The Prince and the Pauper

"Content is King!"

So says everyone.  Except the majority of business decision-makers, who tend to fasten on hardware and software and price.  They can't help it; they just gotta know "how much will this cost me?"

For any DOOH or other digital signage display, the content is critical.  With all the advances over the past 5 years or so, the issue of high-quality content is still a tough one, because, face it, true creative costs something.

Example: I just spoke with a major international brand that is installing a very large, multi-tile video wall in their corporate Headquarters lobby, where everyone will see it.  Great idea!

But they decided, for content, they will go with their in-house app-designer because they don't have a budget for content.  Now, keep in mind, this company manufactures key components for digital displays.  They are a major player.

Ya gotta be kidding me!!!  You have budget to install a very large multi-tile video wall, but you forgot to allocate ANY budget toward content???!!!

So much for "Content is King."  Truth is, for so many otherwise smart business decision-makers, content is an ugly step-child, neglected and unwanted.  Shoot, the content should just come with this great hardware, right?

So the King, the prince, is actually a pauper.  No one will give him a dime.

When was the last time you saw a truly engaging, stop-you-in-your tracks digital display?  Uhh, let me see.... you don't really see them very often, and the reason is, decision-makers focus on hardware and widgets.  Something they can negotiate hard.  Something they can commoditize.  But the all-important content, the message, the thing that actually makes people move, THAT is too expensive, don't have a budget for it, we'll do it in-house.

This is a major reason why this industry doesn't rocket forward.  The value (content) is a tough sell.

People, please: Set budget for this critical component of your display implementation.  If you're a systems seller, or a software seller, or an integrator, get the client to put some cold hard cash value towards their implementation's content!  It will make you look good, and they'll stand a better chance of getting the true value out of their purchase that they intended.  And you'll sell more.

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!

Engage, Interact, Then What?

Engagement is awesome.  Interacting with your audience, intriguing them, interesting them, entertaining them, and... and... then what?

Many of us have gotten good at engaging through Social Media by creating or pushing relevant or interesting content.  But once that's up and going, how good are you at moving beyond mere engagement to something more business related, like... wait for it... BUYING?!!!  Here's a good example of engagement with audience:

This is a pretty technical display, and not cheap by any means.  How much time would you see yourself spending interacting with this?  Can you see yourself buying as a result?

Personally, I can't see this moving me any closer to a purchase.

Meaningful business-related engagement must be for the purpose of transacting at some point, preferably sooner than later.  The average retailer couldn't dream of investing in this display long term or on a widespread basis.  When the path to purchasing becomes clearer, then this type of display and technology becomes much more valuable to the retailer.

Don't get me wrong; I love this technology and attraction value, but I think it's a little disconnected from the rest of the customer experience in the clothes-buying process.

How would you revise this display to become a "customer-ing" engagement display tool?  How could this be re-positioned to better encourage purchasing?

My philosophy is to use any display like this as a means to attract, engage, propose, incentivize, and motivate to purchase.  But I'm kind of a fuddy-dud that way.

Your thoughts?

What's inside a Digital Mannequin?

I get a lot of requests for info about the Digital Mannequin, and Window Video Systems, generally.

Now, if you asked that question about a standard mannequin, it would be a very different kind of answer.  Materials, structural joints, air, etc.

But a Digital Mannequin is a human representation.  It is not a likeness, it is a digital leveraging of an actual person.  This goes to the issue of content, concept, content creation, the interplay between tech and creative.

The question goes to the point of product (let's say, clothing) and strategically, the best way to sell that product.  What model(s)?  What makeup?  What lighting?  Background, resolution, luminosity, graphics, etc., etc.  Who shoots that model?  How much content do you shoot?  Who selects the shots, angles, location, directs the models, on and on, you get the idea.

And what is the strategic concept for the display?  Display only, or display and promo?  What is the offer and how is it offered?  What graphical style, font, size, color, other effects?

The photo at the top of this page shows an actual model, who was part of a shoot featuring 4 models, multiple costumes, wardrobe personnel, makeup artist, video camera man, director of photography, myself, and several others.  This is not a DIY type of project!

When people say "content is king" these issues are part of what they mean.  The hardware portion of a Digital Mannequin display is only a small part of the effectiveness of DM.  The screen or projection is an important but only small part of the DM display.  If you don't have the expertise in those areas, you need to find that expertise.  Contact me for more info about how we can provide you the best integration, effect and result from your DM display.

