Electronic digital signage (EDS) is both simple and complicated. This apparent paradox can be easily solved, however, by breaking the process down into some easy-to-implement steps. Another way to look at incorporating EDS into your product mix is to compare it to your current large-format printing workflow.

 

As a sign and graphics provider you don’t build the printers or develop the software that drives your daily output. You are, essentially, a content provider. In the same way, there’s no reason to get caught up in the minutiae of an EDS system. Instead, concentrate on content.

 

EDUCATION FIRST

The first step is education, and there are a lot of education and training programs on EDS available at trade shows, through trade organizations and on the Web. EDS education is not meant to turn you into a software developer or a hardware provider. As with printer training, it’s simply designed to show you how to use it and how it works so that you’re knowledgeable enough to sell it, to create content for the system, to implement and update it.

 

To get started, it’s a good idea to execute a small pilot EDS program with a local business where you already have a good relationship. Often, nearby businesses see the possibilities of EDS in action and the process snowballs. (Photos courtesy Advantage Signs, Seaville, N.J.)

Some places to check out for further education include:

 

• Digital Signage Experts Group, which offers the Digital Signage Certified Expert Course: www.dseg.org.

 

• DigitalSignageToday.com, which has a variety of educational resources, like webinars and white papers: www.digitalsignagetoday.com

 

• The Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA), which focuses on education, networking and advocacy for the industry: www.digitalscreenmedia.org.

 

• The Digital Signage Federation (DSF), which also produces the Digital Signage Expo: www.digitalsignagefederation.org, www.digitalsignageexpo.net

 

• The suppliers, manufacturers and consultants who contributed to this article: Almo Professional A/V (www.almoproav.com)
Clarke Systems (www.clarkesystems.com) Lyle Bunn (www.lylebunn.com)

 

IN STEP

An important part of the education process is finding a partner that can provide all the essential components to which you add the content. There are a lot of options here, from national to regional and local providers. If you’re just starting out with EDS, it’s recommended that you find the simplest solution possible, one you can easily implement and that is easy to explain to your prospects.

 

“I’m fairly tech savvy so it was easy for me to understand, but as soon as I would explain it to a potential client, they would start getting lost really fast,” says John Henderson, manager of Advantage Signs in Seaville, N.J. “We were originally using a system that had separate servers and content managers with licensing fees for each, and all the extra data and weather content was from different companies. Now we use Clarke Systems’ modular e system, and it’s much easier to sell: Here’s the player box with a Windows 7 Operating System, a Web-based content manager and here’s your subscription.”

 

As mentioned earlier, the sale for the sign and graphics company is not just in the hardware and software. Other than the fact that content is king, to borrow a phrase, margins are low and it’s a one-time sale. Plus, it’s likely not your area of expertise. Content, like printing, is an ongoing sale that brings businesses back for more as they update their program.

 

Because electronic digital signage is both simple and complicated, it’s a good idea to break the process down into some easy-to-implement steps. (Photo courtesy Clarke Systems)

“Technology providers—whether they’re AV integrators, IT providers or companies that offer bundled packages—can focus on the technology, while sign and digital graphics companies can focus on creating the messaging and the recurring revenues that have higher margins associated with them and are closer to their line of business anyway,” says Lyle Bunn, strategy architect at Bunn Company in Brighton, Ontario, Canada. 

 

Bunn, who is also a member of the Sign & Digital Graphics Technical Advisory Board, says that “Dynamic signage is really about achieving communication goals. It’s almost like an advisory sales approach, one that differs than just responding to an RFP [request for proposal]. It’s actively engaging in a discussion about what the communication goals are and how that provider can better serve those goals. AV integrators really provide the palette for the digital graphics firm to fuel the content on that medium to better achieve the communication goals of that client organization.”

 

The next step is to identify clients that are most likely to be open to implementing an EDS program. According to Sam Taylor, executive vice president and COO of Almo Professional A/V in Lutherville, Md., it’s even better to concentrate on a niche market, like hotels, banks, bowling alleys or whatever market with which you’re most comfortable.

 

“Our most successful customers are those who focus on a vertical niche. We have customers who only do banking or only put them in bowling alleys,” says Taylor. “Deploying electronic digital signage in a bank is a lot different than setting up a system in a bowling alley. That’s not to say they can’t both have successful and valid business models, but you certainly will approach a bank VP a lot differently than you would the manager of a bowling alley; and each has different concepts of what they’ll do with it. Pick a market segment where you have experience and established clients and make that focus as narrow as possible. One of the bigger pitfalls is trying to be all things to all people, which is why I emphasize the point about picking a market niche you’re strong in.”

 

Many successful EDS shops concentrate on a niche market such as hotels, bowling alleys or banks. Your familiarity with a given market will make it easier for you to sell EDS systems to that market. (Photo courtesy Almo Professional A/V)

Given its location on the Jersey shore, Advantage Signs, for instance, has concentrated mostly on local hotels for its EDS programs. As the company explores this niche, it learns more about what works and what doesn’t and how to maximize the return on investment for the client.

 

Moreover, says Advantage Signs’ Henderson, getting installations in the field tends to snowball as other nearby businesses see the possibilities of EDS in action. As Bunn observes: “Why not cannibalize yourself before someone does it for you? Wide-format print shops and sign companies already consider themselves to be digital sign providers, so it’s a way of augmenting your digital sign supply capabilities.”

 

In short, it’s simply another tool in your graphics arsenal. Not everyone will want or need an EDS system, but if your customers know you can provide it they’re less likely to go elsewhere.

 

“It’s a good idea to execute a small pilot EDS program, either with a company where you have a good relationship, or right in your own office. When you walk into Almo we have digital signage at the front of our building that welcomes whoever comes in that day, with a financial and news feed so people in our lobby have something to look at. That’s an example of a small pilot somebody could do in any of their shops,” says Taylor. “Once you’ve executed the pilot program you’ll find the glitches, and you’ve started to develop your solution. Then it’s time to go out to your customers and provide them with a case study of your pilot with relevant data so that you can develop a return on investment and return on objective for them. The most important thing is making sure you can support it once it’s deployed—that the people who install it know the product and that there are plans for post-installation support and maintenance.” 

 

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New EDS Products for Sign Guys

 

As the sign industry becomes more comfortable with electronic digital signage, an increasing number of suppliers are becoming involved with targeted product offerings. Here are two new products that have recently become readily available to sign makers. 

 

• N Glantz & Son now offers the Pixelight all-in-one electronic digital signage system from SoNap Digital. Available with 32”, 42” and 47” 1080p HD display screens, choice of bezel colors, secure web-based interface, and simple to use template-based content software. For more information, visit www.nglantz.com.

 

• NuSign Supply now offers the NDS-330, a professional-grade electronic digital signage player with fan-less 1080p HD decoding. The plug-and-play system is engineered for trouble-free operation and can be used to create an easy-to-implement digital menu board system using simple template-based software. Enjoy all the benefits of an industrial unit without the cost and uncertainty of complex, multi-purpose systems. For more information, visit www.nusignsupply.com.