This Omnivex digital scoreboard was installed by Pixellent Display Systems for the Glendale Raptors, a professional rugby team, at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo. (Photo courtesy Pixellent Display Systems)

When you last attended a baseball game, what were some of your “must haves”? Perhaps peanuts, a frosty beverage to wash down that traditional ballpark hot dog, an ice cream sundae in that miniature helmet and an exciting electronic scoreboard all fit the bill. OK, so most people may not realize the benefits of having an electronic scoreboard, but its role in the game-day experience is just as important as a ballpark hot dog. Gone are the days of simple team names and the score illuminated by incandescent bulbs. Today's electronic scoreboards engage the audience, especially with modern features, such as electronic message centers and live video feeds. Statistics, players’ biographies and other useful information greatly enhance the viewing experience, but more importantly for sign shops, electronic scoreboards can provide a viable source of income for both the shop and the end user. And many electronic sign shops will find they presently have potential scoreboard clients at hand.

TARGET MARKET
For a sign shop already servicing school districts, adding electronic scoreboards to its product line is a natural market, says Ron Sellers, president of Luminous Neon, an 80-person shop headquartered in Hutchinson, Kan. Without having to expend that extra energy looking for new accounts, a sign shop simply can look in its own backyard.

For instance, Randy Holland, operations manager of Snyder Signs, a 30-person shop in Johnson City, Tenn., found the transition to offering electronic scoreboards simple because his company already had an established relationship with East Tennessee State University. After completing various sign projects for the school, such as letter sets and wayfinding signage, ETSU instinctively turned to Snyder Signs.

After Snyder Signs, Johnson City, Tenn., installed this center-court basketball scoreboard, Dave Mullins, athletic director of East Tennessee State University, says that it helped give this indoor football stadium more of a basketball feel. This scoreboard is a Daktronics unit. Photo courtesy of Snyder Signs.

“We were just a natural person to go to in the bid process because we already had established a relationship with them and not only with different parts of the administration but also with the athletic director,” says Holland.

But Logan P. Baker, president of Golden Rule Signs, a 12-person shop in Louisville, Ky., believes sign shops often are left out of the competition because some schools do not always see scoreboards as signage. Instead, the school may research other avenues without understanding its established sign shop can be a likely partner.

“When most schools, churches or parks think about buying scoreboards, they actually go out and specifically search for scoreboard companies, when, in fact, they don’t realize sign companies are the guys who are going to put them up, and sign companies can sell them, as well,” explains Baker.

After coming to this realization, Baker says making sure his clients are aware of his electronic scoreboard capabilities has given his company a unique opportunity to get in front of existing clients who would not have given Golden Rule Signs a first glance, and that move has made manufacturing electronic scoreboards a lucrative business service.

Keep in mind, even if you have school districts as current clients, Holland and Sellers both recommend that electronic scoreboards be handled by sign shops already familiar with digital signage, as maintaining and servicing the sign would be difficult for a shop without that specific experience.

Gerald Lipscomb, president of Lipscomb Signs, a 24-person shop in Forest City, N.C., also agrees and remembers a time when his client did not test the scoreboard until the day before a game. Murphy’s Law kicked in, and the scoreboard malfunctioned because of a faulty driver board. Lipscomb and his team were forced to scramble at the last minute to make sure the scoreboard was operating by the next day, which would not have been an easy process for a sign shop new to digital applications.

“There’s just a little more to [electronic scoreboards] and a little bit more pressure because, when it comes game time, if that board isn’t working, you’re going to have some really unhappy people,” advises Holland.

Getting your feet wet in the digital signage game in a retail location might be a little less intimidating than having a massive, captive audience staring down your initial job.

ADD-ON FEATURES PROVIDE ADDITIONAL REVENUE
Whether via service agreements or signage components, add-on features are a lucrative means to increasing revenue, especially regarding electronic scoreboards. Offering a labor warranty for local clients, for example, is a simple way to increase the bottom line of a sale, and that fee is determined at a percentage of the overall sales cost, typically 10 percent, estimates Baker.

