The Power of Digital Signage for Brands

In what is otherwise a relatively-low innovation industry, the signage or display advertising industry has seen a lot of innovation in recent years. The past few years have witnessed tremendous transformation and innovation in signage since the time they hit the mainstream market in the 1950s.

Digital signage goes a step further and has completely changed the way marketers and brands seek to promote their products or services. It has become an integral part of marketing strategy and as per Grand View Research, a market research and consulting company, the global digital signage market is expected to gross USD 20.03bn by 2020.

Types of Digital Signage

Whether it’s replacing your poster or hoarding with an LCD screen, utilizing a touch screen kiosk or ordering your food via a touch screen at a restaurant, digital signage is ubiquitous. They vary in size and are determined by their use.

·  Indoor signage: Theseuse HD screens which can be controlled by computers to choose the display content. These are prevalent in office buildings, malls, stores and restaurants.

·  Outdoor signage: Thesehave tougher and larger screens which can weather the elements and are far more eye-catching, given their use.

·  Then there are posters, wall-mounted displays or stand-alone displays which can be placed in almost any location,while also being durable.

Marketers can choose from these broadtypes of digital signage based on their need and budget.

Advantages of Digital Signage

·  Real-Time Content- One of the biggest advantages of digital signage is that you have complete control of your content on a daily basis. Marketers can push latest information to customers making their marketing efforts far more relevant, which in turn could lead to higher conversion rates.

· Low Creative Development Cost- It is far easier to get new ads or content created for digital signages than it is for posters. The turnaround time is faster for the designer, while the upload time is almost instant, making it a very simple process to keep pushingnew creatives.

·  Reduced ‘Perceived Wait Times’ - When customers are waiting in line or when you are trying to keep customers engaged, digital signage can be made dynamic and used to keep them fully engaged. Whether it’s pushing the latest offers at your store, or sharing information on upcoming products, your customer will not realize the time they have spent waiting for you to attend to them.

· Interactive Signages- Digital signage can be made interactive which further enhances customer experience. Customers will spend more quality time at your establishment through engaging interactive solutions. These would not only keep them enthralled but being extremely informational,would also address their needs.

Conclusion

As marketers across the globe find innovative ways to grab their customers’ attention, digital signage will continue to play an immense role in the marketing mix. The ease-of-use and the ability to target customers with good content in real-time, make Digital Signage a compelling solution inmarketing strategy.

Digital Signage Trends to Look out for in 2018

Digital signage is becoming increasingly more prevalent as cutting-edge technology continues to drive innovation. Market research firm Markets and Markets, pegs the global digital signage market to grow to approximately USD 32.84 billion by 2023. Tinhis is a steady 7.4% increase from the USD 19.6 billion which it was in 2016. North America constitutes the majority of this market and will continue to be the driving force. Of course, this market size includes everything from digital signage products to software/hardware services and applications. That is why it is useful to know the trends for the coming year.

Types of Digital Signage and their Uses

So, what exactly is classified as digital signage? While kiosks, menu boards, billboards, signboards etc. all come under digital signage,for ease of understanding we broadly classify digital signage as:   

      ·     Indoor Signage- Using HD screens to display service related information, live updates, ad sand so on. These are often used in restaurants, office buildings, malls, stores etc. 

     ·   Posters- Somewhat identical to regular posters, these wall-mounted slim screens allow high-quality graphics to be displayed. 

       ·     Stand Alone Displays- These can be floor mounted, wall mounted or simply placed on top of any surface. Whether it’s a restaurant menu with the latest happy hour deals, to real time promotions and stock updates at a store, these can be connected to a network or left to stand alone.

       ·     Outdoor Signage- These are generally larger screens or surface areas that are well-encased to keep them protected from the elements as well as from theft. Naturally, given the size and the level of sophistication, these are higher on the cost side, but ideal for larger companies looking to capture several eyeballs.

Trends in Digital Signage

         ·         Slimmer and Sleeker- Screens will get wider and slimmer with the resolution and pixels getting even sharper. With significant innovation in reflective displays being made, we can expect to see full-color e-paper displays, which behave like real paper, by reflecting light. Video walls will become ever so prevalent and an increasingly more popular choice for customers looking to increase the use of digital signage in their marketing.

         ·         Interactive& Responsive- It’s not just about touch screens with multiple options in them. Displays will get way more intelligent and responsive, with voice recognition and programmed display based on the behavior and data fed into it by users.

        ·       Intelligent & Adaptive- Increasingly, more digital signage will be adaptive to external factors driven by data. For example, if a certain area of a mall is over-crowded, an intelligent sign will be fed this information and will automatically direct people to stores in a different direction. Or if the temperature is cold outside, the sign will change to show a promotion for hot cappuccino at the nearby café. With Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and a mix of the two, or Mixed Reality (MR), we will see a seamless blend between the physical world and the digital world.

Conclusion

The Digital Signage market is expected to grow significantly over the next five years driven largely by innovation. Wtyoe can expect to see wider and slimmer screens which offer more intelligence and interactivity for users. With the current advances in AI (Artificial Intelligence) we can expect a considerable amount of real-time data being fed into digital signage touch points which are beneficial to marketers and customers alike.