Plasma screens are one thing. Advertising on them is another. Interactivity is another thing altogether.
Plasma screens are one thing. Advertising on them is another. Interactivity is another thing altogether. But for 25-year-old entrepreneur Gaurang Shah, all of them mean one and the same thing — digital signage — the newest advertising platform in the retail and outdoor space.
Founder and CEO of Digital Signage Networks (DSN), Shah almost hit a goldmine when he won his first client — Café Coffee Day — and continued the bull-run with other premium clients. He spoke to DNA Money’s Arcopol Chaudhuri about the genesis of DSN, advertising on digital screens and giving value-added services to a generation, which is, well, living half of their lives in the CCDs, Baristas and McDonald’s outlets of the country.
Why digital signage, in the first place?
I was in the US for some seven years. I worked with Mckinsey & Company and I have been bullish about doing something in India. In June 2006, when I was here on holiday, I did my first study of the existing retail scene, by driving down from CR2 at Nariman Point to McDonald’s at Kharghar.
I realised there was nothing happening on the digital outdoor space. Technology, media and retail - all three are growing — and digital signage converged them all. Here was an opportunity … and I decided to do something about it. It took me some six months to put the entire system into place. In January 2007 we bagged the Café Coffee Day (CCD) account.
Being a start-up, having an advertising platform which consumers are just about coming to terms with, how did you manage to convince CCD?
For Digital Signage Networks (DSN), our technology is the key proposition. The wall space that was reserved for very dull static screens can now be used for plasma screens. Earlier, it used to be just one static message where the creatives would be changed once in a while.
With digital signage, we’ve multiplied the value of the real-estate space unlimitedly. I convinced them about the technology aspects and the interactivity it could generate. It was a strong value proposition and not just the rental amount.
How different is your technology from those of others in the business?
What we’re doing is providing useful information on our screens. This means, the consumer has to be benefited in some way or the other. So you’ll have weather updates, cricket scores, news-tickers, photographs of your girlfriend when you’re with her in the restaurant and a lot more. Advertisements are only a “by-the-way” thing, to bring in the revenue.
We’ve basically followed the Google philosophy which says: “Don’t worry about the money. If it’s useful for the consumer, the money will automatically come in.”
How many screens do you have currently and how is the entire data managed?
We’ve already got about 1,500 screens at premium outlets like CCD, McDonald’s, Magnet, Pizza Corner and Lifestyle among others. It’s all controlled by a centrally managed computer. So if I have a laptop and a datacard and I’m in any part of the world … I can manage data on each and every screen.
What are your observations about the consumption of digital signage in India?
People in India are highly receptive. There’s an important segment of population which is moving targets for advertisers. And they hardly watch TV these days. Research has shown that people within age group of 16-35 are spending about 35-40 minutes on an average at these premium hangout joints. The insight is that, when one is relaxed and chilled out, they are more receptive to advertising messages.
What on the anvil for DSN?
We’re soon getting into the space where digital signboards can be used in educational institutions. You’ll also see glass buildings, which can transform into entire screens.
c_arcopol@dnaindia.net
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