thumb|300px|Digital Signage in the [[Warner Village Cinemas in Taipei]]

'''''Digital signage''''' are electronic displays that are installed in public spaces. Digital signs are typically used to entertain, inform or advertise (together known as "adfotainment"). Major benefits of digital signs over traditional static signs are that the content can be exchanged without effort, animations can be shown, the signs can adapt to the context and audience, and even be interactive.
Digital signage advertising is a form of out-of-home advertising in which content and messages are displayed on digital signs, typically with the goal of delivering targeted messages to specific locations at specific times.  Digital signage offers superior ''return on investment'' compared to traditional printed signs<ref>[http://www.digisignage.com/roi/roi-1.html The Digital Signage ROI Calculator], IAdea Corporation, 2006</ref>. 

==Market and applications ==
While the world is embracing digital signage as an emerging market, China currently leads the world in the number of digital signage displays deployed and number of NASDAQ IPOs<ref>Wang, John C. [http://seekingalpha.com/article/64962-china-leads-the-digital-signage-race China Leads the Digital Signage Race], Seeking Alpha, Feb 18, 2008</ref> with over 100,000 displays installed and a collective market capitalization of over $10B. 

The content displayed on digital signage screens can range from simple text and still images to full-motion video, with or without audio. Some operators of digital signage networks, particularly in the retail industry, regard their networks as comparable to television channels, displaying entertaining and informational content interspersed with advertisements (see also Retail Media).

Digital signage is used for many different purposes:

# Information – examples include flight information in airports and wait-times for the next train
# Advertising related to the location to uplift sales – examples include in-store promotions in a retail establishment
# Advertising by third parties – digital advertising companies that sell advertising space to local merchants/service providers, media resellers and national advertisers.
# Enhanced customer experience – examples include digital signage in restaurant waiting areas to reduce perceived wait-time and recipe demonstrations in food stores
# Influencing customer behavior – examples include post office digital signage that directs patrons waiting in line to automated stamp machines and retail digital signage designed to direct customers to different areas of the store, increasing the time spent on the store premises (dwell time)
# Brand building – examples include Niketown stores where digital signage in video form is used as a part of the store décor to build a story around the brand
# Follow through campaign information to store manager - examples within chain establishment
# Environment enhancing - such as using digital signage to increase the customer experience with the building itself, examples of this are where digital signage panels are used on the floor and react to how and when an individual moves over them.

Digital signage can also be used in a corporate environment, for example by disseminating information throughout a company via screens in reception areas and canteens.

== Technology ==
thumb|right|300px|Digital Signage in a pharmacy store.
Digital signs may be scrolling message boards, OLEDs) that can be controlled electronically using a computer or other devices, allowing individuals or groups to remotely change and control their content (usually via the Internet).

Content scheduling and playback can be controlled by a number of technologies ranging from simple, non-networked media players that can output basic loops of MPEG-2 video to complex, N-tier player networks that offer control over many displays in many venues from a single location.  The former is ideal for small groups of displays that can be updated via sneaker net (the practice of physically transporting data to each location on a disc or CD-Rom, usually by walking), while the latter allows Digital Signage Network Operators to either push content to many players at once or have each player pull content from a server as needed.

Rapidly-dropping prices for large plasma and LCD screens and wide availability of Internet connectivity have caused digital signage deployments to gain in popularity, and displays can now be found in such diverse locations as retail outlets, transit hubs (like airports or bus stations), doctor's offices, fast food restaurants and even gas stations.

Another price related benefit that is allowing a larger group of businesses to install digital signage is the increasing availability of newer LCD and plasma display brands in the market.  Many locations have opted to forgo more expensive brand name displays for more affordable non name brand displays.  A recent study shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between price and the display size.  The same study also shows that there is a significant relationship between whether or not the display is a name brand.  These two variables actually account for 77% of the price in displays<ref>[http://digitalsignage.com/images/downloads/ds-misas%201.pdf Digital Signage Display Costs White Paper], Projective Marketing LLC, 2008</ref>. 

thumb|right|300px|Digital Signage nel Warner Village Cinemas di Taipei.
Il '''digital signage''' è una forma di Pubblicità nota in Italia come segnaletica digitale, avvisi pubblicitari digitali, videoposter o cartellonistica digitale.

Le peculiarità del digital signage sono sostanzialmente tre: 
*il modo in cui i contenuti vengono mostrati all'utente, attraverso schermi elettronici o videoproiezioni,
*la possibilità di non dover modificare fisicamente i cartelloni pubblicitari,
*l’obbiettivo di far ricevere un messaggio in un luogo specifico in un tempo specifico. 
Le caratteristiche di questa forma pubblicitaria offrono un maggior rapporto qualità/prezzo rispetto all’investimento in  tradizionali cartelloni stampati e la sua malleabilità permette di trasformare in pochi istanti uno spazio pubblicitario in diverse applicazioni.

Il contenuto mostrato su schermi per cartellonistica digitale può spaziare dal semplice testo ad immagini statiche arrivando fino a video in movimento con o senza audio.
Alcune reti di digital signage sono comparabili ad un canale televisivo dal contenuto sia di intrattenimento che informativo, intercalato da segmenti pubblicitari.

É possibile creare contenuti audiovisivi multimediali (da semplici bacheche a scorrimento fino a video poster), che appaiono su LCD, monitor al plasma o vengono videoproiettati, trasformandosi in comunicazioni qualitativamente paragonabili a quelle televisive. 

I contenuti possono essere gestiti da programmi applicativi, attraverso un personal computer o altre apparecchiature, permettendo al singolo o al gruppo di lavoro di modificare in remoto il contenuto, normalmente via internet o Lan, in maniera veloce ed efficiente.

==Esempi  di possibili utilizzi del digital signage:==