Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Custom Digital Media™ (CDM) network?

A Custom Digital Media™ (CDM) network delivers custom messages relevant to the out-of-home environment they're viewed in.

For example, a CDM network in a hospital would have TV monitors in its waiting rooms with advertisers presenting messages on medicine, health care products, nutrition and exercise.

Digital 10's system allows central system management and remote scheduling of content to deliver targeted messages to specific locations at specific times to pinpoint audiences.

What are the most important considerations with a CDM network?

Objectives and planning. Whether a venue host and/or a venue advertiser, the objectives of being part of a CDM network should be addressed, and then a plan how to meet those objectives should be drafted.

Compared to most other advertising media, advertising on a CDM network is very competitively priced in relation to the amount of on-screen time an advertiser has.

The question is if the environment a CDM network runs in is compatible with the brand message being promoted.

Ease of installation and management are two important considerations, so venue hosts should ensure the system is using an IP network with a web-based management interface. And unless you are certain you will only ever have the same number of screens you have to ensure that your system is scalable and grows with you without breaking the bank, whether you have ten, a hundred or thousands of screens.

The system also needs to be flexible enough to schedule different content on different screens at different times to target different audiences. This of course requires the system to be extremely versatile, meaning that it should be able to handle a broad selection of media, such as video, live broadcast, graphics, animation, live news feeds and also emergency broadcasts such as fire and earthquake warnings.

There are also some important control and power saving functions such as switching screens on and off remotely, which not only make the day-to-day operation a lot more convenient, but also save a great deal of maintenance cost for the operator.

And, of course, a digital signage system needs to be 100% reliable, so you should make sure you choose a system that is built on a proven consumer electronics platform and is designed to perform 24/7.

Overall though, venue hosts should look for a turnkey hardware/software/network solutions partner, such as DIGITAL 10 NETWORK, to ensure a smooth deployment and unified support.

How do you balance the atmosphere of a building with the goals to Inform, Entertain, and Earn?

A CDM network should blend in with the environs and adapt to the surroundings, time of day, day of the week, etc. For example, DIGITAL 10 NETWORK allows you to schedule the audio volume of broadcasts based on the time of day. Or In the alternative implement software that monitors ambient sound levels and adjust volumes to accommodate the environment automatically. This is a very useful function for, say, displays in an office building lobby or school. It allows the venue host to schedule broadcasts to have a higher audio volume during the early morning when people arrive for work, at lunch time, and late afternoon when people leave to get their attention, and set the audio volume lower at other times of the day or to simply allow the volumes to change as needed based upon the ambient sound at any given time. The video displays can even change based on the weather and temperature of the day. These changes can all be made instantly on the fly or according to a pre-programmed schedule. Additionally, DIGITAL 10 NETWORK continuously monitors the hardware to insure optimum output.

What type of content can be shown on a CDM network? How do venue hosts know what content will be right for which location?

The opportunities are almost endless when it comes to content and can include anything from broadcast quality live video, live feed, real-time messaging, pre-encoded video, animated graphics, to still images, so venue hosts can target different audiences with different displays and content according to their behavior while they are in the venue location. At DIGITAL 10 NETWORK, we realized long ago that it is all about the content. If the monitors are not watched, if the message is not understood, properly targeted or relevant the monitors are just collecting dust.

To make this type of audience analysis even easier, we have developed a specific system designed for public spaces with screen mounted cameras. This is a perfect tool for understanding the behavior of customers and visitors as it accurately records how many people are in the area and if the media has been viewed, at what location and for how long - and the more a venue host or advertiser/sponsor knows about his customers, the better service he can deliver.