The London Digital Signage Week (LDSW) was an emotionally charged event – and not just for those with their hearts in their mouths, pedalling around the Velodrome at the NEC Showcase. Throughout the event, the exhibitors showed the love and the passion that is being put into this industry to make it grow and develop.

The evidence from LDSW is that DOOH is coming to maturity, with brands, media owners and buyers, digital signage manufacturers and software developers all coming together to discuss the sector and demonstrate how it can all fit together.

 "It isn't often that we see DOOH showcased by itself," notes Ocean Outdoor chairman Tom Goddard at the Media Summit, held at Bafta's members club. "This has been fair enough, so far, because there was not that much coverage. Yet now it is time to split up: DOOH doesn't need to be part of traditional outdoor advertising or any other industry. We need a new trade body, for DOOH media owners to join, and then we can expand into other vertical markets that use the digital medium to advertise and communicate."

Digital media is becoming a key part of brand strategy, as Chris Ross, senior brand manager atCoca-Cola, explains: "Coke loves DOOH. To fall in love with brands, you need to share values with consumers and create an emotional connection, as well as being more relevant and connecting in a more efficient manner. Digital technology allows us this connection with people in real time."

Ross also linked DOOH with social media, adding that "the opportunity is more than just the advertising message; it's a message that will live in the social environment."

This sentiment was echoed by Twitter's UK managing director Bruce Daisley: "As mobile grows, so does social media. Our screens become parts of our lives – not just the screen on the wall, but also the screen in our hands. Thousands of tinny connections between people's phones every day can be amplified by DOOH. A moment of magic for the consumer can happen almost seamlessly."

Indeed, a moment of magic was also what Steen Mertz, director of communications and technology at Denmark's Jyske Bank was looking for when he decided to ditch its incumbent customer communication strategy in favour of creating an in-house TV channel. Presenting a case study at the Scala Conference, he explains how jyskebank.tv has grown since launching in October 2013: "Using Scala's digital signage content management software has been instrumental to this project."

The ad-free content is produced in English and Danish and is narrowcast to the bank's 120 branches. "We have VOD, live video, text-based news, Facebook feeds, Instagram feeds, Twitter feeds, stock information and so on," he explains.

Although Mertz refused to disclose how much the whole project cost, he did say that communicating with clients this way saves money: "We don't like talking about ROI; instead we use ROL: 'return on love'. If you give customers something they can learn to love, then they will remember you and they will work with you."

It was at the NEC Showcase, the central showcase of the week, this love of DOOH was most apparent. Extended to run over two days this year, it attracted over 1,500 visitors to the Velodrome and saw industry experts working together to create life-like scenarios to demonstrate what is possible for end users.

NEC Showcase featured nine zones this year, featuring applications and solutions foreducation, retail, transport and leisure, to name but a few. Over 60 partners collaborated to demonstrate 80 fully integrated solutions. This was an excellent opportunity for end users to talk directly with manufacturers and developers.

Amongst the most impressive installations were an 180°, 36 screen curved videowall created byPSCo, delivering an immersive experience with gesture controlled game play, a series of sensory and context aware digital signage, and screens that recognise you and can read your thoughts.

The Screen Breakfast briefing, also held at the Velodrome, looked at the JCDecauxSmartScreen network, recently installed across Tesco's UK stores. Located at 400 supermarkets, the 72" (182cm) digital screens stand at store entrances, targeting shoppers entering a store with variable messaging based on local consumer habits, environmental factors and time-sensitive promotions.

The hashtag for the event proclaimed that #Londonistheplacetobe, and many of the companies aimed to demonstrate this, taking visitors to the various events on tours around to see how DOOH is being used in situ around the UK capital.

The week provided a means for companies to network, share ideas and work together to show how each other's products can be used together for maximum benefit for the end user. Such collaboration is wonderful to see – and will be key if DOOH is to reach its full potential.