Even if the industry still can't agree on an official name, there is little doubt that the electronic merchandising tools known as narrowcast networks, captive audience networks or dynamic digital signs have gained a lot more attention in the past year or so. Massive organizations like Thomson Worldwide and 3M have been buying up smaller digital signage firms in hopes of selling hardware, software and services into retail, government and transit venues. Retail heavyweights like Wal-Mart, Kroger and CompUSA are deploying networks to captivate their customers and spur incremental sales. And by my last count, there were over 500 companies in the US alone claiming to sell digital signage solutions of one sort or other.

But amidst all of the hype and excitement there has been little focus on what it actually takes to deploy and maintain a successful digital sign network. As veterans of the kiosk industry understand all too well, anything can (and will) happen out in the real world, and even the most well thought-out networks need to be vigilantly monitored and maintained. From installation to maintenance to content creation, there are a number of jobs that need to be done - and done well - to unleash the full potential of a digital signage network, and that's what this series of articles is all about.

In the retail world, we've found that the most successful digital signage deployments are managed by teams who understand each of the unique jobs and roles required to install and maintain their networks. Spanning a diverse range of fields including finance, marketing and IT, a structured group can best handle the wide array of responsibilities that a digital signage network creates. And even though this kind of structure can provide tremendous benefits, we've found that few companies seem to take a role-based approach towards their signage projects. Thus, while this might sound more like "Staffing Your Company 101" than an article about digital merchandising techniques, I'd like to devote a few thousand words over the next few weeks to the roles and responsibilities that we've found to be essential in building out and maintaining a large, retail-oriented digital signage network.

When building a digital signage team (again, for retail-focused installations), you'll need to cover a number of jobs in each of four major disciplines, including:

Business and Finance

• Project management
• Budgeting
• Financing
• ROI analysis and reporting

Sales

• Venue sales
• Network ad sales

Creative and Merchandising

• Sign location and placement (merchandising)
• Content creation
• Content management and scheduling

Technology and Operations

• Hardware/software selection and integration
• Installation
• Proactive monitoring
• Ongoing hardware maintenance
• Technical support
• Training (remote or on-site)

Depending on the size of your company and the specific needs of your project, you might have one or more people dedicated to each of the tasks above, or a handful of people capable of managing several jobs across multiple disciplines. Outsourcing is also a huge buzzword right now, and while you might not be ready to have your installations in Boston managed from Bangalore, there are often benefits to turning over some aspects of your business to capable partner companies.

For example, if you are a well-equipped sales and management organization but lack in-house content creation tools and personnel, partnering with a creative services firm might make a lot of sense. Likewise, a marketing or advertising firm might partner with a technology group to handle hardware and software installation and maintenance. And even the largest companies often employ a third-party service organization to provide things like on-site maintenance and cleaning.

No matter how the work gets divided, each of the jobs and disciplines listed above is essential for the successful operation of your digital signage network. In the next article in this series, we'll start a more in-depth analysis of each functional group and the tasks that they must undertake - starting with the business and finance roles needed to take your digital signage network from the concept stage to full deployment. Stay tuned!

About the author

Bill Gerba is co-founder and CEO of WireSpring Technologies, a provider of software for digital signage and kiosk networks. He is very active in the self-service and narrowcasting industries, and maintains the Dynamic Digital Signage and Interactive Kiosks Journal.