Back in the day, when CBS grossly overpaid for SignStorey ($71M for an unprofitable, high cost operation), there was a huge amount of optimism over this transaction being the big breakout for digital signage. As rumors of the failure and imminent shutdown of CBS Outernet’s grocery network surfaced, first reported by DailyDOOH and discussed in more depth by David Weinfeld, there is more a sense of inevitability. What was supposed to be a beacon of hope for the industry has turned out to be the digital signage equivalent of the Oakland Raiders-JaMarcus Russell debacle. While Russell contemplates a new career in Arena Football, former SignStorey CEO Virginia Cargill is now a venture capitalist, and providing advisory services to a digital signage software vendor. What a great country!
The CBS Outernet story seems to be a perfect example of what we were talking about in our last post on DOOH at Retail. Just being in the grocery stores with available spots on digital screens was not sufficient for CBS/SignStorey. Nor was CBS’ existing relationships with potential advertisers. What was necessary was collaboration with the retailers and their vendors. Offering a revenue share is not collaboration. Actively becoming the third part of the branding-marketing-promotion-merchandising cycle would be collaboration. That would have made CBS Outernet a strategic partner, and not an island of blinking lights. Digital signage in grocery is not dead by any means. Smart retailers are going to want to leverage this technology and its ability to influence the path to purchase. The experience of CBS Outernet just makes it clearer that the retailer has to make digital signage strategic in order to realize its real value. It will happen.
Two comments:
1 – Do we know CBS has indeed shut things down, or are we working off rumors? I can’t find any evidence of a grocery network on the Outernet site, but I wouldn’t call that conclusive. It probably is indeed defunct, but has that been confirmed?
2 – Up here amid the igloos and ice floes of Toronto we don’t have this network, but the descriptions of it suggest this is a failure on execution much more so than a failure of big grocery as a DOOH medium. As Ken notes, just being there with screens is not a strategy.
No confirmation that I have seen at this time, but I think the background was appropriately referenced as rumor. Regardless, the brain drain and lack of performance has been well-documented. SignStorey was an early-to-the-game “build it and they will come” network. CBS thought they could provide the juice for growth via content and ad sales, and it just didn’t happen, whether that is official yet or not. Hopefully a teachable moment for others.
Content will be king engage the customer lost opportunity for coop but not the traditional milk the brand
Too bad that the heavy hitters at CBS couldn’t make it work if this turns out to be the case. But it doesn’t really surprise me.
We had a client spend more than 400k on a three flight nationwide campaign in Canada mostly in grocery. Compliance was an issue and we handled that with the aggregator. But when we did some reseach on awareness it was clear that nobody was looking…
In the next year they moved all DOOH dollars to broadcast.
Another teachable moment.
Screens in locations doesn’t equal anything, except a nice hardware purchase. I continue to see the mistake of falling in love with the medium while neglecting the message and especially the method. Failure to prioritize and leverage the existing relationship with the grocery chains and their vendors was a fatal mistake, amongst (probably) others.
They undoubtedly grossly misjudged the need to emphasize the grocer’s messages, and the need for the vendor’s messages to be a close second priority.
Collaboration is key to success in creating viable Away From Home TV Networks. It is a tough proposition approaching this new medium with the baggage of traditional media methodology – to succeed in this arena it is imperative to realize that this is an entirely new medium unto its own. From Creative, to Ad-Scheduling and Timing to Pricing and Selling.
Having worked at CBS Outernet, I know EXACTLY why it was shut down…good guessing everyone, but you all are way off…sorry
Isn’t it a shame that CBS lacks the class to formally admit failure via press release that the CBS Outernet is defunct? By all evidence, this is indeed the case. One of their top upper level managers recently joined an in-store digital media start-up with a deli counter media platform and a hand scanner and bag idea, as well.
Also, almost one year ago IBN in Salt Lake abandoned their in-store television network and now lists interactive shelf television charter packages at their website.
And another bodybag for in-store television is reportedly the case for the Greenville, SC World Narrowcasting Company (www.wnctv.net) that was in two chains in the Southeast and Midwest, respectively.
Where are you now Peter Hoyt of the In-Store Marketing Institute articulating all of the virtues of in-store video advertising? With such a broadscale failure of your endorsed media you are hardly the respected thought-leaders you aspire to be.
In fairness, a lot of pioneers died on the western frontier. Those that followed prospered.