IOH: Oh boy, another handle to add to the list!!!

One of the guys who spoke last week at that industry forum in New York is the CEO of an interactive agency, and not all that suprisingly, he said the future of digital signage is all about interactivity … and therefore the better name to hang on this industry is Interactive Out-of-Home, or IOH.

 

Trevor Kaufman, of the agency Schematic, suggested one of the reasons NOT to go with DOH is it is too reminiscent of Homer Simpson’s DOH!!!, and DOOH is far worse for some reason.

 

Now while I heartily agree that interactive is a big part of the future of this space, it’s just a part. There are countless ways in which digital screen are going to be used that will have little or nothing to do with interactivity. They’re just going to be a more efficient means of getting information across, and I can’t even fathom the chaos of every screen in an environment beckoning to be touched or wireless devices constantly popping up invites to download coupons and more information, and on and on.

 

I recently read a separate suggestion that the term In Store Digital Marketing be used, or ISDM.

 

They’re both good, but they’re both just more words. The industry news portal AKA.TV was launched with that handle a few years ago because no one could land on the perfect name, so it was digital signage, Also Known As ….

 

My impression is that there are lots of things holding back this industry, like good content, sustainable success stories and better customer education, but I don’t think coming up with JUST the right name — that encompasses it all — is holding much back. Digital signage is well short of perfect. Same with Digital Out Of Home. But they’re out there and I don’t think confusion or derision abound.

 

And I have never heard anyone use DOH.