As digital signage continues to gain traction as the most effective form of in-store advertising, it’s important to consider best practices for deployment. Here are five considerations for best practices after working with retailers in over 1,000 deployments.
A desirable program – build it and they will come
Building a program that provides the greatest ROI for the cost is key to ongoing long term acceptance and widespread deployment. Before committing to a partner and program, ensure that all costs are included — upfront installation costs as well as ongoing management and maintenance costs. The ROI of these upfront and ongoing investments needs to be openly discussed and understood by all participants at the outset. While we have seen many models of cost assignment and sharing, in our experience the most successful deployments have shared a common thread of eligibility for co-op funding.
Program management – centralize for peace of mind
Once you have a program designed to meet your needs, consider how that program will be managed. This should be as easy and seamless as deployment. Having a partner that is easy to work with is important and central management can make this process a breeze. With centrally managed digital signage, the vendor often finds any needed repairs and begins a fix before the user can even contact them and updating messaging is done in an instant.
Read More »
Digital signage enables dynamic message management at point of decision, allowing the brand to change offers as often as desired. The problem with traditional printed POP is that it is what it is, and can’t be changed without physically replacing the pieces. The beauty of a well designed, centrally-managed digital signage network is that the message can be modified at any time, to reflect special, seasonal or even weather-related offers with tailored content. As one retailer said, “There’s nothing like having a wiper blade replacement offer in front of customers during our rainy season. It really makes an impact.” Simple message modification can also decrease the time between when a customer is introduced to a message and the point of purchase. Centrally-managed digital signage quickly and easily provides optimized brand and retailer messaging at any and all times.
Centralized management also provides continuous monitoring of the display and display content, ensuring usage compliance and quick response to any maintenance issues. When digital signage is remotely and centrally managed by the provider, they can know at all times the health of the system and be sure that all offers are up and running when they should be. If something does fail, the digital signage provider can find out at the same time — or even before — the retail location and have maintenance in motion. Quick fixes and consistent maintenance allow for worry-free digital signage for the retailer and the brands, but also depend on central management.
Utilizing serial connectivity is a critical part of Vital Media’s centralized program management capability, as it allows remote control and monitoring of the display. Using an RS232 port also provides connectivity to the commercial-grade monitors for power, input and diagnostic control. Digital signage providers may differ in their technologies, but choosing a provider that offers the right level of central management for your current and future network not only reduces retailers’ support requirements, but also reduces total cost of ownership.
Read More »
Some similarities and differences between digital and traditional POP displays
More and more retailers are joining the digital revolution, deploying digital signage programs in place of traditional print-based static POP assets. In over a thousand digital signage deployments, we’ve had an opportunity to work with brands and retailers in setting expectations (and observing excitement levels) during rollout and beyond. To get the most out of your digital signage investment, it’s important to have a thorough understanding of what digital POP is, and what it is not, when you start replacing those cardboard end caps and shelf talkers.
What Digital Signage Isn’t
Television: Customers don’t go to stores to watch TV. They go to shop, so the digital signage content is optimized for the quick-hit informational and call-to-action requirements of the retail environment.
Read More »
As so many in the industry state: content is king with digital signage. But what questions need answering when it comes to planning and developing a digital signage content program? You may have digital signage in place or be considering it; maybe you work in the digital signage industry. Whatever your connection to digital signage is, the questions below reflect what we have learned over a thousand digital signage deployments in the independent retail channel.
When it comes to segment and loop timing, take these questions into account:
Read More »
By Ben Stagg
The topic of traditional print versus digital advertising is not new. However, it is still a current, hot and unresolved topic in advertising and marketing, particularly when it comes to retail point-of-sale. Brett King writes in Huffpost Business: “The question over Digital or Traditional is the wrong question. The question should be, how do we better engage customers today so that they are compelled to buy?”
How indeed. We do know that customers are researching considered purchase products online before visiting the retail location. One big plus for digital signage is the ability to continue delivering the same dynamic messaging the customer has become familiar with during their online search, and carry it all the way through to the point of purchase. Our own experience with over a thousand digital signage deployments tells us that the brand that stands out in the retail environment is the brand that stays top of mind, and the brand that makes the sale.
