Digital signage
The term Digital Signage ( dt. : Digital Signage ) describes the use of digital (possibly interactive) media content for advertising - and information systems such as electronic posters , electronic traffic signs , advertising in shops (store marketing) , digital door signage or large-scale projections for indoor and outdoor use.
General
Digital signage is defined as a "remotely managed digital display typically associated with sales, advertising and marketing" or more broadly as "a network of electronic displays that is centrally managed and used to display text, animation or video messages (e.g. Advertising, information, entertainment, merchandising) are individually addressable for the target audience ”. The term "digital signage" is very flexible and is even used in large format printing in the digital printing industry. Data is prepared digitally, calibrated for the workflow and / or audiovisualized. Manufacturers of large screens and projectors, suppliers of conference and trade fair technology and even television broadcasters can call themselves “digital signage providers”. Digital signage can also be an information medium that is personalized for the respective target group, loads data from the cloud or plays its campaigns interactively with a media player or USB stick .
Digital signage is therefore networked (audio) visual and digitized information, the content of which, also known as “content”, can always be fed in or updated manually or automatically using a program. A combination of:
- Memory, e.g. B. the cloud
- a controller
- a computer program to prepare content
- the player.
The content can then be saved in the cloud and loaded as required.
When interactive digital signage gesture recognition and gesture control is combined with a digital signage screen.
Typical areas of application
Digital signage is increasingly used in public places. Advertising and information are displayed there by means of electronic tickers and digital posters. The electronic display of arrival and departure times, delays etc. has long been common at train stations and airports . In subways , advertisements can be displayed according to the time of day, tailored to the target group. More and more digital signage is also used in hotels , hypermarkets and shops (in-store TV). In the corporate sector, it is increasingly used for self-marketing (for example by means of company television for employees) or for production information in factories (see below).
Publishers also use digital signage to place news and advertising in well-frequented locations (shopping centers, fitness studios, banks). The content can be adapted to target groups. The combination of event information, local weather information and news promises greater attention from customers than purely static advertising displays. More and more often one finds digital signage information and advertising videos combined with the displays of call systems . Here, too, both systems transfer their respective system strengths to one another and benefit from one another.
One of the oldest and largest digital signage networks in Germany is the “ Berlin Window ”. Since 2000, it has been shown on over 3700 double monitors in over 1100 cars on the entire route network of the Berlin subway for over 1.7 million passengers a day. In addition to news and various magazine formats, a large number of event tips are broadcast that depict the current cultural life of the metropolis. The business model is based on the advertising marketing of broadcasting slots between the editorial contributions.
technology
In most cases, the content has to be edited. Here, the work of agencies that provide content is often used or one works with content management systems, whereby employees maintain the content themselves on site. In general, you can create very individual content and playback times at a location with many monitors. One then speaks of campaigns. The digitally processed media content, such as video clips, images, texts, sounds, presentations, television, etc. are z. B. at the point of sale (POS) or point of information (POI) played to the second.
Easy-to-use content management programs take care of the central administration as well as the transfer to the creation of the content. The digital content is mostly distributed to client PCs using a TCP / IP connection. In addition to conventional computers, mostly fanless thin clients are used. If no TCP / IP connection is available, the data can also be played on the end devices via CD , DVD or USB stick or compact flash card .
Use
The main argument of providers of digital signage systems is cost savings. With conventional signs and posters (paper signage), costs are incurred every time the content is changed, as the sign has to be changed or the poster has to be pasted over. With digital signage, the changed content is imported electronically with practically no additional costs. Acquisition costs for the electronic displays are kept within limits, although media players have a completely different impact. And don't forget the electricity costs that these players and fans generate per monitor each year.
In addition, the topicality of the content is another argument. The content can be changed every second. For example, it is possible to react to different customers and to show a different content in the morning when the housewives are shopping than in the early evening when the singles are out and about in the same shop.
It is also possible to display target group-specific content through facial recognition of the viewer and to measure the effectiveness of an advertisement through eye tracking. Compared to poster advertising, this has the advantage that advertisements can be continuously improved and thus made more cost-effective.
Application examples
Digital signage in retail
Retail offers the greatest potential for digital signage . There digital displays and interactive kiosk systems replaced static advertising signs and neon signs. For branches in particular, the use of digital signage via the Internet is a way of changing campaigns at the push of a button and adapting them to local conditions.
Interactive touch terminals and kiosk systems are often used to integrate the online shop into stationary retail. Interfaces to merchandise management allow dynamically generated campaigns.