“If somebody buys a $10,000 scoreboard, they’re paying you $1,000 for the labor warranty, and if the scoreboard only needs to be serviced once or twice, you’re really making good money — $500 a service call to go out there and exchange a part,” says Baker. “So it’s well worth it, and it makes the client feel comfortable.”

Be sure to employ the right sales approach when discussing the labor warranty. Of course, the client should understand the value of a labor warranty, but, at the same time, you do not want to frighten the prospect into thinking the equipment eventually will fail. Instead, allow the client to see this as the protective measure it is meant to be.

“There’s a fine line you have to walk when talking to a client between scaring them out of the products with the labor warranty because they think they’re going to have to need it or simply suggesting it as a precautionary measure,” advises Baker.

Often school districts and universities receive funding for electronic scoreboards by grants, bids or donations, and each of those channels can be a detailed process. Baker recommends that a sign shop encourages its prospective client to roll the labor warranty cost into the requested funds.

But perhaps the most popular and sales-grabbing add-on features are electronic message centers and video boards used as sponsorship panels. By purchasing these additional scoreboard components, the end user can determine specified slots to sell to advertisers throughout the season. Matt Hassock, digital display systems consultant of Pixellent Display Systems, says he can approach the end user to pitch additional electronic message centers as an actual source of income that ultimately will recoup the cost of the scoreboard system.

This supplementary revenue potential especially is available if the games are featured on television, adds Hassock. When games are televised, those sponsorship slots become that much pricier because the impressions per advertisement ratio increases.

Dave Mullins, athletic director of ETSU, says that digital panels better accommodate sponsors and are a low-maintenance application for his department. While Mullins acknowledges the importance of backlit sponsorship static signage, an electronic message center allows his department to make instant changes to the paid advertisements. And, of course, this is completed without the hassle of reproduction that traditional signage requires. For him, this is a valued advantage.

“In today’s age, where so much advertising is going digital in your arenas, I think electronic message boards are very crucial because it allows you to stay current with your sponsors. With a digital message board, you can create something daily if you need to – make changes and updates,” says Mullins.

But even if your local sports team is just the tiny high school down the street that plays on a beat-up, old field, don't hesitate to make sure all the digital signage options your shop is capable of providing are known to your client. Your client may assume it can't afford anything more than a manual scoreboard with a spotlight, but they may be surprised by how reasonably priced many features are.

IMPROVING THE GAME-DAY ENVIRONMENT
Besides the obvious benefit of additional revenue, add-on features, such as an electronic message center, enhance the overall game-day atmosphere, which is appealing to the end user and adds a touch more sizzle to the steak. Hassock recalls a project his company recently completed for the Glendale Raptors, a professional rugby team, at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo. According to Hassock, a scoreboard that provides game details is crucial for a sport like rugby in the United States.

“It connects [the audience] to the game because they’re not very familiar with rugby, so there’s a lot of guidance to tell the audience why there’s a penalty or who’s on the field. It’s a bit of a guide to the program,” says Hassock.

For Mullins, encouraging greater fan participation is central to a positive game-day atmosphere and a valuable selling point. ETSU hosts its basketball games in the Memorial Center, an indoor football stadium, featuring scoreboards at both end zones, which is not conducive to promoting a basketball environment, says Mullins. Instead, ETSU hired Snyder Signs to install a four-sided scoreboard suspended from the ceiling at center court.

“The scoreboards were at the far ends of the building, so our fans had to divert their attention away from the action just to look at the scoreboard, so by hanging a scoreboard right at center court, it created more of a basketball feel, and people’s attention could be directed to the action,” notes Mullins. “Then we added some features to it —a digital message board and some other components that are basketball specific – to create a better basketball atmosphere.”

So when the fans are going crazy from the instant replay of that high-octane dunk or diving catch in left field, your clients — with additional revenue padding their pockets — will have you to thank.