Read More »
By Ben Stagg
When it comes to the PCs we use in our digital signage deployments, it seems as if the days of paying more than we want or facing getting less than we need seem to be over. Our shop has deployed over a thousand digital signs into a variety of independent retail showrooms, and I can say that current PCs are truly taking digital signage to the next level. Today’s PCs are better suited for digital signage applications and the retail showroom environments than ever —capable of delivering true high-definition picture quality, processing complex video files, and providing remote monitoring and management tools. All the while using less power (as low as 45W at peak) and no moving parts (fanless thermal protection and solid state drives). Here’s the kicker: The boxes we are buying are also more affordable than ever at around $400 a pop without an operating system.
That said, here are six things to look for in a digital signage PC:
Read More »
By Wil Putt
I recently wrote about why independent retailers of considered purchase products were moving to deploy digital signage solutions at the point of sale. Their top reasons included augmenting sales staff, incremental revenue, dealing creatively with customer wait time, message management and customer expectation in this digital age. Today, I am going to take a look at what is motivating large brands to add digital signage to their channel marketing arsenal.
My company, Vital Media, specializes in the development, deployment and management of digital signage programs for independent retail channels — specifically those which sell considered purchase products. These channels carry major brands, which compete for customer attention on the shop floor. As part of a brand’s multi-channel strategy, independent retailers continue to be a highly valued outlet, and therefore worth support and investment. The following are what I have personally observed in my conversations with brand managers as today’s top five reasons the big brands are deploying digital signage programs.
1. Creative alignment
Major brands spend hundreds of millions of dollars on positioning and consumer advertising campaigns. The consumer who walks into the showroom of an independent retailer is highly likely to already be familiar with current brand messaging. Unlike traditional printed POP material which is typically produced and distributed on a quarterly or even less frequent basis, digital signage can be continuously updated at any frequency desired to ensure delivery of the same messaging the consumer is seeing at home. (Not to mention digital signage is a greener, environmentally-friendly alternative that is more cost effective than traditional printed POP material — but that’s a topic for another blog.) This creative alignment helps to keep the brand, and the brand message, top of mind — with the result of increased sales.
Read More »
As advertising continues to trend more and more from print to digital, digital messaging itself is moving towards a ubiquitous presence — from initial web browsing all the way to the point of sale. Our own experience with over a thousand digital signage deployments tells us that the brand that stands out in the retail environment is the brand that stays top of mind, and the brand that makes the sale. While printed POP displays still have a role at retail, these static and often dated displays simply cannot compete with the dynamic messaging of a digital signage program. In a typical showroom environment offering several brands competing for the customer’s attention, a digital sign providing information and product differentiation at POS will prevail over printed POP every day.
Read More »
By Wil Putt
As the founder and owner of a digital signage company, I can list all kinds of reasons why digital signage really is the future of point-of-sale advertising. Because my company, Vital Media, specializes in the development, deployment and management of digital signage programs for independent retail channels, I get to meet a number of independent retailers and see firsthand how their digital signage programs are implemented, and what they see as the most valuable aspects of the program. The following are what I have personally observed as today’s top five.
1. Augmenting sales staff
We have placed hundreds of digital signage programs into automotive tire and repair centers. These are busy stores, with a mix of both drop-in and by-appointment customers. The counter staff stay busy, and between checking on repair status and active selling, are not always available to answer questions or to immediately assist a walk-in. Digital signage has a mix of both brand offers as well as dealer specials and seasonal promotions. This achieves a huge measure of preselling, where the customer’s first interaction with sales staff is often along the lines of “I see you’ve got a special on shocks this month.” That’s big.
Read More »
My company, Vital Media, just returned from exhibiting at this year’s Global Shop, held March 28-30th at the Sands in Las Vegas. In speaking with other exhibitors and various attendees, it was pretty clear that attendance and the general mood was way up compared to the last two years.
I had a chance to speak with several major global brands, as well as some national retailers, and came away feeling pretty good about our business and the overall economy. The big brands are clearly feeling more confident, and are motivated to reinvest in their marketing programs. The national retail chains that stopped by our booth also reported signs of a recovery, and are looking for ways to increase their customer revenues.
Read More »