Big congrats go to Ripple for inking a deal with Border’s Books and Music. They’re set to launch a screen network of 60 locations, starting in major markets including Chicago, LA, New York, and San Fran. We’ve met the Ripple folks on multiple occasions, and we wish them all the best for a quickly expanding network!

Congrats also go to IKEA for being lauded by the Massachusetts Association of Retailers for having the best in-store signage. Now, how about making that signage even more engaging?
Mobile-Interactive Swedish Meatball TV? Well, naturally…

[tags]The Web Outside, Ripple, Ripple TV, Borders, IKEA, MA Association of Retailers, Digital Signage[/tags]

Okay, so it’s an offline campaign, but it was far too good not to post.

Check out this ad located on a drawbridge in Amsterdam, which was brought to my attention by the good folks at Digitas. The ad is only visible when the bridge is raised, so they’ve managed to snaggle the rapt attention of their audience. Seriously smart messaging and use of location.

[Pic via the Wooster Collective]

[tags]The Web Outside, Digitas, Digital Hive, Wooster Collective, OOH advertising, location-based advertising, Amsterdam, out-of-home[/tags]

Burn Free, as Free as the Source Flows…

The tagline for Freedom Toaster reads like a bad rally sign from the 70s, but the awesomeness of the technology makes up for it. Okay, almost.

So, Jayne, what’s a Freedom Toaster… and, more importantly, should I want one?

Glad you asked. A Freedom Toaster is like a candy machine– except instead of doling out Skittles and Snickers, it dispenses digital products (e.g. popular Linux versions, music downloads, ebooks, free Windows apps)… and yes, you should want one.

The idea for the Freedom Toaster grew from the discrepancy between the huge number of computer-savvy citizens of South Africa and the scarcity of reliable internet connections; therefore, access to open source software (Linux, in particular) is greatly stunted.

Freedom Toasters are currently up and running in a variety of public spaces in South Africa, and –in a notable demonstration of practicing what they preach– instructions for building your own Freedom Toaster are available on the company’s home site.

[via Springwise]

[tags]The Web Outside, Freedom Toaster, Linux, South Africa, open source software, Springwise.com[/tags]

Akamai Technologies, our Cambridge neighbors, have landed an impressive content delivery deal with Starbucks. The program is set to roll out in San Fran, Seattle, and NYC, and will basically allow Starbucks to serve itunes downloads from Akamai’s local servers, rather than from Sbuck’s central servers (as is the case currently). This shift is said to reduce download time for customers from 30 seconds per song to 2 seconds.

Although Starbucks (and retailers in general) may seem to be an unexpected target for an Internet content delivery company like Akamai, the move isn’t all that surprising given the state of the marketplace. According to business analyst Mukul Krishna, Akamai has led this sector for years, and is only now facing competition from multiple angles. This increased traffic in the space is bound to have at least one positive side effect: the Web Outside is about to become quicker… quickly.

[via Boston.com]

[tags]The Web Outside, Akamai Technologies, Internet content delivery, Cambridge, Mukul Krishna, Starbucks[/tags]

In a fantastic display of collaboration, twenty digital signage companies have banded together to champion MacMillan Cancer Support. This effort represents the largest multi-network OOH ad campaign ever in the UK.

Running on donated airtime from major players in the signage world, and with content created by Amigo Digital, the campaign has been running on screens throughout the UK since September: from bars to hair salons, from gas stations (I’m sorry… petrol) to post offices. The campaign also incorporates a Second Life component (which, I must say, seems extraneous– and even potentially distracting).

The project aims to to raise an ambitious 14.2m for cancer research. Truly an excellent (and charitable) presentation of the power of the industry.

[via aka.tv]

[tags]The Web Outside, MacMillan Cancer Support, Amigo Digital, digital signage, OOH networks, London[/tags]

Just learned that Dave Haynes, a fellow blogger in the Digital Signage space, has left his nearly three-year tenure at Digital View Media (which is currently transitioning into Enqii) to join BroadSign in Montreal.

Best wishes on your new gig, Dave – and hope you’re back up and blogging soon!

According to a MediaPost article last week, outdoor media spending is up 5.1%, “due to its continued deployment of new digital technology.”

Although overall ad spending was down .5% from this time in ‘06, Internet spending experienced a gigantic leap – growing a zippy 23.6% in a year.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest drops were seen in newspapers (both local and national) and local mags (although national mags showed a sweet 8.4% boost).

Sure, none of the report is shocking, but always great to see the OOH segment on a continued climb.