Digital signage offers flexibility and a way to inform, entertain, educate, and communicate with diverse audiences. These ubiquitous signs appear in bus stations, at airports, in fast food restaurants, and in doctor’s offices.
A subcategory of electronic signage (which includes technologies like LCD, LED, and projection), digital signs are comprised several key components:
- Content: Audio, video, image, graphics, text, and more that convey information
- Hardware: Screens, mounts, printers, cameras, payment devices, and more
- Software: Digital infrastructure that facilitates the creation, deployment, management, and analysis of the content the signs display
Digital signs and electronic message centres (EMCs) allow businesses to run more targeted, local marketing campaigns, incorporate local events, and easily test and iterate marketing tactics. One of these signs’ most valuable attributes is their ability to display real-time information.
A wide variety of sign options exists, and your company’s plans for the signs will help guide Neon Nights recommendations. For example, EMCs work well to promote business features or specials. These signs can display words, images, and more than someone can change automatically or remotely. A single-screen can include automated content — like news, weather, sports, FIDS, announcements, and advertisements.
Digital signage and EMCs can also include menu boards and public-facing boards within the interior space of a company, corporation, or business. College and university campuses and shopping centres use way finding screens to help visitors or customers navigate. Retail stores and office buildings often make use of video walls, too.
Advantages of Digital Signs
Today we live in a world surrounded by digital signs — waiting room monitors, restaurant menu boards, digital retail signs, community and school displays, and so much more. And we have high expectations for the messages they convey.
Besides the obvious benefits — like improving the look of a location, capturing attention, and increasing customer awareness — digital signs do more than offer a good impression. If you’re not sure whether to take that next step and add a digital sign to your business, here are some reasons it’s worth serious consideration:
- Enhanced Engagement: Digital signs can capture over 400% more views than static displays — and help to increase in-store traffic.
- Greater Customer Satisfaction: According to a Digital Signage Today article, customers who interact with digital signage reported 46% higher satisfaction and a 35% decrease in perceived wait time.
- Dependable and Responsive Interaction: Technological advances have propelled the growth of smart digital signs and EMCs, which enable companies to add digital interactions that their customers — used to access the information on screens of all sizes — expect.
- More Impulse Purchases: The tech community has noted that 19% of people surveyed have admitted to making unplanned purchases because of digital signage’s influence.
- Higher Growth and Increased Sales: Many reports show that brands experience significant sales increases — up to 33% — after they implement digital signs.
- Supports Adding Video: Digital signs that leverage video — which is more engaging than stills — can use that video to capture and hold viewers attention.
- Better Communication: Businesses that incorporate digital signage and electronic message centres can display much more information. Companies can run time-sensitive ads or display time-sensitive information, like social media feeds, blog posts, weather, or COVID-19 updates.
The Neon Nights Process
Like all electronics, digital signage options vary significantly. Choosing the right design to meet your needs requires many calculations and considerations. Neon Nights understands signage deeply, including the complexities of EMCs which offer a diversity of types and benefits and cover a wide price range.
We work with multiple EMC manufacturers and are well-positioned to design and build the best EMC for your needs and budget. We’re also well-equipped to navigate the permitting process, which can become quite involved when a business wants to install digital signs or EMCs.
Identifying and Defining Your Needs
When you’re exploring options and thinking about installing digital signage or an electronic message centre, you’ll need to consider a variety of things, including:
- Cost
- Ease of use
- Dynamic templates
- Scheduling
- Reliability
- Scalability
- Offline pay
- User management of software
- Integration of the fresh sign with other existing signage
