Outdoor digital signage in transit locations

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Living with outdoor digital signage.

Transit locations are essential in any country; this is why outdoor digital signage is being deployed in most high footfall locations in the USA.

Trends in outdoor digital signage.

Recently we have seen on vehicle digital signage, this is not a new technology, there are some companies who do supply them, one in particular (LCD Enclosure Solutions Inc ) who has been manufacturing and supplying these units across the USA for the past 12 months!

The benefits of vehicle signage is that the vehicles have access to the city at peak times of the day, to the audience is massive and the ads are more successful, than say in a less busy environment than say, Manhattan New York. We have seen taxi topper signs on cabs, we have seen LED video walls on buses and coaches.

Have you ever been in a transit hub and needed to check train connections? Now you can using these floor standing kiosks, they even notify you of any cancellations or deviations from the original travel information.

Then on to hotel digital signage is yet another trending sector for outdoor digital signage, here you may find outdoor digital signage hardware in car parks, so guests can check in right from the car park and go hen take their luggage to their room! Some solutions are also equipped with wayfinding, so guests can be directed to their room or even by scanning a QR code displayed on screen, guests can download a map of the hotel, so they know exactly where the restaurant and bars are!

Casinos are also investing in outdoor digital signage hardware, as this gets clients in the habit of touching the screen, without thinking. Then when they go into the casino, it is embedded on their brain to touch the interactive gaming machines within the casino. You may not agree with this practice, but you have to admire the technology.

Challenges with outdoor digital advertising.

There are many challenges with installing any outdoor digital signage solution, the first and most important is the screen has to be seen, if for whatever reason it is not, the project is dead, clients will reluctantly advertise. The only solution is to use a screen that is sunlight bright, or high bright. This means that the display is extremely bright, even in direct sunlight, normally if a display is outdoors and in direct sunlight and not a high bright screen the display starts to blacken with the harmful effects of the sun on the LCD crystals. There are several bands including Dynascan and LG who offer high bright displays for outdoor digital signage.

outdoor digital signage from Dynascan

The next challenge, is the location and has to be researched, otherwise the hardware may be installed in a quiet area of the outdoor location, rather than a high foot fall environment. These are usually entrances to the establishment or main walkway to entrances.
You also have to think how the ads are to be updated, advertising campaigns are usually seasonal and may even be for a specific brand’s product launch.

Benefits of outdoor advertising.

Outdoor advertising using digital media informs customers of changes within the transit hub, this may be a change in connection locations, changes to the route or even worst cancellations. In the case of cancellations you can use the outdoor kiosks to search for local hotels that have availability if your connection is delayed to the following morning.

From transit hubs, hotels and casinos outdoor digital signage is growing.

Digital Wayfinding Eases Patient Anxiety

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Effective uses of digital wayfinding.

It’s a stressful experience for most people when faced with a medical appointment, but studies have shown digital wayfinding eases patient anxiety, by providing an accurate, simple to use route map of the building, exits, car parks and waiting rooms. With the added facility of a touch screen, a visitor can select a particular route, using color coded arrows and symbols.

Internal and External Digital Wayfinding.

hotel digital wayfinding

From entering the campus, which itself can be a huge area, to finding a parking lot near the medical office is a challenge. So you’re stressed out before you even enter the building! Then there are more directional challenges ahead. Maybe the patient or visitor has already been within the building, but now seek a different department, or some of us just plain forget. There have always been paper maps, posters and billboards, ceiling hung signs and door signs to navigate by, but how many times have you ended up completing a full circle? Hospital staff are not traffic cops or ‘search an rescue’ personnel, they are trained medical staff who need to concentrate on their professional jobs. People become irrational, confused and disoriented, having lost their way and resources are wasted due to patients not turning up for an appointment, as they are ‘somewhere else’ in the building. It’s not a good way to start to day.

Investment of digital directions.

But technology now offers the facility to ease visitors experiences of such buildings. A touch screen way-finding digital signage board offers just that. The initial investment may seem a significant amount, but when supplemented with advertisements from local businesses, medical products or services of healthcare professionals, it is financially viable to off-set the revenue generated against the asset. Also, tax implications are favorable towards investing in electronic technology – depending on the country and state.

Successful Media Messaging.

