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Digital signage is a fast-growing technology that's still a new concept to many. By educating yourself on the fundamentals and understanding the key components that go into creating a working solution, you can deploy a successful digital signage system.
Bright, bold digital displays seem to be everywhere these days, and for newcomers to the market, there are a lot of questions. While digital signage has grown extensively in the last few years, it is still a fairly new concept to many. In this article, you’ll get an introduction to the fundamentals of digital signage and the key components to create a complete working solution.
Defining Digital Signage
Digital signage has become the most widely accepted term for the concept of showing targeted content on public screens, but you will see many other phrases such as out-of-home networks, digital networks, electronic signs, dynamic signage, narrowcasting and dozens of others. For all intensive purposes, these terms all describe the same thing – digital signage.
While I have seen dozens of different definitions, digital signage is essentially taking some type of display device and playing multimedia content in a public space. In the simplest form, this could be hooking a DVD player up to a small LCD screen, or on a larger scale, it could be screens located around the world connected to each other through the Internet. Regardless of the setup, the objective is to get a message across to an audience at the right time.
Based on this information, we know that the technology is being used. So if you aren’t using displays in your business, you should start investigating their potential, because you can bet your competition is researching or deploying digital signage systems.
One objective to consider when evaluating a digital signage system's effectiveness is if it led to communications efficiency with guests, staff and visitors. With proper signage, you can eliminate questions and keep everyone informed, thus saving time.
Effectiveness of Digital Signage
Several case studies and white papers on the digital signage industry document the accomplishments of this medium in specific market verticals. In broad terms, I want to share a couple of figures I borrowed from Alan Brawn of Brawn Consulting LLC. He cites a study that was conducted to measure how many impressions it takes a viewer to remember a message. The study found that, in 1967, it only took three impressions, while in 2003, it took 117.
Can we imagine what the results would be today with advancements of Twitter, text messages, blogs and other forms of social media? My point is that information is everywhere, so the previous method of a “shotgun” marketing approach isn’t as effective, while digital signage provides a more targeted approach.
Return on Investment
While developing a return on investment (ROI) assessment is important in every organization’s decision-making process, in most cases the evaluation requires a review of some intangibles. In retail environments, you can measure increases in sales, but many digital signage application are found in transportation stations, office environments, universities and other market segments that can’t easily measure transactions. While there are many things to consider, I encourage you to evaluate not based on ROI, but on ROO – return on objective. Some examples of objectives to measure against are:
Communications efficiency with guests, staff and visitors. With proper signage, you can eliminate questions and keep everyone informed, thus saving time.
Broadcasting alerts. In the event of an emergency or catastrophic event at a shopping mall or college campus, the use of displays can save lives.
Creating the “wow” factor. For some lobbies, coffee shops and retail branches, the use of digital signage is just to make a statement and get people to say “Wow.”
Components of Digital Signage
There are literally hundreds of different companies providing various components and pieces to the digital signage puzzle. The following are what I consider the seven main components that work together to create a complete working system:
Content: You can buy the most expensive digital signage system, but if you don’t have relevant content, your message will be lost. The content doesn’t have to be complex – sometimes the simplest messages are the most effective. When planning your digital signage system’s content, look at your resources and decide if this is something you want to do in house or through a third-party partner. Use that distinction to guide your decision with respect to the integration partner you select and software provider you use. Also consider the use of live data such as headline news, weather forecasts or market updates to help make your displays engaging and interesting.
Display Hardware: Because sales of flat screen TVs in the consumer market have grown, the costs for commercial screens had dropped in price drastically over the last three years. For public spaces, you want to be sure to get a high-quality screen that is right for your environment. There are numerous specialized screens for interactivity, 3D, high-ambient conditions and for tiling into video walls. All screens are not created equal, so know your requirements, especially if you are looking to create a video wall or a touch-enabled application.
Mounts & Enclosures: The best mounts are the ones you don’t see. With planning and the use of a proper mount, you can make sure your display fits in aesthetically with the surroundings. You also can ensure that your display is secure, and that viewers can easily view your message.
Media Players: Computer, PC, engine or media player – whatever you want to call it, this device is central to the success of your network. Many low-cost options have flooded the market in the past year, but you get what you pay for. To fully take advantage of high-resolution displays, animated content and full-featured software, you need to have the proper horse power and a high-quality graphics card. When selecting a media player, consider your needs today but also look to the future so you don’t limit your ability to show high-quality content.
Cables & Connectivity: Whether you place the media player behind the screen or in a server room, you still need to connect everything together. Don’t wait until you are unpacking the boxes to figure out what cables you need. There are several options for converting and carrying signals dependant on your distance needs, so make sure you know where you want to locate the computer, what resolution you need to transmit, and – in addition to video – whether you need to send audio or control.
Software Control: Be cautious of published comparisons or reports. The industry is evolving quickly with each provider putting new releases out every few months. Don’t get caught up in the pretty bells and whistles – focus on what your core requirements are. Narrow those core requirements down to three or four things you really want to evaluate, and be specific. If you try to evaluate hundreds of different features, you will get lost in the forest of details. You are better off getting an application that is exceptional at three or four things you need versus a flexible platform that does an OK job a hundreds of things.
Deployment & Service: With this many pieces all coming together, integration is vital. While you may be enticed to simply order boxes online to save money, the cost of figuring out how to plug it all together and make it work can eat up any savings you may have realized. While evaluating the technology is important, evaluating an integration partner is more important. You want to select a partner that can help you through the selection of the components, install the equipment and stand by your side to work out all of the kinks to ensure you get the most out of your investment. When the system has a failure (it is a technological system, so failures are expected), you want to know you have a resource to call that will take care of you.
With digital signage, you must know what you want to accomplish. Start by defining what you want the signage to do for your organization, and then set out to find an integration partner that specializes in digital signage to help you narrow down the choices. If you don’t know what you want, seek education from organizations such as the Digital Signage Federation or by attending events such as Digital Signage Expo.
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