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.

Casio Digital Signage - Failing its way to Success

Casio just announced its new counter-top digital signage products, which, interestingly, use projection.  Being a projected digital signage fan (Looknglas, Window Video Systems) I am intrigued by their product intro, and the concept.

http://www.avinteractive.com/top-story/45437/casio-digital-signage

While these little boxes may not come across that exciting, they are an interesting step in what I believe is a very good direction.  Sure, the execution is not super exciting; frankly, kind of cheesy if you really want to know my opinion.  But, exciting at the same time!  Why?  Because they represent an ongoing effort to innovate digital signage at Point of Sale, in an easy to use solution.

I do agree with Dave Haynes' (Sixteen Nine) feelings about the product from a strictly unbiased point of view.  But my problem is that I am not unbiased!  I am all about projection as a digital signage solution, and I am aware of the obstacles the method needs to overcome.  But this is an honest effort.  The solution may not be super effective, but it is a good try.  I think Casio can do a lot better.  The method has a very big upside.

The images and even the packaging are not there yet.  But the thing to remember with any device like this is that the content and ease of use are the most important things.  The design of the device itself can easily be improved.

So, while I am not enamored of this device in its current iteration, I applaud Casio for the effort, and urge them to keep at it.  This is a good step in a good direction for POS merchandising, messaging and display.  What do you think?

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.

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".

The Accountable Screen

How effective is your content at producing measurable results?

Measuring traffic, eyeballs, footfalls, etc., is on a lot of people's minds these days.  But if you've read this blog much at all, you know that for me, and for most business people, the bottom line is the bottom line:  How effective is your DS or DOOH at producing measurable results, SALES results?

If your content is not currently featuring trackable propositions, it is underutilized.  This is the holy grail, people!  Your product, producing measurable sales, revenue, and profit, is the ultimate justification for the existence of our medium!  I think there are few with more potential, that still remain so underachieving.

I'm not sure why that is, but it is borderline criminal.  This is where it's at.  Making money.  When you can demonstrate measurable sales results via your product, for your clients, YOU WIN!!!  No matter what that client does, when you have tracked, proven sales results, nothing they can do can take that away from you.  It is success incarnate.

Strategize unique selling propositions (USP) dedicated to your medium only.  Make sure the measurement mechanism is firmly in place and that you have access to that information.  That is power, the ultimate justification for your product.  Start now, to make your systems accountable.  You will never regret it.  And you will make more money.  The window of opportunity is here.

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.

Social Media vs Signage

Which would you rather do, Tweet, or message at the point of purchase?

Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but hey, if you or your marketing people have figured out that somehow a sales or promo message is better on a phone than on your storefront window, then by all means, tweet.

On the other hand, you might conclude that it is better to message to the customer when they are right in front of your store, and that creating a way for them to look more closely at your window and tell them to come inside and get 10% off anything in the store, is a more effective investment of your marketing dollars.

You may have plenty of money for either investment, but then again, maybe not. If not, invest in your own location and make it as powerfully attractive as possible. This is the entire premise of Window Video Systems, by Looknglas. Put a bright, moving, motivating message in your window. And then refresh it whenever you want. Or improve it. Or add to it. Or put accompanying product images along with. As many as you want.

Can't do that with texting, can't do that in a tweet. Do the smart thing. Get a Window Video System.