Patients are expecting to see electronic technology in a medical facility, and would question the fact of ‘why not?’. This questions the facilities of other resources of the business. Hospitals are deploying digital signage to improve on-site navigation, but also to supply relevant information and local news, like a weather report, traffic congestion or emergency evacuation procedure. The content can be managed locally or remotely, depending on the control station. Updated content, in real-time and editing, amending, replacing or updated information; like appointment times. This has so much more flexibility than traditional information boards and is an easy system for patients to comprehend.

Virtual Information Desk.

Human nature determines the habits of personnel, it is not always possible to man a reception desk, with the best intentions, however a digital sign does not have a 10 minute break every couple of hours. There are no queues for a receptionist and personal information, remains personal – who needs to know which department a patient is headed too. There are many challenges facing the visitor, whether it is a hospital, office complex or educational facility, digital wayfinding is an innovative and dynamic form of easing the anxiety of an avoidable situation.

Remember directional signs are around us every place, especially in hotels and shopping malls, so check out the digital wayfinding solutions.

How Affective Is House Of Worship Digital Signage?

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Is house of worship digital signage effective?

Ministers and parishioners a like question if house of worship digital signage is effective, once they try it; they question how their place of worship grew without them in the past.

Some people like change – some hate change, this is life and a place of worship is no different. I personally have over 15 years’ experience part of our local Church and found that the elder members of the congregation did like to embrace technology, one guy, I will call John helped me set my iPhone up!

Yes a place of worship is a sacred place, so installing anything that is not usual has to be given careful consideration. Because at the end of the day; you do not want to upset the congregation.

Benefits of house of worship digital signage.

These range from updating the calendar of events, for the following weeks and months. This can be done in seconds, compared to having to set the printer up and then clean the toner – what a horrible job! To update the information on the displays, you just need is to store the new update on a thumb drive and insert it into the port of the media player.

Celebrating life – when someone is taken from the community and we have permission from the family, their details can be shown on the sign, so we remember them in our prayers.

Births – the same can be said for births and christenings or naming days, they can all be displayed for the community that frequent the place of worship to see.

Raising fund target updates – need to see if the house of worship has achieved it target for charitable giving?

Misconception!

One major misunderstanding is that people have seen similar electronic signs in shopping malls that display adverts, in a house of worship information is displayed, period.

The solution.

For house of worship digital signage, there are many hardware solutions that can be either wall mounted or floor standing, depending on the locations demands. The most affordable solutions range in size up to 46 inch screens.

house of worship digital signage

Fundraising, a subject not to be discussed.

One solution we came up with was a monthly printed magazine that was distributed to the community and the congregation. But local businesses want to advertise; we had an unexpected repair for the heating system, so I approached the local businesses and offered them some ad space on out electronic notice board that was at the front of the house of worship.

We approached the 40 advertisers who all took up the offer at $100 per month, in a matter of 2 months; we had additional businesses wanting to promote their services to the congregation, from florists to taxis. Now the church makes a monthly profit just from the business adverts of $6780. The ads are only displayed after the churches information is delivered electronically on the displays, all triggered by a sensor.

Religious places of worship can benefit from electronic signs, this is why house of worship digital signage is growing well.

Marketing Success With Digital Signage

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Using digital signage hardware for profit.

Planning an advertising campaign will have a positive marketing success with digital signage. Information is fed to us constantly on multiple electronic devices 24/7, but reaching your target audience is crucial, as explained on CNN. Which display boards work best?

DOOH the digital signage solution.

We have come a long way from the traditional and prosperous form the paper poster on a static billboard, but it is no surprise how technology has evolved into DOOH – digital out of home advertising and entertainment. Large or small, a digital signage screen can offer a myriad of advertisements, supplementing the initial outlay of the hardware and software. Digital signage, in any format; touch-screen kiosks, for example, has accelerated in popularity over the last decade to such a degree that it is an acceptable part of our urban landscape. This kind of media is suitable for many aims like selling merchandise, a trade advert or for educational purposes.

Realistic images are brought to life on LCD screens or via projectors, enhancing the customers retail experience and influencing that all important buying decision. So where could it lead to… a virtual guided tour bringing ancient stories to life?

Whilst it is a progression of technology, it is still in its infancy as retailers and hosts are still shy of installing and making such a financial commitment in changing the ways of advertising. Employing people is an expensive commodity for business to support and takes into account sickness and holiday leave. So compared to a one-off cost of purchasing a digital screen and the software, there is very little to outlay; apart from new content, the hardware has a life span of 50,000 hours. Touch-screen kiosks and wall mounted digital signage screens fill the gap between giving a personal service to a customer, without human intervention.

