Dear GSA members and industry friends,

Digital signage has spent years proving that it can reach people in the right place and at the right moment. The next challenge is to demonstrate, with equal confidence, what that contact achieves.

This question is becoming more pressing as screens take on several roles at once. In a store, the same network may guide customers, support merchandising and carry retail media campaigns. In a workplace or public space, it may deliver information that must be timely and dependable. Each use has a different measure of success. A screen that is switched on is only the starting point.

A recent industry benchmark illustrates the gap between ambition and day-to-day practice. According to Kitcast’s State of Digital Signage 2026 report, 76.5% of surveyed operators do not measure return on investment. The report also found that only 54.9% of networks in its sample had updated content during the preceding 30 days. Its sample has limits, but the message is useful: measurement, content ownership and routine maintenance deserve as much attention as new technology.

For our industry, this creates an opportunity. We can help customers define the purpose of a network before choosing the metrics: fewer unanswered questions, stronger campaign performance, better communication or a more useful customer experience. We can then bring together the hardware, software, content and operational expertise needed to deliver on that purpose.

This is where an alliance has particular value. GSA connects companies with different strengths and perspectives. By sharing practical experience across those boundaries, we can help turn promising installations into services that customers can manage, measure and improve.

I look forward to continuing that conversation with our members in the months ahead and, later this year, with the wider industry at PIFA in Singapore.

Mark Ossel
Chairman, Global Signage Alliance