Sound and Fury

I am not a huge fan of sound with Digital Signage generally.

But being an audio guy (20 years in radio) I appreciate the value of audio communication.  And I want to make one thing crystal clear:  AUDIO ROCKS!!!

Who doesn't like audio?  What am I, nuts?!!!  Of course audio can be very effective.

My position is simply that audio is not always required, or even desirable.  Billboards neither utilize nor need audio to be effective.

At the same time, in place-based DOOH messaging, many times there is already ambient audio playing.  You can hardly go anywhere retail-oriented without being blasted with someone else's idea of a "good" soundtrack or radio channel.  This is not only annoying, it is extremely distracting for many people, me being one.

Audio clutter can be every bit as destructive to effective messaging as visual clutter.  I have always been a proponent of focused, directed messaging, without clutter.

That being said, there are definitely times when audio is not only helpful, it's critical.  When you really want to grab someone's attention, use audio unexpectedly, and with a clear focused point and benefit.  For example: Let's say you have a digital sign hanging in a salon window with an attractive woman modeling a hair style.  If the model were to all of a sudden, look you straight in the eye, and address you, digital though she may be, it would get your attention, big time.  If she then proceeded to call your attention to the fact that if you bring your wife in for a cut, you can get one for free, you'd probably strongly consider the offer!

That entire chain of events began with the disruptive and unexpected use of audio.  A definite advantage.  Like all strategies, when overused, it reaches a point of diminishing returns.  But in small, selective, strategic doses, I like audio for DOOH.  What do you think?

What They're Not Telling You

When it comes to Visual Messages, particularly in DS and DOOH, people don't tell you when you suck.

Nobody calls you up and says, "Hey, that screen in the airport?  You know the graphic with the -------, that one?  It really blows.  I was so uninterested, I didn't even pay attention!"

You get no feedback on ineffective messaging.

This allows for a great deal of ineffective content to flow right on our there into the space, giving your display, the location where it's deployed, anyone who works there that's close by, and of course you and your company, and the Digital Signage industry generally, A BAD NAME!

Poor visual content and method are responsible for a lot of the fails in this industry.  DON'T CONTRIBUTE TO IT!

This display is a good example of bad.  You'll notice that not one person even looks.  The image doesn't grab you.  It's very faint.  When you finally do notice (which in this case, could be never,) the images don't convey anything specific or relevant.  That is a bad thing for DS or DOOH.  Don't blame the hardware, or the software, or the location.  Blame the execution and complete lack of relevant content.

Develop campaigns that are trackable, and then work on the message.  Tweak it.  Don't settle for the status quo.  Don't assume that it's good enough, or that the results you get are the limit of effectiveness for that campaign.  With visual messaging, it's not always the proposition (or lack of one.)  Sometimes it's the method or style of the visuals surrounding the message.

A great deal more attention needs to be paid to testing the effectiveness, and then understanding why certain visual messages are effective.  In my view, this is an area where DOOH needs to focus a lot more attention.  It's not just about the hardware, placement, software, or management.  It's how that message content is put together and knowing, to the greatest degree possible why a message works or doesn't work.  For that you need measurement and analysis.

You want to make money in DS?  Understanding your content and why it produces the result it does is key to ensuring profitability.

Projection-based Digital Signage

I thought it time to revisit this topic from a previous post ("Projected Digital Signage"), to check on the progress of the method.

It would appear that progress is there from a potential standpoint, but not in terms of actual use.  Let me break it down:

Progress:  Components and system software/management continue to improve with prices coming down.  More companies appear to be showing interest in Digital Signage, especially for retail Point-of-sale (POS), and coming out with newer, more versatile components.
A lot of interest has been paid to touch screen technology as it relates to engagement.
The projector industry continues to advance; they have all the capabilities, but they don't seem to be focusing on their product so much as a primary element of digital signage, though more and more seem to be factoring that possibility into their design and features.
We have come up with a solution for the issues of direct sunlight and refracted glare, especially from multiple sources.  Since glare can play havoc with any projection or other screen behind glass, (such as a store window,) this is a significant step.
More and more people continue to express and demonstrate interest in the method, trying it out, but not a lot of long term installs yet.  This should change as we demonstrate lower cost of ownership, and higher value of use.

