space on the way out to Charles de Gaulle Airport – I’d rather sit in a café sipping coffee and watch the world go by – as everyone thinks that is what I do anyway…

In this video, Nicolas Hamon, Image and Sound Manager at the Kinepolis Group, explains how dZine‘s digital signage system has changed the moviegoers’ experience.

Florian announced visitors from India, Korea and Canada, but the attendance was predominantly German, with more presentations in Goethe’s language than last year. Which is all fine, as it reflects a coming of age of a market which previously struggled with an ‘under-development’ complex.

The theme of the conference was “Beyond the Tipping Point- Managing Growth” which accurately describes the current situation of and challenges for the German market. Whilst observers all had been predicting that one day it will happen, the last 12 months have seen strong growth in Germany, with digital signage evolving from a “nice-to-have” service to a “must-have” service in selected industries. Overall, the business has grown from €273M in 2009 to €330M in 2010 – an increase of 21%. Figures already in for Q1 and Q2 lead Invidis to project €440M for 2011.

Florian took us back through the predictions for 7 Trends in the sector that the duo made last year, indicating that they had actually got 5 out of the 7 quite right:

1. Green IT – LED backlight – yes
2. Adoption of Internet Technology – CMS Turnkey Solutions – yes ; XTML5 – not yet
3. Software – Licenses replaced by services – yes
4. Era of aggregation – ad serving platforms – not yet – Second generation connects better to media buyers
5. Legal content -yes
6. Standards needed to simplify business for advertisers – ongoing process
7. Money is back – new well financed players enter market. Mergers & acquisitions activity increased

Invidis has been undertaking intensive in-depth studies of the German-speaking market during the last year, and was able to publish some of it already in the conference programme. The Top 3 Integrators were:

1. Deutsche Telekom
2. xplace
3. Seen Media – who we note won the Scala award on Wednesday for the Most Players Deployed between July 2010 and July 2011. Seen Media, Germany, deployed 5,000 players during the period.

Full details will be available next week, so watch this space.