Projected Digital Signage

Why not put a screen in your window?

Because everyone has that.  Well, not everyone, but even a big screen is just a big screen.

Window Video Systems (projected digital signage) allow for eye-popping effects, different size possibilities, customized visual formats, and most of all, a completely different effect than an installed screen.

Window Video Systems (WVS) use projection and rear projection films applied to window glass to literally turn the glass into a video screen---hence the name, Looknglas.

Businesses, especially retail, need and crave fresh, attention-grabbing content.  The key to effective implementation is not hardware!  (Everybody's so fixated on hardware and gadgetry---thanks Apple!)

The issue is, what do you have to say?  What is the value of that message?

Invest in the message, a really good, powerful message, that is strategic and measurable.  All the things I have been saying for years.  Don't invest in hardware, invest in messaging to your target audience effectively, and you'll never go wrong.

Feel free to ask any questions about this system or how it can work for your business.  Let's blow some minds!

Content is KIng - so Bow Down!

It has been oft repeated that "content is king!"

So, if that's the case, why do people consistently try to get their content for free or on the cheap?

So many in Digital Signage and DOOH are systems focused, and so very, very few focused on content production, production values, message, and message strategy.

I think it's often assumed this is the responsibility of advertising agencies, and marketing "people", but if you are installing or running a network, it needs to be your focus.

The message (content) is where the value is.  You can have the best hardware and software platform, the best integration, the best technical support, but if the messages suck, the whole thing sucks.

Think of a Limo without seats, steering wheel or brakes.

Content (message) truly is king, and strategy must be queen, and the DS system, can only ever be the coach and four.

So, qualified, strategic content producers are a critical part of your success equation.  That is, people who know more than just how to make a pretty picture.  People who can create great visual messaging designed to accomplish real business objectives.

We like Phase 3 Digital, because they're both artistic as well as digital and strategy savvy.

Serious investment must be made in that expertise, that marketing message expertise and the appropriate production values that should accompany it.  If the message and strategy are great, but the visuals look like hell, the campaign will fail, and then Digital Signage and DOOH takes yet another black eye.  Don't do that to yourself, to your client, and to the industry; make sure that content and strategy are the best you can get.  Get the best expertise and production at the best price you can, but don't sacrifice mission-critical standards to a bean-counter's mentality.

Integration: Mix and Match, Or...?

I've been getting questions about whether Looknglas systems can integrate with other systems or components.

Some have already invested in components, a screen here or there, and Digital control system, software or player. The question is basically coming from the standpoint, will this piece of hardware work with that one, or will this software control system work with those projection systems?

I guess the answer is, uhh, maybe.

The reality is that there are a great many components and software/hardware platforms out there. Digital Signage is a big fat generality. Theoretically, a lot of the stuff out there will work with a lot of the other stuff. You can't really know for certain about how anything works for or with anything else in a certain environment, for a given purpose, (with whatever content and look you envision,) until you evaluate and test. Assembling a Digital Signage or Display system isn't all that simple, because it's not just a gathering of technology hardware. Like with all serious business investments, a properly implemented system is a matter of goals and objectives, tailored specifically to the clients wants, needs and operating environment.

Digital Signage is really about your message, or how you want to communicate (talk) to your target audience. So you want to talk to them? Let's talk.

Selling WVS: Who to Leave Out

"This could work anywhere!"

It's tempting to think that way, very tempting. But probably fatal. Window Video Systems are cool, very cool.

And WVS will "work" in a large variety of venues and applications. But don't get greedy, and don't get wild. Find a niche you know, a niche whose needs you are very familiar with, where you have experience selling into, or for. Know that niche intimately, so you can USE WVS TO FILL THE NEED! That is where the money is. Not merely wowing a few diverse clients here and there. Know your chosen niche well, and develop your own ideas of how you would use WVS, particularly, to create PROFIT for your target client/user. How would you prove or demonstrate that PROFIT/return?