Needs Improvement:  Pricing needs to come more into line with a level more accessible on a widespread basis.
Most implementations are temporary, and isolated.  To date, I am not aware of any chain which has adopted projected signage across their brand.
Although the method has been used to create "engagement", that engagement has been mostly on a gimmicky, "look what we can do" basis, but not in a functional, ROI-based way to engage the viewing audience for the purpose of directly doing business.  This is a key change that needs to occur.  So far most installs have been strictly for display.  The method needs to be adapted to more transaction-based purposes, for promotion, and especially sales.
More attention needs to be paid to content production specific to the method, and specific to ROI-based objectives.
Below is an example of a WVS implementation with some of the problems I point out:

Although the method has undeniable coolness, its viability for business will not come to fruition until these issues are resolved.
Overall, projection systems for retail have not made the jump to serious, affordable, long-term business solution.  I believe that chasm can be crossed, but the issues mentioned above need to be addressed.

At Looknglas, we have addressed these issues.  When the marketplace comes to grips with the reality that these systems are not widgets, but rather, serious communications and POS marketing solutions, the Window Video System will have arrived.

The Window of Opportunity is here: the problems have been solved by Looknglas.  Let us help you develop your POS window display and promo system for true, measurable ROI.

Road to ROI

Return on Investment, or ROI, is how every investment decision in capital equipment, marketing materials, signage, is made by those who approve expenditures.

An objective is determined, a value assigned to that investment, and then some effort at due diligence in securing the best price (cost-effective) for that investment/purchase.

Someone determines that display and signage is necessary, someone identifies a budget, and then investments are made according to budget.  When a new type of investment (in new technology) for signage or display comes under consideration, then the process begins anew for that particular investment.  Perceived, and actual value are debated and assessed, not always from a fully-informed perspective, but usually some effort is expended in that direction.

The vendor does their best to convey the indispensability of their product; usually from a features/benefits standpoint, but not always in the terms or language that the potential investor uses.  This is a key marketing and sales function:

"What will this investment do for me?" asks the potential buyer.

In the best possible scenario, the seller of the product has informed themselves diligently on the buyer's needs and valuation method, and can answer, "Here's how much this will make you/save you, over --- period of time."  They articulate the value of the product in clear financial terms, and THEN restate the practical or functional values and features.

ROI gives the client/buyer the permission to invest in your product.

Window Video Systems (WVS) have clear, broad and deep ROI potential:

Display more of the client's product in a more dynamic, useful, attractive way than ever before.  Never before has a retailer or business been able to display or demonstrate ALL of their products directly ON their storefront window, in full color and motion repeating the message.  Never have they been able to repeat multiple or different kinds of messages, and especially, selling propositions, whether it be SALE, or pricing incentives, or other types of value propositions, or promotion of upcoming opportunities to the customer.  WVS allows for interactive engagement with the viewing traffic, via QR or text to mobile device.  WVS can drive traffic:  both foot traffic in-store, or traffic to the Web, or to e-commerce portal.  In the process, WVS can allow stores to "capture" viewers via engagement.

WVS is transformative.  It has the potential to enable the retailer or other commercial business to transform how they communicate with customers with more immediacy and more depth.

Always look for ways to articulate and specify value to your OOH displays, to demonstrate ROI.  It is the key to purchase approval.  How does your OOH display provide ROI?

Engagement is the Goal? What about the Wedding?!

I read a lot about engagement these days, especially as it relates to social media, but also as it relates to DS and DOOH.

One guy wrote:  "It's all about engagement!"

I said to myself, "really?"

If I had told that to my wife in response to her questions about wedding planning, I think there would have been a major sit-down-hash-it-out discussion.

Social media promoters keep telling us it's all about the engagement, but as a consumer/viewer/target audience member, I want to know "When's the wedding?"  What's in it for me?  What's the pay off?  Where's the beef?

And every good business decision maker asks the same thing from their point of view:  "When's this stuff going to start producing a profit for us?"

Engagement is good, but it is only a step in the process which must lead to a wedding, a consummation, a business transaction.  There's got to be a point to it, at least, for us business people who want to make money.

So here's my point:  Engage me, FOR THE PURPOSE OF LEADING ME TO PURCHASE.  If you want to make money, you must engage for the purpose of having a business relationship.  Not just any old relationship, not a casual fling, or a one-night stand.  An honest-to-goodness business relationship, where something is actually sold, something purchased, a want or need is met.

If it's only about engagement, that sounds like an exercise in futility and time-wasting.  I would not suggest investing a cent in a game, event, or display if it doesn't lead, in a direct way, to a purchase, and a successful, satisfying, win-win "relationship".

