The 7 Enemies of Digital Outdoor Displays
We can all agree that investing in outdoor digital display solutions is a good idea. As shown by studies, for each dollar spent on out of home advertising, an average of $ 2.80 was received in sales1. A ROI that even the television advertising can no longer guarantee.
Yet the matter is not so simple. Try to put your TV screen outside your home to advertise the delicious cookies your wife prepares on Sundays. Soon you will find yourself dealing with the 7 Enemies of Digital Outdoor, or the natural elements of the outside world. Sun, temperatures that can vary a lot in the course of a few hours, water, dust, aging, accidental physical damage and above all … common sense.
Yes, when you see your TV under the sun you will suspect that it is cooking (right observation) and maybe you will create an air-conditioned system to cool it (very bad idea). Here is your home made outdoor display solution going on fire (true story). You can not improvise as an expert in outdoor digital signage and you have to seek expert advice. Better if they have experience in designing and installing weatherproof displays, from the suffocating heat of Texas to the glacial cold of Norway.
Out of home advertising tips
It is proven that an outdoor digital signage display invites passersby to enter a commercial activity, or that an interactive display outside a Quick Service Restaurant pushes the customer to add something to his order, either extra sauce or fries2. But to get this effect, the monitor must be working, otherwise you’re just losing money. And it is not enough: you must also take care of the appearance of what you are showing. Images must be inviting as well as the writings legible and in evidence. The out of home advertising can, and must be, an instrument in your hands to increase the brand awareness and the relationship that your customers have with your business. Displays out of your business must be well lit, with content in line with the brand identity that you are developing in your stores and in your advertising campaigns.
You also need the right software, something that does not come into conflict with the digital display but will lighten up your work, speeding up the insertion of events or promotions.
That’s why we GDS have decided to develop agnostic software displays, designed not to conflict with the software you already own, suggesting one only if you do not have it yet.
Don’t forget to evaluate total costs of ownership
This brings us to the most interesting and perhaps most important concept of all: ROI. The revolution of digital displays has made us free to correct typo of any kind in a few moments, insert promotions at the very last minute and change the programming of thousands of displays with a simple click. Actions unthinkable with paper promotion and its costs.
Before you can even install a single outdoor digital signage display, you have to consider the total costs of ownership, which not only represent the software but also include the assembly of displays and their maintenance. If installation and start-up costs can be recoup in a few years, the maintenance of digital displays can be more expensive, depending on external climatic factors.
A smart solution for DOOH
This is why the winning solution, proposed by GDS, is the modular system, which provides the possibility to replace any damaged piece of the totem, leaving the others intact.
In addition to reducing maintenance costs and having an eye for the environment, this solution allows you to prevent differences in color or brightness between various displays, but that’s not all! In a constantly changing world with regard to the dimensions of outdoor digital signage displays, the modular solution allows the replacement of a monitor with a larger one, allowing your business to keep up with the times.
And this is just an easy example of how, following GDS, you’ll find excellent starting point for ROE in an outdoor digital display strategy, even if you’re looking for ROI!
[Note 1 : Out of Home Advertising Effectiveness and Return of Investment (ROI), 2011 – http://www.jcdecauxna.com/sites/default/files/assets/street-furniture/documents/studies/ooh_ effectiveness_and_roi.pdf ]
[Note 2 : Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By Outdoor Digital Drive-Thru Menu Displays In The Quick-Service Restaurant Industry, 2017- https://static.ziftsolutions.com/files/ff8081815fb8a7f8015fdb370dad16a0/WHPLFDOUTDOORMENUT EIFEB17FR.pdf ]
