As we enter our sixth year of tracking the costs of digital signage networks, we're faced with a challenge: digital signage systems have become vastly more varied and complex since the point that we started surveying the pricing landscape back in 2004. Whereas the "typical" network of the time consisted of a bunch of screens hung from a wall or ceiling (for better or worse), today's networks frequently include tiny, shelf-edge screens, enormous rear-projectors and everything in between. Consequently, the notion of an "average" cost is becoming less and less meaningful. With that said, there's scant historical data about budgeting for digital signage networks out there, and we want to be able to continue tracking historical pricing trends. This year, though, we're adding a few new questions to the survey to better optimize our results and continue providing useful, meaningful insights to you.

Take two minutes and fill out the pricing survey!

If you haven't read any of our budgeting articles in the past, here's the short version: every year, we basically gather up survey responses from a few hundred people in the industry, interview network owners, operators and suppliers, and then put together a free report detailing what we've found. The historical results are kept on our Digital Signage Cost Estimates and Price Guidelines page, which is updated when new information becomes available. In addition, we'll send you a copy of a much more detailed report (check out last year's edition) after we've had a chance to do a full analysis. The end result is that you'll have the most complete, up-to-date pricing guidelines for our industry that I'm aware of. And it's all gratis.

It's free? What's in it for you guys?

Karma, hopefully.

How do I fill out the survey?

If you've got between 90 and 120 seconds, you can take it right now. If you're reading this article in a web browser, the survey should appear below. If you don't see it, simply click here to take the survey.

When can I expect to see results?

This survey will be open for a week, during which time our magic elves will also be gathering additional pricing intel from various industry sources. If all goes well, we'll post an article with summary findings later in November, followed by a complete report in December.

Thanks, as always, for your participation.