We were in the post office recently to mail those pesky tax returns and what greets us but a well-engineered, well-placed vertical digital sign ready to answer all those mailing questions we have. And there are many.

But, we didn’t get any help from this brand engagement, as the sign was dark. Dead. Non-functioning. Collecting dust. Screaming out, “We don’t have the budget to keep this damn thing working.”

Budget may or may not be keeping digital merchandising dark in the post office. But given all the press of their woes, it wouldn’t be surprising. And there’s talk of turning post offices into financial centers. Ha! That’s a stretch.

It’s a real shame that this opportunity is being lost. It was just a few years ago that the postal system was being lauded as a front runner in digital signage. They were one of the first networks to deploy nationwide. They had good graphics and animation loops. We used them as best in class examples in our white papers and presentations.

What happened?

The post office is probably going the way of Blockbuster, Borders, Circuit City and others. There’s major disruption going on in their category and digital signage can’t save it. Clearly. And that’s a shame.