Now that's something I can "Like".

Look--but don't Touch!

Touch screens are becoming more and more commonplace in the retail environment.  In the search for novelty and "customer engagement" retailers and businesses of other types have installed a variety of touch screen displays for information gathering and general amusement.

When it comes to information gathering, such as kiosks, the touch screen can be useful, but not really necessary.  I happen to prefer pushing buttons to using a touch screen when it comes to getting information or making a transaction.  I like the sensation of feeling or hearing a click when I push on a button.  Touch screens provide no such tactile satisfaction.  In fact, in a lot of cases, they simply don't work very well and require multiple touches or swipes of the finger to produce the desired result.

Talk about FMOT (First Moment of Truth) failure.

Then there's the touch screen "customer engagement" display:  Come and touch the display to play some cheesy game that's not as good as the games I have at home, or to achieve some unimpressive visual result that does nothing for me, produces nothing for me (other than perhaps a momentary diversion) and gains me nothing.

Welcome to customer DIS-engagement.

Don't ever forget: This generation of people cannot be entertained into doing business with you.

Show me something useful, valuable and relevant to ME!  If you try to get me to "touch", you'd better make it worth my while.

Remember, I carry a fantastic touch screen device in my pocket (my iPhone/Android, etc.) that I have customized to my own needs and interests (apps) and I'm in a hurry, so your touch screen had better do something incredible, or you run the fatal risk of becoming irrelevant and/or annoying to me.

Far better to utilize the incredible power of digital visual displays to entice, seduce, interest, inform or engage me.  Show me or tell me something interesting and important to me, and then I'll think about buying from you.  I want to know more about your product, service or offer as it relates to my wants, needs and preferences.  That is all a function of powerful initial display/messaging, which could then possibly could lead to me wanting to "touch".

As businesses and digital communicators we can't put the cart before the horse.  "Touch" isn't necessarily a problem, but it had better lead to a solution.

Change and Motion

One of the great advantages of Digital Signage is that you have the ability to change message.  This does wonders for the sheer volume of messaging afforded to the messager; but it is not by any means the only advantage.

Research has shown that while ongoing motion in images and messaging does not necessarily add to attraction, the onset of motion definitely increases attraction in viewers.

So a big part of the power of Digital Signage is the ability to attract attention by using motion onset, or by the motion inherent in the changing of the message from one message (or screen) to the next.

This, in itself, is a quantum leap for advertisers, display, and other visual communicators.

As this video of the Digital Mannequin illustrates, when that "live" model is up front, doing her thing, the rest of the window display tends to fall out of your view.  That is an example of how overwhelmingly powerful a little change and motion can be in retail and commercial messaging environments.

The projected digital signage systems we use, Window Video Systems (WVS,) allow full motion video, static type messages, limited motion graphics or any combination of all three.

With WVS, change and motion in your messages virtually GUARANTEES eyeballs!  At that point, the only thing limiting your success in selling is whether you can put a selling proposition up there that people are interested in!

Don't worry if you don't have a graphics department.  We provide digital content production and messaging, as do many others.  What matters is putting change and motion to work for you to sell more.

IPhone to run your DS?

After viewing this video, a number of people have inquired whether they could do something like this for their retail signage.

The answer is, "well, yeah, I guess, if you really wanted to..." but why?  I suspect it reflects a desire to try something cool with their iPhone which they already have, so then, "All I'd have to get is that little projector and a screen-thingy like that!"

Which really is great.  I know I sound like I'm laughing at them, and it is kind of amusing, but it is also great that people think DS is cool and want to try something with it.  And at some point, this could make sense.  But the great thing is that this is one of the great advantages that we, in the DS and DOOH field have, is that our stuff is (potentially) really cool.

But not guaranteed cool.  Again, CONTENT (and method) is KING!  It's about effective use of our cool gadgetry.  It's all about effect and business-related results!  We have absolutely got to keep our eye on the prize, which is to produce a business result.

Cool, exciting imagery will sell some systems, but a measure-able ROI-related result is what wins the game.  Make sure you, too, don't get too caught up in all the features and benefits of your system, software and components.  If you are not working with top-flight content or content producers, you need to change that, right away.  If you don't know where to look for that, let us know.  If you have a superior content producer that has produced great content that produces ROI for you, let us know as well; we are always interested in winners.

Measure! Measure! Measure!