As mentioned in the previous post, the numbers on ROI/effectiveness of Digital Signage are coming in, and they are all good, baby. But it's up to you to know them and how they can apply to your chosen market, segment or niche.

So where do YOU think WVS will be successful? What market or segment are YOU expert in? Here are just some of the retail segments we like:

Auto Dealerships
Jewelry Stores
Retail Clothing
Design Studios
Hair Salons
Cellular Stores
Supermarkets
Electronics/Appliance Stores
Clubs
Bars
Restaurants

We could go on. Any large chain in any one of these segments would make a nice career. But you can't sell all of them, because no one can be really good at penetrating and effectively serving ALL those markets. So which do you leave out, and shich ONE would you choose?

Going Green

"Green"!

It's a critical watchword for many corporations these days. The drive towards eco-conscious business practices and investment in green technologies, and practices, such as recycling and replacement of equipment in favor of more environmentally friendly systems is more intense than ever.

Most signage today is still in the form of replace-able hard copy. That is, posters and banners made of either paper or vinyl (petroleum based products) and designed to be discarded and replaced. That's a lot of oil for the vinyl, and that's a lot of trees for the paper.

Window Video Systems are Green Signage. WVS is the ultimate "replace-able" or re-usable signage. In fact, you don't replace anything except a lightbulb on an infrequent basis. The rest of the system does away with posters and banners as it puts signage images directly onto windows and glass panes. Once installed, the system need never be replaced, allowing constant new messages without any need for banners or posters or waste.

LCD screens are not particularly green, except that they are recyclable. But they require a good deal of energy to produce, and especially, to recycle. Hopefully they are not merely thrown out. But if they are discarded, LCDs in the landfill are not a good thing for the environment.

So in Signage and Display, let's go green. Let's eliminate as much paper and vinyl (petroleum product) waste as possible, with Green Signage from Looknglas.

Go green with Window Video Systems from Looknglas. The Window Of Opportunity is here.

Digital Banner Great for Large In-Store Messaging

Change. Didn't someone win election to the most powerful office in the world recently on that premise?

Change truly is powerful. The ability to change, add to, alter, and enhance your message is extremely powerful.

This is the essential power of Window Video Systems (WVS) particularly, the Digital Banner. The advantages are:

Size
Attraction
Changing Message
Control
Impact
Affordability

The Digital Banner enlivens an entire room or store. Everyone in the store can see what the store wants them to know. Essential to a delivery system like this is to use it to message effectively to promote buying. Retailers will need to become more comfortable with using their signage more assertively in this way. But Digital Banners, Digital Posters, Digital Mannequins and Digital Window Displays will completely transform retail in-store display and marketing. There is no better time or place to message to customers than at the point of purchase.

The Window of Opportunity is here.

Getting the Buy

Wouldn't it be great if you could just get people to "Buy"?

That is the dream and objective of Marketing. So many are lost in the process of marketing, where things like social networking and online marketing strategies become ends in themselves.

Real business people (that is, people who are accountable for sales and profit) prioritize "the Buy". That's where the action (and the money) is.

But you can't go from zero to "Buy". These are the steps any buyer goes through before they become a buyer:
1. Awareness
2. Interest
3. Motivation
4. Decision
5. Action
6. And finally, TRANSACTION, or "BUY".

TV is indirect. Radio is indirect. Online is mostly indirect. Social networking and social media is indirect. Direct mail is mostly indirect. Print is indirect.

Window Video Systems, (like the Digital Mannequin,) on the storefront window, and inside the store, are Direct. They are a messaging medium at the Point of Purchase. They allow the business to take a potential customer from steps 1 through 6 all at once, in just a few moments. From unaware to BUY in seconds.

That is the power of Window Video Systems by Looknglas. You move a potential customer from unaware to BUY in seconds.

That is enormous marketing power in one affordable system. That's why we say,
The Window of Opportunity is Here.

How Window Video Systems Work

We're getting more and more questions about Window Video Systems (WVS), (especially Digital Mannequin,) and how they work.

