(Norwell, MA) March 27, 2001 … A brand-new media category, with vast potential to change how brand-marketing messages are conveyed, is being created, according to the Visual Communications Technologies Consulting Service at CAP Ventures. Comprised of large format electronic displays used to deliver information and advertising messages in public spaces, the category is poised for explosive growth. "Our research into this new media field confirms that now emerging are electronic versions of traditional point of purchase, out-of-home and visual merchandising applications", said David Williamson, director of the Visual Communications Technologies Consulting Service (VCT). "Nearly $250 million has been invested in just the networks being developed to carry these advertising messages in venues from convenience stores to retail malls and along streets and highways around the world." At two U.S. trade exhibitions being held last week, these cutting-edge electronic displays were on display. Outdoor LED boards were the primary focus of the International Sign Association in Las Vegas. At the same time in Chicago, at the GlobalShop exhibition, interior gas-plasma and LCD displays were featured along with newer electronic papers for point of purchase and retail signage applications from the Xerox spin-off, Gyricon. CAP Ventures, in a briefing before sign industry executives last Friday, March 23rd in Las Vegas, has termed this new large format electronic display field the "Third Stage" of signs and graphics, joining analog products and large format digitally printed signs as classes of output. The VCT consulting practice at CAP Ventures has released to its clients a White Paper research report with an in-depth analysis of "Narrowcasting in Public Spaces."