VertNext Is What’s Next In Ad…VERT…Ising (Really, They Said That)

May 11, 2013 by Dave Haynes

This is beyond awesome. A Philly area company has announced a new digital sign/advertising thingie that is positioned and presented like they just came up with a cure for some horrible disease.

From what I can tell from this softly delivered blizzard of buzzwords and acronyms (including DMO, which is … something [think he means DMA]), this is a digital poster on a stand that has some video analytics, gesture and other bells and whistles built in to fine-tune hyperlocal ad serving.

Problem is, you have to get locations that matter (and TONS of them) and brands that 1) understand what on Earth you are going on and on about, and 2) care.

My favorite part is when CEO Joe Callahan says: VertNext is indeed what is next in ad…VERT…ising, so instead of today’s ads, we can soon begin to engage your brands in new and never before possible ways with interactive Verts.

I also love how the company has packaged its effort to find any takers as an “invitation to participate” in a pilot program.

I give you Ciright:

Ciright Digital Media, LLC (CDM) today announced it is accepting registrations for its VertNext Pilot Program, a new interactive digital signage platform for U.S.-headquartered companies with a presence in the Greater Philadelphia area.

CDM was issued U.S. Patent No. 8,363,618 B2 on January 29, 2013 enabling the Pilot Program to give companies the unique opportunity to engage their target audiences in never-before possible ways. The VertNext Platform allows digital signage systems to measure, analyze, and re-render content in real time based on changing localized variables, including weather, traffic, sports scores, etc., as well as facial expressions, gestures, and anonymous demographics.

“Finally we are bridging the localized marketing effectiveness gap between global brands and local merchants by measuring the return on investment for advertising. Brands will now have the ability to measure natural human reactions, taking analytics to a new level. Localized variables and genuine facial expressions refine and improve a brand campaign’s effectiveness, foster real-time market research, and engage potential and current customers,” said Joe Callahan, CEO and Founder of CDM.

The VertNext Pilot Program also integrates digital signage capabilities with customizable mobile apps and social media to expand the way brands engage with consumers. Brands can now engage with their fans using new gamification capabilities, such as treasure hunts and contests to drive traffic to stores, promote local events, and capture customer preferences and analytics.

The VertNext Pilot Program works in concert with the Ciright Dragon, an interactive digital media display solution. The Dragon’s form factors include billboards, kiosks, bus shelters, and video walls. “Global brands and local merchants can lease a Dragon and test their new advertising capabilities for only $7 a day. Local advertisers, working with boutique agencies, can customize and modify their messaging and offers in real time,” stated Callahan.

The patent goes on forever, as they tend to, about the fine details of what’s special about this thing. Based on what I read, it’s rolling up all kinds of contributing data – even whether people are smiling on a dark and stormy day and buying a lot of Red Bull – to then serve up media and push/pull stuff to a smartphone. There’s also some gesture piece.

So “finally” we have that Digital OOH game-changer. Established outdoor media companies in North America and globally feel like they’re killing it if they can sell more than 50% of their available inventory, but this convoluted word stew will make the difference.

Sheesh.

What, by the way, is this guy doing???