In the broad strokes, WVS is rear projection (but not always.) Window glass will not hold a projected image. When you shine a light, it goes right through the glass. So a treatment or special pane or screen is required, which will hold your projected image.

Many factors can and will affect the Digital Window displays, so the correct specifications are critical. The type of screen, size, brightness, components, install and integration, ambient lighting, content and marketing message, are all factors. And that doesn't even scratch the surface.

It is always exciting to see a window light up like a giant lcd screen (without the associated cost,) and convey advertising and marketing messages effectively. "Effectively" is the key word here.

People want a widget; a silver bullet that does everything and solves everything, and costs next to nothing. WVS are not widgets. They must be tailored to each situation and use.

Looknglas makes the medium affordable and easy to use. Entry level systems are comparable in price to large LCDs.

Customers don't go to your business to watch headlines, weather, or even music videos. Looknglas Window Video Systems, designed to convey images and messages that produce traffic, sales, and profit, are a bargain compared with most commercial LCDs. Customers have TVs at home, and they have mobile phones; they can get all that stuff there. What they want to know is what they should buy from you and why, so you have to illustrate that and convince them to buy. That's what WVS and Digital Mannequin do.

Looknglas approaches your install from the standpoint of making your WVS install do what you want it to. We pay close attention to the technical implementation, but we also prioritize the effectiveness of the content. Without the focus on effective use for marketing and sales promotion, any system will become another piece of technology that underperforms. Gadgets are cool. Results are cooler.

Window Video Systems by Looknglas: The Window of opportunity is here.

"AND" Is The Enemy

In advertising, the word "AND" is very popular. But it needs to be put to death.

Advertisers always want to tell you something more, besides their core message. The temptation is overwhelming.

When all you have is a short-form message, dropped into the middle of some other type of content, the advertiser feels rushed, forced into cramming so much into so little time, that "AND" becomes the means to getting it all in before your time is up. Which of course, makes it sound that way to the listener.

Unfortunately, those types of ads don't work very well. Every new element added to the original message, increases the liklihood that the listener or viewer forgets what came before. And voila! Suddenly you've managed to make your message UN-MEMORABLE.

"AND" may seem like your messaging friend, but in short-form advertising, it's actually your worst enemy. It always drags the target audience away from the core message! If whatever preceeded "AND" was not your core message, then it likely shouldn't have been in there at all.

So I have always advised clients to pick one powerful, compelling, trackable message and push it hard.

Until now.

Window Video Systems are an exception. Each message is its' own campaign, and can be repeated as frequently as desired, right at the point of purchase.

Hallelujah! Unlimited messaging, AND repetition, right at the point of purchase! Window Video Systems (WVS) enable advertisers to ATTRACT customers, INTEREST customers, MOTIVATE them, and MOVE them TO ACTION all at the point of purchase, and then REPEAT. Digital Mannequin is a great example; the DM catches the eye, interests them, and can then be followed by product info and offers. Properly implemented, WVS will produce TRAFFIC, SALES and PROFIT. All by activating and existing under-utilized asset: the storefront window. Wow!

The Window of Opportunity really is here.

Retail Window Displays

OK, I admit it: Messaging is my personal hobby horse.

But it's so totally justified, because I just don't see people doing a good job with it. Either they don't create compelling messages, or they don't know how to target, or they don't target correctly, or they don't understand their own target, or they don't know how to motivate the target.... ad nauseum. There are so many ways to message poorly.

But rather than talk in generalities, let's focus on one very important thing: How to message effectively with large-screen lcd, or better yet, with Window Video Systems (WVS).

To define even further, let's talk about clothing retailer's need to display and message to people passing by their mall store. What people do now is dress up mannequins and place them in the window, and perhaps add posters, signs, or an lcd. The posters/signs might give pricing or promo info about specific product, but it can only do that in a blanket way, (Everything 20% Off!) or a specific way (Shoe Sale). But you can only do so much, usually one thing, at a time. And then you have to live with it for a while or replace and reprint constantly. And the LCD is usually used simply for ambience like music videos or fashion-show looking loops.