Delivering the message to consumers raises a number of thoughts…
Installation, creative and dynamic content, size of screen, kiosk v screen v touch facility, audience measurement…

Digital Signage Screens.

digital signage screen sizes

What will help a business decide is to consider the location and restrictions. Digital signage is a ‘plug and play’ system by uploading the content in any media, like video with audio. The screen is usually displayed in a portrait manner, which is a good point; people do not understand that a commercial screen must be used, rather than a domestic screen which is not robust enough nor designed to run continuously for 24/7 and a domestic TV screen can not rotate to a portrait position, whereas a commercial grade TV screen can perform both tasks. The software allows editing, uploading and scheduling in real-time from a wireless network. This application works best where regular changes are needed on a frequent basis – transportation stations are a perfect example, where many advertisements can bombard passengers as they wait for a train. Digital signage is a low maintenance option and therefore has lower costs. However due to the nature of multiple advertising, a busy area would not be suitable lessening the effectiveness of advertising and a security enclosure needs to protect the screen from theft or damage.

Touch Screen Kiosks.

indoor digital signage

This kind of application is most suitable for shopping malls or tourist information points, where they act as a way-finding route planner supplemented with advertisements which bring in additional revenue. Interaction between the broadcast message and the consumer is the ultimate objective – customers feel empowered, engaged and authorized to make decisions, influenced by the content. The key to a successful touch screen application are the diverse operations. Seeing a kiosk standing in a retail mall is an enticing piece of urban furniture and encourages consumers to investigate. The remote management offers the ease of editing, amending and uploading. Additionally tracking software gives vital audience data for future campaigns, tailored towards specific demographics. Kiosks are a more robust option which cope well with the rigorous demands of high public traffic and are lockable to hide away all the expensive hardware, like the screen and prevents unwanted access causing damage. On the downside, a kiosk is more expensive that standard digital signage, however they will last longer and are more suitable.

All in all, using either option; an LCD screen or touch screen kiosk, will deliver marketing success with digital signage.

Patient Protection in Behavioral Units

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Behavioral units and TV protection.

Through human compassion, we expect a duty of care for the welfare of people held in a medical facility and patient protection in behavioral units, as they are particularly vulnerable.

The term ‘protection’ encompasses many aspects of care for a wide range of age groups, but focusing on behavioral institutions. Everything from chairs to taps, electrical fittings to television screens are potential hazards. A common form of patient self harm is by hanging – creating a loop from material and using an object like a piece of furniture to hang from. Wall mounted television screens have been partly to blame on several occasions, however a solution has been used to allow patients to have safe access to a television screen.

Behavioral units rooms.

An inmate’s room is functionally kitted out with practical non loop furniture which includes non loop door handles and non loop TV housing units; also known as anti-ligature enclosures. Standard door fixings can be unscrewed with make-shift tools and used as weapons or the screws can be swallowed to cause deliberate self injuries, so a design solution has replaced the dangers, likewise non loop furniture is contoured for comfort, yet practical for cleaning, with very few parts to cause injury to the patient or a member of staff.

Not only is a television a heavy and expensive electronic piece of furniture, but it can be a lethal weapon in the wrong hands. The screen can be broken and shards of glass used to slash arms and necks; to both the inmate or member of staff. The wiring has the potential of being used as a loop for hanging and the weight of the TV monitor is another issue. Besides the expense of a replacement and the disruption causing a situation, and then an engineer to reinstall the television, is it better to protect it in the first place? The protection of a non loop TV housing unit offers a metal surround, with sloping sides, which eliminates the possibility of hanging and has a toughened safety viewing window, which will not shatter. The sound and volume can be heard perfectly well through the vented sides. Additionally, a sound bar can be added to the unit, depending on the requirements and degree of non loop needs.

Patient protection for behavioral units.

behavioral units

Television is an acceptable part of everyday life, as it can be seen as informative, educational, social and entertainment. Is it a luxury or a necessity? Some institutions have communal television rooms, supervised by members of staff, whilst other places allow individuals to have a television set in their room; again, it depends on the degree of mental state of mind. Institutions and staff have a duty of care and responsibility for the welfare of its inmates, for their own safety, as well as others.

Many solutions are out there to protect patients in behavioral units.

LCD Ad Players For Indoor Marketing

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LCD ad players for affordable digital signage.

Indoor digital signage is common place, the most affordable solution is an LCD ad player, these store the multimedia on a local drive and play it in a set order that the user selects.

