What is digital signage?

Digital signage: definition

Where notices, posters and boards used to hang, screens now show content that can be changed with a mouse click. This ranges from the reception screen with a welcome message and menu and price boards to key-figure displays in production. The advantage over paper: content is up to date, can be switched on a schedule and can include video and live data.

Digital signage is more than a TV with a USB stick playing a video. It combines professional displays, playback devices (media players), management software and a network connection that makes all of a company’s screens remotely controllable, even at several locations at once.

Components and how it works

An editor creates content in the content management system, assigns it to screen groups and schedules time slots. The media players fetch the playlists over the network and display them, usually from cache in case of a network failure. Live data can also be integrated through an interface, such as appointments, weather, order status or data from an ERP system.

• Displays built for continuous operation, with touch, outdoor housing or high brightness depending on the location
• Media player as an external box or built into the display
• Content management system as a cloud service or on your own server
• Network connection by cable or Wi-Fi, as stable as possible
• Content: images, videos, web pages, live data
• Permissions and roles: who may publish to which screens?

Real-world example: a bakery with five branches

A bakery with five branches prints promotional posters every week and has them delivered by courier. Daily specials, promotional prices and sold-out products are often already wrong in the shop window before the poster is hung. New products reach the branches with a delay, and costs for printing and trips recur every week.

With digital signage, head office maintains offers once in the system and distributes them to all branches or only selected ones. The breakfast offer switches to the lunch offer at midday, and sold-out items disappear immediately. Costs for printing and courier service disappear, and promotions start in all branches at the same minute.

Benefits, limits and common mistakes

Digital signage saves ongoing printing and distribution costs, increases attention and makes content controllable by audience and time. Internally, it informs employees in real time, for example about production figures, shift schedules or safety notices. The investment pays off mainly when content changes frequently or when several locations are supplied.

Typical mistakes are off-the-shelf TVs in continuous operation, too much text in too small a font, poor contrast and a missing maintenance concept, so that content gets stale. Rights to images, videos and music must also be clarified. Also plan power supply, network connection and mounting early.

Imple­menta­tion

First define the purpose: who is supposed to see what, and when? Location, display size and operating concept follow. Nano Concepts develops custom content and interfaces on request, such as key-figure dashboards, and sets up devices, network and management. We handle mounting and cabling together with partner teams on site, including ongoing support.