Photos courtesy Scala
By Chris Hills
While digital signage has developed as a different medium from printed and other ‘static’ signage, there is no doubt it is affecting the traditional sign industry. One need only walk into any Tim Hortons franchise to see an array of digital screens that have permanently replaced the menu boards that in the past were printed by sign companies.
Recent research from Intel (see Sign Media Canada, November 2013, page 26) estimates, at the current rate of uptake, there will be nearly 10 million active digital signage media players in use around the world by 2015. Other consultancies suggest that estimate is too low.
With all of these screens and media players replacing printed signs, one may well worry where this situation leaves the average sign shop—but in fact, the average sign shop is perfectly positioned to expand its business by offering both static and digital signage to its customers.
Creating content
The key to understanding how sign shops can move into digital signage is ongoing content creation.
Screens and media players are not the most important elements in a digital signage network. For the medium to be effective, it is more important for the content to be fresh and new, to continue capturing attention and achieving impressions (i.e. the number of times a viewer looks at or reads a digital sign).
As such, there is an excellent opportunity for signmakers to increase their revenue by creating content on an ongoing basis. Continuously refreshing their clients’ messaging, to keep it effective and impactful, will ensure a continued source of income.
Although digital signage is a new medium to many signmakers, starting to pursue this opportunity could not be any easier, since sign shops already have graphic design experience, their clients’ art files from static signage and, most importantly, existing customer relationships.
Digital signage software can allow a sign shop to operate and manage content at client sites from a central location.
Room for improvement
Large retail and quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains notwithstanding, much of the digital signage currently in public view is not as effective as it should be. According to a recent worldwide survey by 5th Screen Digital, which manages related services for retailers and brand owners, 65 per cent of North Americans consider the majority of digital signage they have seen either ‘mediocre’ or ‘bad.’ This reinforces the need to improve the quality of on-screen content.
Companies without any signmaking, marketing or design experience—often the clients themselves—may recognize the relevance of digital signage, but not understand how to do it right. The results are often low-resolution images with poor colour choices and bland templates.
Sign shops are in the perfect position to transition digital signage away from this current condition. In short, they can do it better. Based on their experience, they have the opportunity to combine design with technology to help their customers enhance their messaging, catch the attention of passersby and achieve a significant return on investment (ROI). Indeed, some companies have recorded as much as a 33 per cent increase in sales because they deployed effective digital signage.