What the customer wants to know is, "what do you have for me, why is it better for me, and how do I get it (for less)?

Window Video Systems, displaying the Digital Mannequin, allow the store to display clothing on a "live" looking model, front and back, with pricing or promo offer, along with any other important product info (i.e., "It's Green! Made with only Organic Recycled Hemp, Domestically Grown, with a Negative-One Carbon Footprint, Endorsed by Al Gore!")

Ok, sorry for the sarcasm, but you get the point: that's a lot of very specific messaging AND display info that you can get out of one system in a very short period of time. And THEN, Digital Mannequin enables the store to go to the next ensemble and do it all again with new information. Or not. They could just repeat. Or go to a different type of info, or mini-campaign.

The advantages are numerous:

1. Better display capability
A. life-size,
B. multiple poses,
C. multiple views,
D. multiple ensembles with multiple articles
E. different or changing backgrounds
F. different presentations - stills, motion, video
AND

2. Better Messaging capability
A. multiple messages,
B. multiple offers,
C. variable appearances - colors, size, motion
D. faster changes in messages/campaigns - even to the day or days, or daypart,
E. no changing out of posters,
F. no waste

That's a LOT of improvement in your messaging! That's a lot of flexibility and potency with which to improve your message to your target customers!

And to think you can do that for a comparable price to a large LCD? Fuggedaboutit! Who do I call?!

Call Looknglas. We'll hook you up.

The Window of Opportunity is here.

Talk to your Customers

Sure you should engage customers when they come into your business environment. But I'm talking about before they enter. That is what signage is for.

Digital Signage, and particularly, Window Video Systems, allow you to engage them before they ever enter your store or business. You can prep them, educate them, lure them, promote to them, compliment them, entice them, display to them, invite them, incent them, empower them, offer them something, give them another step towards engaging with your product or business, ask them a question, give them an answer, show them something new, remind them of something they should do, promise them something, and most importantly, sell them. That is the point of advertising, marketing, and signage, is it not? Sell them something. Use your entire window space, empowered and illuminated by a Window Video System, to sell them. They just might appreciate that you did something new and different. They just might go and tell other people about your Window Video System, or your Digital Mannequin, that got their attention, and brought them in to buy.

You have what your customer wants. Use the Looknglas systems to help them buy from you.

The Window of Opportunity is here.

Your Message is the Answer

At the risk of hurting my own sales effort, let me confess here and now that media, and the various new forms technology has enabled ARE NOT THE ANSWER!

But before I go further, let's make sure we agree on the question. I say the question is:

"How do I achieve more sales and profit?" Ok, really that's two questions, but sales and profit are directly related, and most would agree that sales without profit are not so helpful. So they tend to go together.

Now back to the answer. Twitter is not the answer. Neither is Facebook. Neither is Google, your website, e-mail blasts, direct mail, SEO, LCDs, and (OUCH!!!) not even Window Video Systems.

Your Message is the answer. What do you have to sell, to whom, and how, that will motivate them to buy from you? That is the question, the answer to which, will determine your Message. In other words, have you defined your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? It is your USP which is the engine that drives all of your selling, marketing and advertising. Absent a compelling, motivating USP, you're in for a long haul. You can "reach" an ever-increasing audience, but without a USP, you won't get them to buy.

Much has been said and written about USP, and I won't attempt to reconstitute it all here, but invest the time and brainpower in developing your USP before you invest a cent in marketing or advertising, because it will be many, many dollars saved, as well as many more dollars earned. A strong USP enlivens all campaigns, justifies marketing and advertising investment, and supercharges the sales team. It is a reason to be excited about your business once again. It makes things happen.

A strong Unique Selling Proposition: get one now. And then buy a Window Video System from Looknglas and put your USP on your storefront windows.

The Window of Opportunity is Here.