Interactive touch screens a game-changer for advertising? (page 1 of 2)

While touchscreen technology is becoming ubiquitous, due to the soaring popularity of smartphones and tablets, it may soon be the turn of larger format screens that allow for more elaborate control gestures, and collaborative interactions, to impact the market.

Various international retailers are employing interactive displays as a new way of engaging customers, deals have been made in GCC schools for 'edu-tainment' displays and a UAE government ministry has recently had a one-off table-top interface developed.

Touchscreen technology has existed in various, more crude, forms for a few decades and has been in widespread use since the 1990s. Despite being around for some time, and its obvious uses, the commercialisation of multi-touch gesture technology has only really taken off in recent years. Analogue OOH (out of home, or outdoor advertising) is still king.

"In general, I think the trend will be for increasingly more digital OOH across markets, even here in the Middle East," says Piero Poli, General Manager at Havas Digital Middle East. "There are the obvious creative benefits which would lead to more consumer engagement with the advertising itself."

Done right, an experientially led OOH 'moment' carries the benefit of lifting brand metrics of awareness, consideration and familiarity, says Poli.

"There are also efficiency benefits for brands as their agencies have the opportunity to plan and launch campaigns in a timelier manner and get the benefits of negotiating (in real time) for the actual OOH space which will make it more competitive," he tells AMEinfo.

India-based Touchmagix is one firm pioneering a variety of interactive display solutions, which include wall, floor and table-top displays.

"Education is one of the verticals with which we kicked off our work in Dubai. In the UAE we have completed one education project in Motor City and have another deal for an Abu Dhabi school," explains Anup Tapadia, founder of TouchMagix Media.

"There we have an interactive wall, 8 feet by 6 feet, where kids play educational team-based games. You can call it edu-tainment, where exercising and learning is a team based activity," he says.

See previous: Game based learning and smart devices the future of Middle East education?

Generic devices, customised functions

The firm began developing the products solely for advertising but soon realised the potential of such technology. Touchmagix's first major government project was for the UAE Ministry of Civil Defence, who ordered a table-top interactive display with a unique app for their plan approval processes. But in these examples, the key to enhanced productivity is in the software itself.

"Initially we started off with advertising and branding in mind. These large surfaces capture attention. But we soon realised it doesn't end there - the hardware is the same but the content can be customised to whatever vertical market you can think of," says Tapadia.

Touchmagix do engineer apps for businesses but primarily engineer the platforms in order for app-developers to produce mass-market software, as well as work with clients for bespoke projects.

"There are third parties who work with us, and an open API, but what happens with new technology is that people take time to grasp the type of interactions that are possible," says Tapadia.