There are some limitations, yet the advantages outweigh these. Many companies start using digital signage with this basic product, as it ticks most of the boxes a business owners has in terms of digital advertising and is a perfect way to start getting to grips with the new type of advertising.

Size of display for your indoor digital signage solution.

LCD ad players for advertising

Ranging from 26” up to 75” LCD ad players are widely available, yet depending on who you purchase them from, the price varies enormously. In the dynamic advertising industry, the large the screen the better, but there is a price trade off. The most affordable and most common is either the 46” or 55”, these can be mounted on a wall in either a horizontal or upright position. All you do to change the orientation of the media is use the onscreen menu to change the orientation of the media!

Media storage on LCD ad players.

digital signage LCD ad players

These standard units come with a built in media player that can take a memory card, the card stores the content and this where some people have a hang up. The memory card can be 64GB and store hours of advertising content, but the real truth is that this content would rarely be seen in its entirety. It is best to have 60 second ads that are looped every minute, so you can arrange a set of ads marketing 10 of your products that are shown multiple times every hour.

Drawback is that you cannot use Flash presentations on a USB media player without any conversion, in its raw state. Yes using compression converters, a Flash advert can be converted with little if any loss and then copied onto the LCD ad player. Separate network enabled media players will take Flash files in their native form without any compression, but these are more expensive and usually the next step up from the basic LCD ad player.

How green is digital signage?

These LCD ad players have the facility to set when the display will start and when the digital signage hardware will switch off. So if the offices hours are 9 till 5, you could set the scheduling software that is built in to start at 8:50 and end at 5:05. Saving valuable energy and reducing your corporate carbon footprint.

For an affordable solution, you are best shopping around for your digital signage hardware, including LCD ad players.

Transparent Digital Signage Case – Increasing Your Brand Awareness.

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New concept – transparent digital signage case.

Electronic advertising is way beyond the average imagination; a transparent digital signage case – increasing your brand awareness, and the evolution has been so dramatic that even just a decade ago such features could not have been conceived. Creating a spectacular backdrop of a theatrical proportion is being introduced in places like shopping malls to encourage brand recognition which leads to increased revenue. This scenery offers multiple screens – anything up to 800 screens with over 200 channels to choose from, with the sole purpose of displaying a huge range of products and offers to influence buying decisions. One of the most clever and effective exhibits is a transparent box display, where overlaid digital content is projected from above. The product, perhaps a bottle of perfume, is securely within the transparent cabinet; but the logo, brand colours and text is projected onto the clear sides and top of the box.

Learn how a transparent digital signage case works.

transparent digital signage case

Combining a tangible product with transparent digital signage is an innovative and unique form of advertising. This plug-and-play option was introduced because retail customers and suppliers wanted a technical, yet easy-to-use digital advertising display which gives the consumer both options of seeing the product in 3D, yet with technology of the script being in a digital format. This way brand awareness can be featured many times – far more than with the traditional form of static poster advertising. Other features included within the transparent showcase are a colorful array of LED lighting and an infra-red touch screen connected to a HD media player. As the display cabinet is a structure, one of the most important features can be clearly visible – the LOGO for brand recognition.

Another way of featuring the transparent digital signage case, is through a vending machine. As all the products are housed behind a transparent screen, this makes it a perfect platform for projecting images and text on to, or the clear screen is actually a see-through touch screen panel. This form of advertising is so effective, it is claimed that by 2015 it will be worth an estimated $900 million. Both store front window displays and showcase exhibits are suitable for transparent digital signage. There are 2 layers to transparent digital signage;

  • the tangible product in the background
  • digital signage overlaid onto the showcase cabinet

Whether it is a promotional message, creating brand awareness or a commercial, it is only a matter of a few years, where the face of the malls store fronts will change from mannequins with printed prices, to projected images of the products, in this example clothes, alongside the 3D mannequin is an overlaid advertising campaign of text. This form of the digital signage market may be in its infancy, but watch this space…

This relatively new technology is increasing in high end stores, who are prepared to invest in their inventory. But the cost is more affordable than you think. Next time you are an airport, see if you can spot a transparent digital signage case.

Learn 5 tips for Out of Home Advertising Success

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Out of home advertising – OOH

Digital Signage is a mind blowing concept, but let’s streamline the facts down to learning 5 tips for out of home advertising success.

