It was great to chat with Gary Kayye on Rants and rAVes again. Tune in to Episode 582: Planar & Leyard Will Show 0.9mm LED and New Rental Solutions at DSE to hear about the innovative displays we'll be showing off at DSE 2017.
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digital signage
It was a pleasure to chat with Gary Kayye in the Rants and rAVes podcast about the upcoming Integrated System Europe (ISE) conference next week. #ISE2017
I am humbled to work with the great editorial team at American Business Journals to share some insights on digital signage marketing.
In today’s hyper-competitive world, it’s not enough to offer up the right products and services in the hope that people will seek them out.
As the business consultant and blogger Peter Evans-Greenwood has pointed out, you must make your business a community hub or a religion. Otherwise, you resign yourself to being a commodity.
Companies like Apple and Harley Davidson get this, and they’ve worked hard to create a cult following for their brands. How? They don’t just sell a product, but a lifestyle. And it’s a lifestyle that their customers deeply identify with and are eager to adopt.
Today’s digital signage can help your company move beyond product features by turning your brand into a lifestyle that has broad appeal. Digital signage is fresh, it’s immersive, and it’s a way to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. From eye-catching digital window displays to interactive brand activations, digital experiences in the built environment can extend your brand messaging.
Here are four ways digital signage can help create a cult following for your brand:
It enables you to stand out from the crowd. A key way to move your brand from commodity to religion is to set yourself apart from the competition. Digital signage, with its ability to scale to enormous dimensions, has a huge “wow” factor that helps you do just that. It captures people’s attention from a distance and draws them in, giving your brand a powerful way to create lasting impact.
It can help you tell your story. Successful brands don’t just sell products and services. They tell stories that capture the imagination of their customers. Digital signage provides an influential medium for telling stories that resonate. With its ability to engage, digital signage enables marketers not just educate their customers, but to inspire them. In fact, it’s the ideal medium for offering up stimulating content that captivates the customers you want to reach.
It engages your customers. Brands that develop a cult following are extremely adept at engaging their customers, which is the opportunity that digital signage offers. With advanced touchscreen technology, for example, digital signage allows multiple users to interact with your brand, obtaining the information that interests them without affecting other users. In addition, facial recognition software can be built into digital signage to detect the presence of a person, collect demographic data, and then serve up highly targeted content that captures their interest.
It has the ability to go viral. People want to belong, and they love to share the experiences that excite them. Digital signage offers the opportunity to develop highly unique content that draws customers in, and motivates them to share with others. By creating stimulating visual content, you’ll soon have people telling their friends, and your installation will become a “must see” experience that turns prospective customers into loyal brand enthusiasts.
Digital signage can be a powerful ally as you work to transform your brand from a commodity into a cult following.
In today’s ultra-competitive business landscape, a strong brand is essential—and digital signage can be a powerful ally in that effort. Not only does digital signage attract customer attention, but it can also build business and customer loyalty. Indeed, one survey found that four out of five product brands that use digital signage increase sales by up to 33 percent. Another found that moving from static posters to digital signage when advertising outdoors can boost monthly revenue by as much as 800 percent. And we have seen similar results in indoor implementations as well.
The reasons for this are simple. Digital signage creates eye-catching and often interactive experiences that engage consumers and help them remember your brand, your product, how it made them feel, and what compelled them to share their experience. And most people enjoy digital signage, viewing it as “a cool way to advertise” and a “good way to learn about sales and events.” As Nancy Fletcher, president and CEO of the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, puts it: “Consumers are paying attention to the information presented to them and acting on it, whether they are drawn to a location featured on an ad, discussing the ad with friends and family, or attending an advertised event.”
The good news is that digital signage keeps getting better. Thanks to the latest innovative technology, digital signage is becoming ever more impactful, immersive, and versatile. Consider the following three trends that can be applied to the next generation of digital signage:
Video installations are getting bigger. Whereas just a few years ago, businesses used 55- to 65-inch displays as the basis for digital signage, today organizations are creating digital signage from displays as large as 98 inches. In addition, an increasing number of companies are taking advantage of seamless video wall technology and affordable prices to combine multiple displays into large video walls that make a huge impact — especially in public venues and places where crowds gather. The result is that what was once a medium for individuals has evolved into an ever-more powerful tool that can attract entire groups at the same time.
Digital signage is becoming interactive. From vibrant touch screen solutions to real-time body and face tracking, digital signage has becoming increasingly interactive, allowing companies to create highly immersive and customizable experiences that build brand loyalty. For example, retailers are installing interactive kiosks that offer coupons and rewards to repeat customers. Airports are implementing interactive way-finding stations that help travelers quickly find the services they need. Public venue installations can enable crowd-sourced, curated content submissions and social engagement. And advertisers are building digital signage that can sense who’s viewing it, offering up customized ads based on factors such as the viewer’s age and gender. Ultimately, interactive digital signage can give consumers the information they need, right when they need it—improving brand loyalty.
The opportunity for creative applications is growing. While many organizations are installing video walls, in today’s world, there’s no reason to limit oneself to the four walls of a building. From ceiling and floor installations to counter tops, digital signage can enhance almost any surface. Companies can design see-through installations on glass surfaces, overlaying text, images, and video onto physical objects that sit behind the glass. They can build captivating 3D installations that people can view in virtual reality using lightweight glasses. And they can tile displays into non-traditional shapes to create a mood or atmosphere that complements their brand. Taking this a step further, NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group, built a series of huge video walls featuring finish carpentry, which masked the walls into organic shapes, in their coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Similar approaches were also used at the Woody Gutherie museum. Likewise By tapping into these technologies and creative installation design, businesses can generate highly memorable experiences that elevate their brands above the competition.
These are just a few of the ways organizations can use digital signage to attract customers and build brand loyalty. And with today’s advanced technology, the sky’s the limit for creating unique, highly inspiring installations. To learn more about how digital signage can strengthen your brand, please attend my keynote, “What leading brands are teaching us about interactive digital signage,” at Digital Signage Expo 2017. I hope to see you there!
Jennifer Davis will present Seminar 13 entitled, “What Leading Brands are Teaching us About Digital Signage,” on Wednesday, March 29 at 4pm at DSE 2017 to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information on this or any educational program offered at DSE 2017 or to learn more about digital signage go to www.dse2017.com
This article was originally published on AVNetwork.