Over the past several weeks I’ve put some serious thought into how to make the most efficient use of our sales efforts. Many times when we call potential customers, they do not recognize what we mean when we say “Digital Signage”. With that in mind, I’ve boiled things down to one major area that would help not only Captive Indoor Media but our industry. That area is education.
The reality of Digital Signage is it can be confusing. To the unknowing, implementing a network can appear so large, it is hard to know where to begin. Personally, I like to keep things simple. And, for those who know me well, they will recognize an expression that I often use. That expression is “Confusion says No.” Part of what we are trying to do with this Blog is limit the confusion which persists in our space by post interesting and educational articles as they relate to our technology and both it’s proven success and potential success. The best way to get started seems to be a list of the items we feel are paramount to a successful deployment of any Digital Signage Project.
For the purpose of this posting I am going to list each point with a brief description and follow up to each one in detail with future postings. I am also going to assume our readers have an understanding of what Digital Signage is. Keep checking back for more information as it relates to evaluating both product and process for Digital Signage.
1 - A Plan- This sounds elementary but it continues to surprise me how many of our customers come to us looking for digital signage because of the “me too” factor. In other words XYZ Bank or Credit Union has it so “I want it too.” The unfortunate reality of a Digital Signage project is it typically involves many departments within an organization and requires careful planning and therefore role allocation within the company before installations can begin. Some key components of the plan as we see it are:
· Marketing Project Manager- Manages the media plan for the system.
· Technical Project Manager- Manages the security and technical system design.
· Facilities- Ensures proper wiring and validates construction elements for each location.
· ROI Team- ROI for a Digital Signage project within a Financial Institution can cover several departments from HR to Marketing. It is important to define the objectives of your deployment before moving forward with a system.
2 - Player Equipment- The equipment used to store and play media in a Digital Signage Network is the biggest contributor to system downtime. It is critical to consult with your software vendor to confirm what hardware will optimize media performance and system uptime. I recently read an article on tech builder which did a great job describing hardware as well as some of the other facets involved in Digital Signage.
3 - Content- We preach heavily about content at Captive Indoor Media and we have the team in place here to help our customers design and implement the best media for their retail situation. The success of a Digital Signage project is ultimately determined by the content presented to customers so it is paramount to take great care to craft the right message for the medium. Repurposing existing content does not work in most situations. Our medium is visual and often lacks sound which makes experience in creating content specifically for a screen critical.
4 - Software- As the Digital Signage Industry continues to boom, more and more products are populating the marketplace. Products such as Scala, and Clarity combine both content creation and scheduling into one system while others like our platform Codigo stick to producing a software scheduling component and rely on existing design programs such as Macromedia Flash and Swish to create content.
5 - Budget- The expense of a solid Digital Signage network spans beyond the capital requirement for PC’s, Software, Displays, initial content design and Installation. For long term success, constant review is required by internal resources and continual revisions to content creation and scheduling are requirements.
6 - Benchmark for Success- This refers back to point #1 and should be part of the objective definition period. The key is to know why you are installing the network in the first place. Is it purely sales uplift? If so, do you have the internal process in place to track sales as it relates to the media on the screen? Are you interested in lowering perceived wait time too? Do you have a large number of branches in extended parts of the region or country which could benefit from training integration via Digital Signage? Do you need interactivity?
7 - Remote Management- Codigo is a purely web based product and we like it that way. I’d suggest you read my previous posting on February 15th which talks about purchasing software as a service rather than buying outright and tasking your IT department to manage a complex system. With Codigo and others which take a similar approach, all you need to get up and running is an internet connection at the branch and an outlet for power supply. From there, the user can access all of their media files on the web as well as execute full scheduling capability.
8 - Scheduling control- In retail environments, different customers shop at different times of the day. Banking in particular has unique traffic patterns which typically can be defined based on location. With this in mind, it is important to discern the scheduling capabilities within different software programs. Our system allows for full day part differentiation with recurring settings so users can have specific media playing on certain days/times and not on others. On the other hand, some systems do not allow this flexibility at all but may suit the requirements of the customer better than Codigo.
The above are but a few of the components to both the initial and long term success of any digital signage project. Check back soon for more on each of them.