"If you don't measure it, you're not serious about it."  I heard Tony Robbins say that, and I believe, oh yes, I believe.

BUT, what you spend your time (and money) on measuring is a critical distinction.  So many are focused and measuring eyeballs, footfalls and what-all other traffic-related metrics.  Fine and dandy.  Those will possibly do you some good when trying to sell to agencies.  But you will not convince me (or them) that those metrics are all you need in order to steer their placement dollars your way.

That's the same school as those enamored of "page views" and clicks.

Big deal.  Is there value to know that?  Sure.  Will it help you sell more?  Possibly.  But once again, I mount my hobby horse and ride across the digital landscape sounding the alarm, waking the sleepers to the critical task at hand:  "ROI!  ROI, ROI!!!"

More and more, companies are prioritizing action and transaction based metrics.  This is why "engagement" has become so popular, but it too, can be a mere siren, luring the unsuspecting DOOH investor and network owner onto the rocks of wasted investment and even business failure due to insufficient ROI.

Action, and better yet, transaction is highest and best.  If all you can manage is traffic, then measure as much and as deep as you can.  But if you can create a metric for action and transaction related measurement, which is more of a marketing/sales related function, then that is where the investment in time and money are better spent.  Develop trackable campaigns and messaging.  Promote engagement via mobile, tactile or best of all POP purchasing action.  Be sure, when you can to propose dedicated selling propositions, something which can only be attributed to the action coming as a result of seeing your visual deployment.

Carefully tracking those actions and their financial value is paramount.  Dollars always compare favorably to digital increments like impressions or views.

"15% off all women's left shoes" placed only on your screens, is a message that is trackable.  The only way anyone asks for that, you know, is if they saw it on your screen, since it is a unique message.  This is what is meant by a "dedicated offer".

Always use dedicated offers whenever possible and ensure that your tracking system is sound (that you have a reliable way of capturing that data.)  That is where you gain the edge in selling (advertising, and more displays) with your DOOH displays.

Projecting the Future

Projected Digital Signage has been around now for sometime, and companies throughout the world are taking advantage of night time hours to continue to promote their businesses and and message in provocative and effective ways.

Projected Digital Signage uses projection to transform window space into a digital screen for advertising and display purposes.  People are only just starting to scratch the surface of this powerful, flexible, and affordable signage option.

In the past, there were technical issues making such displays less effective, but today most of those issues have been or are being addressed with better performing screens, projectors and management systems.

The real issues now are more mundane and practical in nature:  who the heck is going to integrate all this stuff and manage the content?  Who is going to strategize?  Do we have to hire someone to run this?  Do we have to train someone to be able to use this?

At this point in time, these issues are not fully answered, except through companies that are integrators with more marketing expertise and familiarity with the medium.  (Looknglas Window Video Systems would be an example.)  But we're getting closer.  And the power to leverage images to move products and people, to connect, to integrate brick and mortar retail sales with online sales and marketing, is rapidly coming to fruition via DOOH, and in this case, projected digital signage.

Written on the Glass

How awesome is it to be able to get the glass working and talking for you?  You gotta watch this video.

Images on the glass are just captivating, there is no two ways about it.  Samsung has created an incredible interactive computer window that will someday, no doubt, be a part of the more high-tech home and businesses.

Today, however, you can't afford it.  Window Video Systems create a very similar effect in terms of messaging.  Everything doesn't have to be touch-screen to be effective.  In fact, when all you need is to get a message across, window video systems are incredibly affordable and effective.  Touch screen capability can be layered in, but honestly, isn't there a huge amount of messaging that should be done in a very straightforward (simple) way without having to go there?

Visual merchandising is largely just that:  Visual.  No sound, no touch.  Those are not really necessary when all you are trying to do is get people's attention so you can message to them.  You would definitely be smart to move towards engaging via driving traffic to Social Media with an on-the-glass message from the real (not virtual) world.  There are so many ways to leverage your window space, and the simple affordable window video system by Looknglas.  Nice job, Samsung.  We applaud you.

In the meantime, get your windows workin'.  The Window of Opportunity is here.

Is "Social" Anti-Social?

This business of Social Networks is really intriguing.  Even the very term, and how it's used.

I will not argue here, about whether "Social" media is actually social or not.  I only observe, that while Social Media may facilitate more of a certain type of interaction and information exchange, it doesn't really totally do what its proponents claim:  that is, give you deep insight into prospective target markets.

