Digital signage is the present and future of advertising

Digital signs are continuously gaining impetus as a means of popularizing business. Companies love it because it is simple, easy to manipulate and it can draw attention quickly. Investing in digital signage is not an added expense for many. It is a redirected spending. Most companies redirect their mainstream media advertising budgets towards outdoor advertising.

Several companies now prefer digital modes of advertising for outdoor spaces since they can better manage the content using simple WordPress plugins and websites. WordPress as a CMS is very flexible, and a smart media company can customize your WordPress site content for your outdoor ads.

What are the components of an outdoor signage?

Any good out of home advertisement has the following elements –

• Videos
• Good quality images
• Texts: static and scroll through

Types of modern digital sign options

Interactive interface:

Many of the signage options are adapting an interactive interface. This makes management a bit more intricate since the creative team has to create several pathways for each option a user may choose. It involves setting it up with RFID technologies, touch screens, beacons and sensors that allow a two-way interactive process.

Context-aware interface:

Then comes the context-aware interfaces, like The Economist’s ad in the UK. The billboard featured a large bulb which lit up when a person passed under it. This signified the individual thought process. A bulb means unique ideas throughout the world. The message was quite simple. The Economist writes for bright minds and instils new ideas. This is called context aware outdoor advertising. Although the example above did not use digital signage, they did use some integrations needed for context-aware advertising.

It requires motion sensors, cameras, software monitors to judge ambient sound and audience. Some digital signage changes properties according to given weather conditions. Few of them can even customize their art and content depending on the time of the day.

Who controls the content?

Digital control depends completely on remote software. This allows the companies who are advertising to reach out to a defined audience. The marketing heads can edit the presentations or their WordPress sites from their office. A remote hosting sends the files to the server, and the board displays the ad. It is as straightforward and fast as that. There is no hassle of airing time or prime time cost. You won’t have to worry about show TRPs as you do for your TVCs.

Out of home advertising is ideal for new companies because it is cost effective, flexible and it allows businesses to reach out to only specific target groups. For example – if you were selling laptop chargers, you would like to target an audience who use laptops extensively. You would want students and office goers to see your ad. These people hardly have the time to watch prime time TV or see an ad in a newspaper. If you place your ad outside favorite subway stations, outside and inside college premises or at familiar after-office haunts, this will help you reach out more personally to your target audience.

You need more than just a website

Having a WordPress website for your company data will make is much easier for your marketing team to communicate with your media partners. The site will contain the optimized data that you can instantly use for narrowcasting at specific locations. Many signage companies have fixed locations for their boards. If you have your content ready, you can just pick the time and place for casting your advertisement or your message at the right time.

Make sure your WordPress site is supportive of interactive features if you want to go for a two-way interaction process. Keep a professional, responsive private hosting for your site if you want your audience to interact with your site content. Modern day out-of-home ads also encourage the use of SMS and social media. If you want to display user-generated content, you need to ensure that your CMS supports import of data via Bluetooth or network services.

Where else do we see digital signage?

Place-based media is standard at hospitals, bus terminuses, train stations and schools too. A company that caters to medical personnel, patients, travelers or school students can benefit from placing their signage in these premises. Narrowcasting is most common in hospitals. Private hospitals use them for showcasing their facilities, latest research, treatments available and general directions. Digital signs find a similar use in schools and colleges too. In addition to instant notice boards, they serve to help students out with their schedules, allotted classes, and directions.

In addition to the in-house use of these boards, many companies rent screen media solutions inside hospitals, schools, and stations. For example – if your firm makes sturdy, charging compatible travel bags, you might find your customers at train stations. If your company sells medicated ointments, you might find your clients inside a medical facility.

More people are going to digital signs and ads every day

We are seeing an increasing trend of religious organizations and NGOs using digital signs. The economic nature in combination with their ease of customization makes it possible for these organizations to use an alternate media. Some churches prefer getting their digital signboards on the lease. They keep changing the passages and the notices from time to time. NGOs find it much easier to use digital forms of signage since they need to reach out to a broad audience in short notice. Screen media is the most outstanding form of modern advertising. That is why most NGOs are gradually pulling away from radio ads and TVCs to focus on out of home ads.

Conclusion

In a very recent study from Nielsen, researchers state that over 237 million users in the USA see digital screens. These are adults (18 years, or older). This study classifies digital signage as a “fourth screen” category. This also says that although China was leading in the number of displays, USA is not far behind. The USA is catching up fast, with a huge part of the business population adopting digital merchandise as their mainstream marketing option.

 

Author Bio: Trudy Seeger is a marketing expert who has six years’ experience in digital marketing. He has been working on other advertising and marketing solutions like digital signage for a long time.