Digital signage is here to stay

Rapid and constant changes in technology present both opportunities and challenges in our world. Knowing when to dismiss a new product as a passing fad or adopt it to move your business forward can at times define your brand in the marketplace.


Defining digital signage as a trend would not really be fair, as it has been successfully adopted at petrol station pumps, in airports, and various other locations for many years. The difference now, like with most technology focused products, is that affordability, reliability, and availability have helped bring it to Main Street.

Once out of reach for small and medium business, digital signage solutions are now an option to help drive measurable sales growth, increase event attendance, and provide easily changeable directories and way-finding for businesses of all sizes in your town. This ultimately means that a space once dominated by Audio/Visual companies now makes more sense than ever for static sign providers.



Industry expert Lyle Bunn said it best in a recent article: “Static sign providers inherently understand communications and messaging, have existing customers, are inherently entrepreneurial and competitive, and require little training to learn how to develop digital signage content.”

As more traditional sign providers start to learn and package effective content with reliable digital sign hard-ware, you will begin seeing A/V providers bumping elbows with static sign companies, just as those in small-format printing have seen the opportunities in the growing wide-format industry. 



A clear market indicator can be seen at a number of exhibitions central to our industry. Sign and Digital UK has seen increasing numbers of digital signage suppliers book stand space, with major players now on its books such as One Digital Solutions. FESPA has likewise moved into this space, buying Screenmedia Expo and integrating it into the previously wide-format focused event in the form of the European Sign Expo, which now runs as a satellite event orbiting FESPA’s annual exhibition. Integrated Systems Expo has also moved from being a purely A/V event to one that now embraces more than 250 digital sign-age exhibitors who are selling directly to sign-makers as a core demographic.



Maximise what you have

It is more important now than ever to examine your existing customers and understand their digital signage opportunities. You already have a relationship with these customers and they trust you with their brand, so why not add animated content to the mix and schedule it out to a dynamic, easily changeable sign? None of us want to deliver traditional signs and graphics to an existing customer, only to find a bright beautiful digital display in their reception displaying similar messages. Most traditional sign providers have the skill set to sell and provide digital signage hardware and content. The challenge is carefully allocating your resources to leverage the power of both static and digital sign solutions.


One paramount point of difference you will notice as you consider adding digital signage to your product mix is the opportunity for steady reoccurring revenue. This is not always the case with ‘one and done’ static sign projects. Currently, you strive to provide your existing and new customers with a great experience and quality sign and graphic solutions that meet their budget and needs. Once that event is over or that logo is mounted behind the front counter, they may or may not need your services again for months or sometimes years. If you work with that same customer to help them understand the unique value of delivering messages to their audience as the demographic changes throughout a day, or easily modifying menu items to sell new products or to fit the seasons, you have created an opportunity to supply them with that ever-changing, results-oriented content for one or more digital signs. 



Taking that first step to learn about digital signage will be different for everyone. Some will dive into it from the content creation end, while others will start the journey understanding the difference between a commercial and consumer grade display. Organisations such as the Digital Signage Federation provide a great starting point to read case studies, source suppliers, and understand the language used in the digital signage industry.

Just as digital printing revolutionised the wide-format industry, digital sign-age will revolutionise our customers’ business or organisation, allowing more targeted marketing and cross-selling than they ever thought possible. Take that and couple it with powerful floor graphics, impactful environ-mental graphics, and unique signs and you have more opportunity than anyone to take your customers objectives and provide results that will keep them coming back.

Key actions:

• Carefully allocate your resources to leverage the power of both static and digital sign solutions.
• Work with existing customers to help them understand the value of digital signage for delivering messages to their audience
• Use organisations such as the Digital Signage Federation for case studies, source suppliers, and to help you understand the language used in the digital signage industry

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