Putting an Electronic Digital Signage System Together is Not as Tough as You Might Think
Thursday, July 1, 2010
 |
|
It’s only a matter of time before digital menu boards become the rule rather than the exception. Sign companies are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the coming wave of digital signage.
|
“Dynamic content used to be more difficult to design, but software companies have made it very easy to design content. LCD and plasma screens were $8,000-$10,000 apiece, and now they’re under a thousand, so DDS is a lot more economical and easy to deploy. And, it’s a lot more pervasive now, which makes it easier to sell,” says Sam Taylor, executive vice president of Almo Professional A/V in Lutherville, Md.
John Zib, president and founder of Memo Media in Providence, R.I., goes a step further: “The sign industry will be the key to success to the dynamic digital sign industry to achieve mass distribution.” Again, it becomes a question of when, and only you can provide the answer.
Right now, IT and audio/visual companies have a head start, and with corporate giants like Google, Cisco and Dell jumping into the fray, this prediction may seem a bit exaggerated. However, Zib believes that sign and graphics companies are uniquely positioned in the trenches, so to speak. They are, by and large, the creators and controllers of Main Street’s branding and identity. “Most companies know where to get a sign, but they have no idea who to call for something they’re not even sure what to call,” adds Zib.
 |
|
Images Graphic Specialties collaborated with DDS integrator/distributor Memo Media on this project for Tarpon Point’s Marina Village in Southwest Florida. The project combined a centrally-located DDS kiosk with a static sign program.
|
“There is a lot of business out there. For the one customer who’s asking for it, there are easily another dozen customers who would love to know more about it,” says Zib. “Clients are coming to sign companies for help with communication problems and the sign company’s job is to give their clients the most effective communication tools possible. That’s not always DDS, but there needs to be a willingness on the part of management and sales to realize how digital signage fits into their current product mix.”
Take, for instance, Images Graphic Specialties in Ft. Myers, Fla., which has collaborated with Zib’s Memo Media on a number of DDS projects. As a sign and graphics provider for businesses large and small on Florida’s Sun Coast, the company has turned its attention to DDS as an additional profit center and as a solution to any number of on-premise communication issues.
“Over the last year or so, we’ve put a lot of effort into promoting that aspect of our business. I see the future of the sign industry going in that direction. With LCD and plasma technology being so much more affordable now than it was three or four years ago, it just makes sense over other production methods for a lot of different types of signs, like menu boards, display advertising, directories and so forth,” says John Hose, president of Images Graphic Specialties. “You have to educate the clients and make them aware that it’s available, and as we do that it becomes more popular. The integration is relatively simple and there’s less manufacturing than we typically do for things like pylon signs and channel letters.”
Hose estimates that the company has produced 20-30 DDS projects over the past year for a variety of clients. “In this economy, the health care industry is doing better than most everyone else, so we’re doing a lot of medical office buildings, doctors’ offices and medical centers. We’re also installing projects for some resorts, like Tarpon Point, which was a spectacular project.”
 |
|
DoubleSight Displays offers bundled DDS solutions so sign companies and graphics producers can provide an all-in-one system for their clients.
|
It would be fantastic if putting together a DDS system was as simple as hooking up a television and streaming some graphics to it. That, of course, would be an oversimplification, but it’s not that far off the mark. Systems integrators and distributors like Almo Professional A/V’s Taylor suggest a gradual approach that begins with education.
Taylor recommends a certification program, such as the one his company’s salespeople go through hosted by the Digital Signage Experts Group (www.digitalsignageexperts.org). Other educational and informational groups include the Digital Screenmedia Association (www.digitalscreenmedia.org) and the Digital Signage Federation (www.digitalsignagefederation.org), whose interim executive director, John Johnson, is a familiar name to the sign industry after his years with the International Sign Association (ISA).
“The Digital Signage Experts Group certification is about eight hours of course work with an hour exam at the end. It goes over the seven key components of digital signage. It’s well worth the time and expense,” says Taylor.