  • Short but sweet
  • Keep it relevant
  • Be imaginative
  • Include your contact details
  • Target audience

So, where to start; well you know what you want to advertise, but keep it short and to the point – several words is enough to get the message across with out the audience falling asleep, or worse, walking away! Consider how long people will have to catch your advert; maybe it is at a road junction, or on a side walk? Media companies can offer a variety of screen sizes, so deciding which suits your product or demographics will ensure a more productive financial result. Not every advertisement will suit or please everyone. And definitely – big is not always better!

What is OOH (Out Of Home advertising)

Keeping it relevant may be common sense, but look around at other outdoor digital signage screens. Do they include useless pictures – why does the real estate agent have her dog with her? It detracts from the main point, in this case selling houses. Also keep the colors applicable. OK so you like bright green, but does your ad campaign really need everything highlighted in bright green? Keep it professional looking, even if you are appealing to a young market – children and teens are smarter than we give them credit for.

It doesn’t have to be boring; do be imaginative and creative. At least be open to ideas if suggested by a professional media consultant. So much more can be created with the technology available for both the software and hardware. Do you want a touch screen, to be interactive with your potential customers? This is another digital advertising option. As ‘out of home digital signage’ covers all electronic screens (LED, LCD, plasma, flexible video walls, tiled video walls and kiosks) which run adverts outside of the house – in other words adverts other than on the household television. Digital signage boards are more sophisticated the that traditional poster billboards and can be conjured into magical art form which has an influential message.

digital advertising display

Why do to all that trouble of time and expense and forget to include where the customer can buy your product or even where to find your website! It is one of the most common errors – no telephone number or other call to action. You don’t need to insult your customers intelligence by telling them to phone, but do give a clear number or email address, or be extra sophisticated and use a QR code, which when accessed via a smart phone, will connect the customer directly to your website – a step closer to making a sale…

indoor advertising hardware

Adverts running on a schedule is a cost effective way of ‘sharing’ advertising space. Rent a time slot, as the software running the content is set to operate during a particular time – are you aiming at children (after school time), people on their lunch break or grandparents – during the day at a shopping mall? The frequency of ads hold the key to a successful promotion campaign.

Wikipedia have an indepth article on out of home advertising, so check it out.

How Out of Home Advertising Works – How Do You Market Products Now?

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OOH – Out of Home Advertising.

Finding out how out of home advertising can significantly increase your businesses revenue; but how do you market products now using the latest technology?

Digital marketing encompasses many forms of electronic devices; from cell phones, through to huge LCD ceiling hung screens. Even ATM’s and games consoles are joining the evolution of electronic marketing.
At the moment there is a combination of traditional and digital marketing transmissions, but it’s only a matter of time before all we will see is an electronic screen.

out of home advertising in mall

Out of home advertising technology.

Digital marketing has been around since the early 1990’s, but with the evolution of technology, which continues to move at a rapid pace, the next two decades have become more sophisticated in their effectiveness of promoting products and brands to the consumer, which has developed in relevance and attitude. Statistically, 2012 and the following year have shown that digital marketing has remained as one of the top growth industries and shall continue to do so for many years yet.

Digital marketing is also a term relevant to on-line and internet based sales and promotions, however it is also a recognized for of media and out of home advertising. Many people are now familiar with the common term of digital marketing and we are now expecting to see it in our busy lives, on a daily basis.

Whilst digital marketing is a platform for promotions and brand awareness, there are other purposes electronic marketing has; pricing can be altered at the click of a button, distribution no longer is a logistical nightmare and the effectiveness of the simplicity of both the software and hardware appeal to many organizations. Once there is creative content, it is just a case of uploading it to the screen and pressing play! Research shows the statistics taken from digital marketing are beneficial to future ad campaigns; the demographics studied by facial recognition, hand gesturing or simply by data input by the consumer all add up to a cost effective and direct marketing campaign. Many strategies are based upon brand management, brand licensing and brand identity; customers are more likely to make a purchase for a well known soda, with it’s logo and coloring and slogan.

hotel out of home advertising solutions

So where would you see this kind of digital advertising? Products are marketed onto digital screens in shopping malls, sporting arenas, food stores, fuel stations, galleries and virtually any area where there is heavy foot traffic, for hundreds upon thousands of pairs of eyes scan the screen, soaking up the information as they recognize a brand.

So, in your quest for understanding how out of home advertising works and how do you market products now, contact any of the lead solution providers, for professional advise and examples of how digital signage has benefited many businesses, who are forward thinking companies…

Advertising out of the home is here to stay, only the businesses using out of home advertising will succeed.