Digital Signage Solutions
In one city in America there can be a restaurant that sells the best burger in town. The restaurant uses the best available meat products that the chef can transform into a mouth-watering perfectly grilled beef, served with well-toasted buns and fresh condiments. The only problem is that no one is aware that such a place exists – except for a few handful people who regularly eat there. The solution for this problem is advertising. The restaurant owners must be able to figure out a way to tell the whole city as well as incoming visitors or tourists that they served the best tasting burgers in the city. If they will not use advertising, then potential customers will simply go to another burger joint.
Highly successful businesses are well aware of the benefits of advertising. But in the 21st century, the advertising industry is faced with two major problems – digital video recorders and the Internet. Digital video recorders like “Tivo” is an electronic gadget that is also known as a “commercial skipping device” (Olsen, par. 7). This means that TV viewers can enjoy watching their favorite shows without having to go through a series of TV commercials. This is good news for consumers and bad news for advertisers.
But advertisers can still survive if they will use digital signage solutions. “Digital signage solutions” is a relatively new concept of advertising where “advertising content” is directly focused on potential customers. A computer connected to a monitor and installed in public places can be used to display an advert focusing on the anticipated need of customers passing by or waiting for a taxi. The digital signage installed in these places can be interactive, say for instance if it is already after office hours then the advert playing in the digital signage monitor could be an infomercial regarding a famous watering hole, bar, bistro etc. This is simply one of the amazing features of this dynamic solution to advertising needs.
Digital Signage Systems
Digital signage systems can also be understood as computer based advertising systems. A computer device – it can be a personal computer or a server – is hooked to a video monitor that in turn can display the advertising content pre-programmed or pre-installed by the advertisers or business owners. Digital signage systems come in different forms and sizes. It can be as simple as a laptop and video monitor or it can be a network of computers synchronized to display infomercials based on a particular program. Others can be very sophisticated wherein monitors or LCD TV screens installed in public places such as malls, parks, bus stops, and airports can be monitored and controlled by someone sitting in an office located far away from the display devices.
Xstream Solutions is a company that specializes in digital signage systems and this is what they are selling:
The Xstream signage Network is made up of hardware and software solutions that drive the digital signage network and displays your advertisements and images on large screen high definition displays located anywhere (Xstream Solutions, par. 4).
The most important thing to remember with regards to the use of digital signage systems is the capability to easily manage, monitor, and update advertising content even if the business owner or executive is far from a digital signage device. Business owners are also given the ability to display information simultaneously or they can choose to be selective in displaying a particular product to a particular region or target market. Gone are the days of radio and TV commercials where advertisers are sending random marketing messages hoping that a significant percentage of listeners and viewers will respond to their schemes.
Interactive Digital Signage
In the traditional method of creating advertising material for TV, a film or camera crew will start a production sequence where creative people work hand in hand to produce an audio-visual message. In most cases the production sequence focuses on a particular product and then creates a story or message that will in turn persuade customers to try the said merchandise or to avail of a particular service.
The marketing message is based on a previous market study wherein it is believed that a particular group of people will be watching a particular TV show during a particular time in the week. But even a very scientific creation of an audio-visual message could not solve a communication problem – the need for customized and highly specific messages directly addressing the needs of the potential customer or the marketing needs of a company.
For instance, teenagers are not interested in the merits of a healthcare insurance, in the same way that middle-aged men are no longer interested in roller-blades. Thus, providers of digital signage solutions are pushing the envelope when it comes to advertising. They are not merely satisfied with a simple display of infomercials they want to provide an interactive system. This simply means that “advertising content” is not played in a continuous loop.
Digital signage systems can adapt to the environment. For instance a digital signage found in a hotel lobby will change the information displayed in real-time as rooms are being occupied. So if a room is vacant the display will inform potential customers passing by that they can avail of this product or go for an upgrade. Therefore, this crucial piece of information can be the difference between failure and success and a solution to missed opportunities.
Another example of an interactive system is what Xstream Solutions call the “next generation kiosk” that was designed to provide the information customers are looking for. Say for instance a customer is interested about a particular product, the “next generations kiosks” will be able to provide the much needed info using a “3-click architecture” (Xsteam Solutions, par. 1). Sometimes customers will not buy a product because they lack the necessary information to help them decide whether to make a purchase or not. But instead of overwhelming the customer with unnecessary literature, this digital signage device can help guide the customer to access the needed information.
Digital Signage Software
Digital signage systems are very efficient in terms of providing the necessary information that in turn will help persuade the customer to make a purchase. In some cases the ability of digital signage systems to relay a message that suits the need of a particular client is the reason why business establishments are enjoying brisk sales. But without cutting-edge software it would not be possible to create highly reliable digital signage systems. One of the most impressive companies to sell digital signage products is a firm called Odysii.
Odysii is an industry leader in terms of digital signage solutions. Its secret lies in its impressive software that
- dynamically communicates with customers;
- captures marketing strategies and deliver customer-specific messages;
- manipulates advertising content to respond automatically in real time (Odysii, par. 1).
Thus, at the heart of this cutting-edge technology is the computer software that manages and manipulates marketing content.
The best part of this technology is the ability to tailor-made a marketing message to fit a particular location. A Starbucks store in Japan may offer a wider variety of tea-based beverages as compared to a more conservative line-up of tea-based beverages in an Australian branch for instance. Therefore, if Starbucks will avail of a digital signage display, Odysii will create a program that will not only consider this unique marketing strategy in this part of the world but will also allow Starbucks to display products that are slow moving and therefore require more exposure. This simply means that the software can be programmed in such a way that it will adapt to the business environment surrounding a particular store or branch.
Retail Digital Signage
A retail business is one sure way of making a lot of money in the shortest possible time. A good retail business can easily make a profit by using a good pricing scheme, a system that efficiently moves products from warehouse to customer’s shopping baskets, and the ability to balance demand and supply so that customer’s will always be able to purchase the product at a time when it is needed. While a successful retail business can be very profitable, it is a very demanding process.
One of the major features of a retail business is the need to deal with customers one-on-one. This can be a very time consuming endeavor and in most cases requires repetitive work. This is where digital signage systems can help business owners increase sales and increase efficiency by creating a system where information dissemination can be done effectively without frustrating employees. According to Odysii there is a high turnover of tellers at the retail branch because tellers are obligate to interact with customers and sell to them the products and services available in that particular bank.
To prevent burnout, banks can avail of digital signage systems that provide a mechanism that will inform customers waiting for their turn. So while customers are standing in-line the digital signage display can effectively communicate and work at such a rate that tellers will not be able to emulate. In this way a company or business establishment can maximize resources but most of all it has found a way to convey marketing content designed to address the needs of customers. Odyssii was able to create a very intelligent system where the software is not only able to understand inventory levels but also marketing strategies. So if there is a perishable product nearing the expiration date, a digital signage can be activated to sell this particular product at half the price.
Works Cited
Odysii. “Transform the Way You Connect With Customers.” 2009. Web.
Olsen, Stefanie. “Geeky Microsoft Wants a TV Makeover.” 2009. Web.
Xstream Solutions. “Your Direct Source for Digital Signage.” Web.