Let me start with something simple:  From my perspective, what happens on Social Media looks arm's length and superficial.  The thing that seems to drive it mostly, is some kind of insatiable need to express one's self or one's opinions.  OK, let's say that provides insight.  What kind of insight?  Is it reliable for marketing purposes?  In other words, can you take someone's word about what they think or do, or might do, as authoritative and truthful?

I say no.  People are what they do, not what they say they do.  They are what they do, not what they say they think.  They are what they do, not what they say they are.  The truth is, most people cannot be objective about themselves, and largely, not even about what they think.

This is not to say that Social Media provides no meaningful insight.  It does.  But how to interpret that insight, how to divine the inscrutable intentions of the creators of all this "data"---that is another thing altogether.

Suffice to say, from a reliable marketing point of view, "it ain't that simple"!  Potentially useful, yes.  But reliably useful?  I am holding my fire and keeping my powder dry.

I see Social Media, as it relates to DS and DOOH, as powerfully connective.  People are using it, and to me, that's what matters most.  I advocate using social in concert with Digital signage networks and displays to connect people to the process of transacting business.  Now that tells you something!  Give them a suggestion, and see if they respond.  Give them an incentive and a quick, convenient, easy way to respond financially, and then you have something.

Of the gathering and analysis of data, there is no end.  Give me some people asking for my product or service, or responding to my sales proposition, (even if it's to get something for free,) and now I have something to sink my teeth into.  To believe in Social as a primary, necessary element to effective DOOH messaging or campaigns is to believe in the tail wagging the dog.

Powerful compelling messaging on Digital Signage displays is the engine that will pull Social more strongly into the brick and mortar environment.  There, you can harness the powerful connective properties of Social to actually sell something, and make some money!

The Great Thing about TV in your window

Although LCD screens are becoming more and more ubiquitous in the retail environment, it is still somewhat novel to see an LCD mounted in a store window.  Even more novel is seeing one with anything compelling or interesting.

Having already done enough nitpicking at the shortcomings of many DOOH and DS displays in terms of their content and messaging, let me take the opposite tack:

If you've got a screen up, AT LEAST YOU'RE IN THE GAME!!!

You can't talk on the phone unless you dial.  You can't watch a good movie unless you get out to the theater or put something on your tv screen.  And you can't create an exciting digital display unless you get started.  Sure, everyone's seen LCD screens everywhere.  Sure, much of the content isn't that great.  But YOUR content will never be great unless you get the delivery system installed, and start using it!

Digital Signage, in nearly all forms, has the potential to be extremely powerful, because it is change-able, manipulatable, with endless possibilities.  And those message possibilities are, typically, cost effective.  You can get them up there quickly, without hanging signage, without ladders, and without delay.  If one campaign isn't "working", DS lets you get the next one up there instantly.  There's no sitting around thinking about it.  You develop campaigns as you get the ideas and implement them sequentially whenever necessary, eliminating the immense waste of LOST TIME!  And there is nothing more expensive than LOST TIME.

You think that by not getting around to changing your ineffective display, by not making an immediate investment in your message (whether financially, or investing the time and effort to implement a more effective display campaign) that you are somehow saving money???  WRONG.  The cost of that lost opportunity, or worse, business driven away to your competitors by your poor display, is perhaps the greatest threat to your business.

Digital Signage in your window is not only your friend, it is your very powerful friend.

For non-digital signage and messaging, that inability to change quickly and inexpensively is costing you.  Get your DS working and keep it working.  There is no more powerful marketing tool available in display than Digital Signage.  Invest in strategy and image delivery.  Focus on your selling proposition and how to enhance or re-create it.  Get the Message working!

It's Customer Experience, Stupid!

20 years ago or so, Dick Morris reputedly uttered the famous words to a campaigning Bill Clinton, "It's the economy, stupid!"

Something similar, albeit a little more complex, could be said to retailers the world over.

Online retailing has certainly changed the retail game, but brick and mortar retailers still have the opportunity to flex their power over online purchasing via the age-old method:  Customer experience.

It's the Customer Experience, stupid!

Hellooo retailers!  Are you listening?  There are 4 other senses to address, to sell, besides just visual, and sometimes audio (online.)  There are taste, touch, smell, and the overall sensory experience of being in the modern marketplace.  People still want to have more than just a "virtual experience".  That has been proven in spades, vis a vis, Apple stores.