The digital transformation has long since reached retail and digital signage is an essential building block for it. In general, the primary interest of the retail trade in digital signage is to influence the customer's attention and thus also their buying behavior. With the help of digital communication, especially at the POI and POS , added value is to be created for the retail company and the customer.
Digital signage in tourism
In the tourism, hotel and hospitality industry, digital signage is playing an increasingly important role by providing the target group with easy access to current (travel) information. Be it via information terminals at the point of interest (e.g. tourist information) or in the city center using interactive outdoor terminals. Visitors or guests of the respective destination have the opportunity to receive all relevant information about certain service providers, events or historical backgrounds free of charge and conveniently. Conversely, this transfer of information increases the service quality of the destination, as the service can be offered 24/7.
Further examples of digital signage in the tourism industry:
- Digital signage in hotel lobbies and entrance areas for the (personalized) greeting of all guests or visitors via the respective location or facility
- Electronic menus in restaurants or pubs for more modern external communication (e.g. by integrating media content such as videos or images)
- Increase in service quality through multilingual information transfer
- Interactive (barrier-free) information terminals in museums, zoos or other tourist facilities
Digital signage in schools - as a digital representation plan
The paper substitution plans in schools are increasingly being replaced by digital equivalents. At various points in the school building, the display systems controlled by the timetable coordinator show the short-term changes of the day in a target group-optimized manner. The staff room, middle school or upper school level can use different display modes of the substitution plan. Depending on the target group, the sorting criterion can be the teacher name, the class or the course bar, and the time window shown can also vary.
The disadvantage is that extensive amounts of data have to be presented one after the other by cross-fading, which leads to more or less long waiting times. In larger schools, larger waiting groups form at peak times in the morning, which makes the use of correspondingly expensive large monitors necessary.
Digital signage in clinics
A classic application for digital signage is television in clinics. The content from the editor is transferred directly to the television in the patient's room via the in-house intranet. The content can include menus, webcam images, date and event information, company films and the like. It is also possible to record a live event, whereby a camera team transmits images and sound to the patient's room during the event.
Digital signage for production data
Another area of application is the visualization of production data in production facilities. Current quantities or information about the target and actual status can be displayed. The employees in factories or on treadmills are always informed about the current status of production. The high luminosity and the large viewing angle of plasma or TFT monitors ensure good visibility. In an emergency, warnings about faults can also be displayed immediately.
Digital signage in shopping malls
Extensive digital signage systems are being used in more and more shopping centers. Such retail centers, like department stores, are the ideal example for the use of digital signage. Starting with customer guidance (“What can I find where?”) To the presentation of new products. The time on the escalator, in the elevator or on the way to the desired department is shortened with videos - combined with advertising. Areas of application of digital signage in the center area are, for example, digital displays as information boards, to show advertising spots for retailers or their suppliers, to announce events or to place self-advertising for the center.
Economic dimensions for digital signage as an advertising medium
The study by Global Market Insights (2016) predicts that the global digital signage market will grow to over 23 billion US dollars by 2023.
According to the “invidis yearbook 2016/2017”, the overall market in the DACH area grew to one billion euros in 2015. In 2007, according to a study, there were already around 215,000 public screens in Western Europe on which advertising messages were presented.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jimmy Schaeffler: Digital Signage: Software, Networks, Advertising, and Displays: A Primer for Understanding the Business (paperback) ( EN ), 1st edition, Focal Press, Amsterdam 2013, pp. 1.5–6.
- ↑ Digital Signage Compass: Lexicon. Retrieved April 26, 2017 .
- ↑ Digital signage leads to the digital transformation of retail - digital notes . In: Digital Notes . July 7, 2016 ( dimedis.de [accessed January 25, 2017]).
- ↑ Digital signage in tourism / digital tourism. In: www.ltv-sachsen.de. State Tourism Association Saxony e. V., accessed on July 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Tourism is interactive or not at all. In: www.ltv-sachsen.de. State Tourism Association Saxony e. V., accessed on July 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Bellgardt conference equipment to museums and exhibitions. Retrieved July 4, 2016 .
- ↑ DisplayOp: Digital signage in museums and cultural institutions. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 4, 2016 ; Retrieved July 4, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Global digital signage market to surpass $ 23B by 2023 . In: www.digitalsignagetoday.com . May 6, 2016 ( digitalsignagetoday.com [accessed January 25, 2017]).
- ↑ invidis Digital Signage Magazine - invidis. Retrieved January 25, 2017 .
