Wouldn’t it be neat if movie theaters’ coming-attractions “posters” were flat-screen displays that provided short film clips? Elsewhere in the mall, imagine large advertising screens that flash messages targeted to different demographic groups based on the time of day. And think of the possibilities if marketing companies could inexpensively produce multiple digital versions of a campaign to find the best-fitting message.

Using large-format liquid-crystal, plasma or projection-screen displays, Web-based systems called dynamic display networks allow users to combine their advertising messages with real-time data such as news and weather headlines, and control and update multiple screens at once. Clive-based POPStar Networks Inc. is among a vanguard of U.S. companies that have begun applying the technology, also known as narrowcasting, for retail clients and advertising agencies.

“We like to say it combines the impact of printed advertising with the drawing power of television and the speed and changeability of the Internet,” said Randy Califf, president and CEO of POPStar Networks. An application system provider, the company designs and operates dynamic signage networks for its clients.

POPStar, which is just emerging from the research and development phase into active sales and marketing of its services, plans to target a variety of retailers, from banks and brokerage houses to grocery stores, hotels, restaurants and movie theaters. The company is even talking to golf courses, which are considering placing the devices in their clubhouses to pitch their residential lots to golfers while they’re hitting the 19th hole.

“It’s an ideal candidate for outsourcing for most companies,” Califf said. “And if a company wants to in-source, we can sell our system on a licensed basis as well.”

One of the primary advantages of the system is the ability to replace printed in-store promotional materials that are produced and distributed every three to four weeks on average with content that can be produced in less than a week and installed with a few mouse clicks rather than by employees using ladders. In some cases, retailers will find a new revenue source by charging manufacturers fees for providing in-store advertisements for their products.

“This is truly a better mousetrap for point-of-purchase signage,” Califf said, “in that you’re only producing digital assets … to optimize the marketing for the locations your audiences are at.”

Because each system is essentially custom-designed, it’s difficult to provide a cost range for a system, he said. In addition to the initial outlay for the hardware, clients pay a monthly software and service fee.

Companies such as POPStar are at the forefront of an industry that’s projected to reach between $2 billion and $3 billion in sales by 2006 — and that’s assuming an initial market penetration of just 2 percent of the advertising display industry.

“Displaying something on a screen isn’t rocket science,” Califf said. “But creating the network and the ability to work with the content, that’s the science. And being able to support it, that’s the value of a managed service provider.”

Incorporated in October 2003, POPStar Networks is the brainchild of Califf and Steve Hagenlock. The two first worked together to design interactive pay-per-view systems for LodgeNet Entertainment Corp., a Sioux Falls-based interactive entertainment systems provider for hotels.

In the mid-1990s Califf and Hagenlock co-founded Coaches’ Edge, a sports animation company. Its product, also known as Coaches’ Edge, has been used by CBS Sports for the past several basketball seasons to recap plays in its “Road to the Final Four” programs.

From the exposure on CBS, “we got quite a bit of brand recognition, and started selling content packages to ESPN, Sportsline.com and all the Internet portals of the time,” Califf said. The two have since sold the business to SportVision, which is still profitably marketing the systems, he said.

Accustomed to marketing new products, Califf and Hagenlock plan to introduce POPStar’s system both to potential end users as well as ad agencies and audio-video companies interested in providing the content for the networks.

“And there are vertical market players that are getting into this business now just because this technology exists,” he said. “We’re in discussion with a couple of folks in vertical markets.”

One example of an existing vertical market is universities. POPStar has a contract with Sterling Digital Networks LLC, a Lincoln, Neb., company that’s produces an advertising-supported lifestyle channel designed for college students to view at student unions.

“Sterling sells the ads, devises the content, contracts with the universities and handles first-tier customer support,” he said. “We manage and monitor the network.”

POPStar has signed agreements with six reselling partners, which locally include Trilix Marketing Group of Urbandale.

On the retail level, an early adopter of the technology in Greater Des Moines is Betts Volvo/Jaguar at 108th Street and Hickman Road. The newly built dealership has installed a 140-inch rear-projection screen in its front display window, visible to traffic moving in both directions along Hickman Road.

“The original conversation started about what we might do for a kiosk situation,” said Rich Willis, owner and president of Betts Auto Campuses. “But when we got in the process of getting to know each other, the thought came, ‘Gosh, if he can do that …’ We had been looking for a creative image for the front of the building.”