You have the advantage, the upper hand!  Use what's at your disposal:  DOOH, in all its forms.
Lots of talk is swirling around mobile, and mobile commerce, but DOOH is a medium that can tie other media together, such as mobile and online.  It can, and should, all integrate.  There is far more than just putting LCD screens, or video walls, or interactive projected displays to work.  Far, far more.  Use your locations, and your DOOH to drive traffic, to introduce new selling propositions, to drive mobile (QR, and especially text coupons, offers and promos.)

Adoption comes in fits and starts.  DOOH must continue to make itself more retail-available.  This means both pricing and ease of implementation, management, everyday use.

Being very self-serving, I offer window video systems as a great example.  Messages, writ large, directly on the front window, displaying and then offering a sales proposition.  Intriguing, and then enticing (text coupons, POS promo offers.)  So much is available, so many possibilities.  Get with a strategic integrator and get your strategy going.  The ability to drive traffic and measurable ROI is here, and it can be very cost effective.  The only time DOOH fails in terms of ROI, is when the objectives are not clearly defined, and the method for achieving ROI not executed well.

If you have a great selling proposition, get it up there on DOOH and watch the sales in your brick and mortar store climb!  DOOH allows the power and flexibility to create both an intriguing customer experience, and a satisfying purchasing experience as well.  Combining the two is the key to the coming brick and mortar retail revival.

Transparency is Power

"Transparency is Power".

Some people might dispute that, and say that secrecy is power, but I digress.  What I am talking about is in a Display sense.  This video shows a really nice piece of technology by Samsung that is a transparent LCD screen.  When place in front of a product it allows messaging about that product while keeping the product itself front and center.

Great concept!  Super cool looking, intriguing, and if you put the right information and inducement on that screen, you'll sell a lot of whatever product is behind it.

Of course, this is what projected digital signage does for you as well, except it's more "green" and can go larger than the display screen this video depicts.  Probably a lot less money too.  But putting your display and sales messages directly on your display window in conjunction with the product display provides a layer of communication and potential interaction that is epic.  Display is becoming more and more about interactivity.  Interaction is what makes your relationship to customers "sticky".  Get in the dialogue.  The technology is there, and Window Video Systems (WVS) are very affordable and very available, and very flexible.

Be more transparent.  Get the look.  Get the content.  Get the interactivity.  The window of opportunity is here.

Don't Send a Boy to do a Man's Job

There is an old proverb that says that sending a message by the hand of a fool is like cutting off your own feet.

This is equally true when you blindly trust your messaging (digital signage content) to whoever, delegating to a third-party service or a lower-level employee, leaving that all-important strategic job to someone with no vested interest or motivation for the profit-producing necessity of your message.

Your message is what people will think of you.
Your message is all people know about what you want them to do.
Your message (including your display) is the primary information a prospective customer has, in order to make a buying decision!

Why would you delegate that?  The classic thing business people do is to neglect their message, in favor of "getting things done".  Well, you ain't gonna get much done without customers buying, and they're not going to buy unless you convince them with your message in all its facets.

When I walk through a mall, or surf online, I want to know why I should buy.  I want to know what you're offering.  I want to know what's better about your product, or offer.  I want to know if you know what you're doing or if you're fly-by-night.  I want to know what kind of value I'm getting.  I want to know what's in it for me.

Too often, when you delegate your company messaging, those questions don't get answered, and then you don't sell as much, or make as much, because you delegated your messaging to someone who doesn't understand or value your priorities.

Digital Signage ISN'T ABOUT THE HARDWARE, the screens, the software, the brightness, etc.  Those are all important, but only in that they are a part of delivering YOUR MESSAGE effectively!  If you use DS or DOOH, then watch your messaging carefully, measure it, and revise it, hone it, until it performs.  Watch it like a hawk, and use it to produce measurable results!  Devise a method (I'm not telling you to run out and buy more equipment or software) for tracking, measuring, and understanding the results of your display system.  DS and DOOH are money-making machines when properly implemented.

Your DS messaging is a job that, if you do delegate it, you must oversee carefully and demand a result from.  DS and DOOH are extremely powerful tools, but make sure they are used to the effect you desire.

We advocate a direct selling proposition and call to action, the result of which can be tracked exclusively to your DS or DOOH display, and measured.  For example, if you provide a text coupon, be sure that it is tracked accurately.  Don't just throw a video loop on there and forget about it.  Make sure that message looks how it is supposed to look, gets where it is supposed to go, and does what you intend it to do.