Across the country, school is back in session and students are ready to learn and absorb. They are not just learning academics though, but brand messaging as well.

We’ve previously blogged about the requests by students to receive school messaging and brand advertisements via digital signage screens across campus. And it seems that the Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) trend on campuses is still gaining momentum with the start of the Fall semester. A new study by companiesandmarkets.com says that the world market for digital signage systems is expected to achieve a value of nearly $14 billion by 2017 and that it proves effective in reaching the “elusive, younger consumer”.

Digital Out-Of-Home advertising is one of the fastest growing medias in the world and continues to grow at rapid rates. The Digital Place-Based Advertising Association (DPAA) suggests that revenue for the digital place-based sector grew by 16.1% for the first six months of 2011 over the same period last year, slightly more than five times the 3.2% growth rate for the U.S. ad industry overall, as reported recently by Kantar Media, making the present an opportune time to enter the DOOH market.

College students are an ideal target audience for many brands, and digital signage is a prime way to reach this busy, yet highly aware, group of students. The 18-24 year old demographic is technologically savvy and receptive to digital signage. Brand messaging is evident all over college campuses; whether it’s the Nike swoosh on schools apparel, the soda machines around campus or the ads for on-campus fast food. Therefore, it’s important that advertisers leave an impression and stand out from the clutter. DOOH advertising offers an ideal vehicle to leave memorable impressions.

Current and updated content regarding school information, on digital screens across campuses, ensure that students check screens regularly. With the ability to customize each screen, students can get messages that specifically pertain to them, creating ample opportunity for advertisers to target certain groups of students, when necessary.

For advertisers, it’s key to keep content short and creative. Students are on-the-go on campus and must be engaged quickly. Mobile tie-ins can encourage interaction with brands. In fact, smartphones are poised to surpass desktops as the most prevalent tool from a global perspective, as 19 percent of college students consider smartphones their “most important” device used on a daily basis, compared to 20 percent for desktops, according to the Cisco Connected World Technology Report.  66 percent of students and more than half of employees cite a mobile device (laptop, smartphone, tablet) as “the most important technology in their lives”. These numbers are only expected to grow amongst this demographic as device prices continue to decline.

In addition to being tech-savvy, college students are a budget-conscious consumer group and are likely to act on deals and coupons offered to them. Quick Response, or QR, codes are an excellent way to offer incentives to draw students to a business. By scanning a QR code, students can be lead to websites, shopping carts, coupons, Facebook pages, phone numbers or just about any other place online, to draw in audiences and extend the time they’re interacting with brands.

Students have a higher propensity to purchasing goods and services via their mobile phones, according to the website Mobile Commerce Daily. In an interview with students at Chapman University, students were asked if they had ever purchased anything from their mobile phones; most students said they have. Responses varied from purchases of apps and music to plane tickets, concert tickets and amazon.com purchases. Digital signs found in student unions, classroom buildings, gymnasiums, recreation centers and cafeterias allow for students to view and interact with screens multiple times per day. There is a great opportunity for both college networks and advertisers to benefit from the high-tech nature of college students. Providing interactive content can help brands stay engrained in the minds of students and their eyes on the network screens.

Due to the growing desire of college students to remain technologically connected and the growth of the DOOH marketplace, both advertisers and networks have great opportunity to reach captive audiences.

Report Details: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/Market-Report/digital-signage-systems-a-global-strategic-business-report-693048.asp?prk=7c4ed5b510c1ffe12b50d9829eddaba2