Our friends across the pond at aka.tv
have just released this month's slew of industry news, and as usual,
they have a number of good articles that are worth reading for anybody
involved with digital retailing. But the one that really caught
my eye was The Seven Golden Rules of Digital Signage Networks. From my perspective, I'd have to say that rule #2, it's ALL about the content
is the most important, and perhaps the most often misunderstood.
Retailers and advertisers alike know that there are certain economies
to be found by repurposing existing television and Internet content on
their digital signage networks. In fact, this is even another
golden rule mentioned in the article (along with making sure that your digital signage software works with industry standard formats, as our FireCast software does).
But
what is so important to remember - and again, so often overlooked - is
that digital signs are not like TV, nor are they like the
Internet. In both of these cases, people typically choose
to consume their media. Whether using a mouse or a remote
control, Internet and TV users select the content that they wish to
view, and will do so in a comfortable environment, in a position that
promotes proper viewing/interacting with the content.
Digital
signage, on the other hand, isn't afforded any of these luxuries.
Digital signs must often compete with their static sign counterparts,
retail fixtures, product displays and other point-of-purchase
advertising for attention. They will typically only be in view
for a few minutes, and will only be in prime viewing position for a
fraction of that (for a better idea about ideal viewing conditions,
check out a previous article from this blog, "Optimize Your Digital Signage Text Size, Comprehension and Readability"). Simply "repurposing" an existing TV ad onto your signs isn't going to cut it.
Your
content must be quick and to-the-point. If you can't communicate
your entire message in 7-10 seconds, it's more than likely that people
aren't going to stay tuned in to hear what you have to say (unless you
have a very captive audience, of course). And while this means
that your content loop will probably be repetitive (in order to
maximize the numbers of passers-by who will be exposed to your
message), you must also avoid being irritating, annoying or
offensive. Oh, and don't forget to include a call to action to help turn your browsers into buyers!
Leveraging
an existing content library can be a huge benefit to anybody running a
digital sign network. However, custom-tuning your content
by keeping the suggestions above in mind while thinking about your
audience can supercharge your network, bringing you closer to the
digital signage nirvana of simultaneously increasing customer
satisfaction while still driving sales.