A friend of mine on the PR side of the business, Lawren Markle, phones me about a month ago and tells me about a new client he thinks I should talk to. At first I'm thinking, "Digital signage and one-to-one? I don't know." But, hey, I try to have an open mind. With all the cool technology these days, you just never know how things might connect. After all, if the Magic Mirror can be a one-to-one marketing and sales tool, perhaps a digital sign can be too.

So yesterday I got on the phone with Omnivex President Jeff Collard to talk about the evolution of digital signage from a digitally delivered "poster" to an interactive, integrated tool that can both serve and collect information. "Done right," Collard says, "digital signage can help customers make a good purchase decision." And with a bit of RFID, it can help them find their way, too. But more on that later.

The trick with digital signage—as with mobile, search, or other cool tech tools—is to look at it strategically. In other words, ask yourself, how do I tie digital signage into my overall communications strategy? "It's not in-store TV," Collard warns. Why not? I wonder. Isn't TV intended to be engaging? "Advertising-based models give away control of the network," he says. "Instead of informing customers, you wind up annoying them. There has to be a value proposition for the customer."

So as cool as those swirling digital images may be in the clothing stores that sell to twentysomethings, if the signage isn't adding value—that is, enhancing the buying experience—then those marketing dollars might be better spent elsewhere.

Speaking of adding value, the way digital signage adds value for the retailer or hotel or arena, etc., that uses it is in the information exchange. Today's digital signage is far more than that digitally delivered poster; it's a tool that should be connected to POS and CRM systems to create interactivity and gather insight. Collard cites a store in Japan whose digital signage is connected to its loyalty program data. Customers can pass their phone across a scanner on the sign and the sign will deliver a message relevant to that customer based on past purchase behavior, and then send back a coupon to the phone regarding the product and offer just shown on the sign. The trick here is that the retailer also has the signage connected to its inventory system, so it will only make an offer on what's available in the store at that time.

And if that isn't cool enough, how about this example:

I go to the local electronics store and pick up mobile phone A. The digital sign behind the phone display shows information about that phone. The longer I hold the phone, the more detailed the information becomes. While holding phone A I pick up phone B in my other hand. Up on the screen is now a side-by-side comparison of the two phones. Behind the scenes the system is tracking my behavior, as well as the behavior of other shoppers in the store that day. At the end of the day a manager can run a report, see what phones shoppers looked at most, which were compared most often, etc., and then make merchandising and inventory decisions based on the information.

So on the customer side, that retailer may see a lift in sales from the relevant information provided to its shoppers, but it also gets the benefit of the back-end data, which management can use to improve processes, product mix, services, what have you. "Having data at the core is what makes digital signage valuable," Collard says.

But wait! I'm not done.

You're in the Hyatt Regency Chicago. If you've ever stayed there you know it's one of those hotels that practically requires a map to get you from one end to the other. But fear not, your key card is RFID tagged, so as you walk toward a digital sign, the display changes to "Welcome. For the ABC Conference, turn right at the end of this hallway." As the person behind you gets closer, the sign changes: "Welcome. For the XYZ Summit, turn left at the end of this hallway."

The caveat, Collard warns, is not to make the signage too personal as to seem like Minority Report or Big Brother. He suggests looking at customers in general categories, then providing relevant information. I say, sign me up.