From there, Taylor recommends identifying a market niche where you have a solid customer base and building a system around that niche. “Selling DDS to banking customers is a lot different than selling to bowling alleys, for example. Both can be very successful business models, but we advise people not to try to be all things to all customers. Pick a vertical market that you have a lot of experience and customers in. Our most successful digital signage customers are those in a specific niche, whether it’s restaurants, churches, bars or bike shops. They pick a niche and develop a solution for that niche,” adds Taylor.
The key is to start simple and work toward more complex systems as you complete more projects. Before installing your first system, Taylor recommends developing a pilot program in your own facility so that you can properly test it. Having this working pilot in place will help motivate and prepare your salespeople and production staff. Then, pick a trusted customer to work with on your first project.
“You develop and tweak the solution on the pilot so that you’re comfortable proposing it to other clients. From that you develop a business model that allows you to go into another similar business so that you can go in and tell them that you’ve not only completed a successful project, but that you’ve increased the client’s sales. That way you can develop a compelling reason and ROI for the business so it makes it worth their while to invest in DDS,” explains Taylor. “That’s what we see successful companies doing with menu boards. In some cases they’ve been able to document a 25 percent increase in sales at restaurants that have the DDS menu boards as opposed to just static signage.”
Whoever you choose as your DDS supplier/integrator, they should be able to support you with not only technical help, but photos and descriptions of past projects they’ve worked on to help in sales and marketing.
 |
|
This pylon digital signage display, built by Bravo Signs, Inc., Greensboro, N.C., features a visible audio component mounted on top of the pylon.
|
In real estate, they say it’s all about location, location, location. Now it’s foreclosure, short sale, location. But not to be outdone, DDS really is about location. At least that’s the first thing to look at, according to Dario DellaMaggiore of DoubleSight Displays in Irvine, Calif.
“An outdoor DDS solution is a lot different than an indoor DDS,” says DellaMaggiore. “Then you have to identify exactly where it will be placed: will it be a high-traffic or low-traffic solution? They have to be ruggedized for high-traffic situations. You’ll use something different in a busy mall than you would in a doctor’s office or a corporate lobby.”
Once the location is fixed, the next step is the size of the screens and the mounting options. Like any static sign program, placement within the general location chosen depends on what the goal and strategy of implementing the sign is.
DoubleSight Displays provides a number of all-in-one bundled systems with screens from 7 to 46 inches. Screen size depends on the strategy. In some situations, a small 10-inch screen works wonders at a reception desk. For others, however, you have to go as big and visible as possible, which leads to the next consideration: mounting options.
Both screen size and mounting options play off location and the communications strategy. This typically means a free-standing kiosk, a wall-mounted application or ceiling-hung, though there are exceptions, such as the small desk-mounted option. These considerations are not all that much different from the same types of choices with static signs.
The next step is content and how it will be delivered. There are a lot of different ways to do it, from WiFi to simply loading jpegs onto a media player on-site and letting the content run. The important questions are how much content is actually needed, how is it pushed to the screen and where will it go from there.
 |
|
This image could just as easily have been printed and framed, but DDS merely takes out the production step. Sign companies and graphics producers already have the design tools needed for relatively simple DDS projects. More complex, dynamic signs will require a slight re-tooling on the software side and additional training.
|
Beyond content creation, and just as important, is content management. Who will manage the content, you or the customer? DellaMaggiore says content management should always be part of the plan and the pitch. There will be times where it’s simply not possible. The customer may have daily schedules that need up-to-the-minute updating. Most of the time, however, content management in the dynamic digital world is no different than content management in the printed world. Instead of sending a job to the printer, you’re sending it to a screen.
Designing for a new medium is not always easy to do well, particularly if you want to incorporate graphics with motion. “Moving messages move people” is a DDS industry mantra, so as you progress from simple to more complex projects you’ll need to stay updated and trained on the latest in content creation software.
“You don’t want to leave money on the table,” says DellaMaggiore. “Control the content, then you control the customer and they’re less likely to jump ship.”
Tags:
Leave a Comment
Please sign in to leave a comment
Click here to Sign in. Don't have an account? Join Today (It's Free!)