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Digital Signage, sometimes called In-store TV or Digital Display Networks, is of critical importance to brand managers and retailers because of the new capabilities it brings to branding, their success and to the definition of their relationships with retailers and markets.

Branding and merchandising and other information in video, text or animation can be presented on electronic displays that might include multiple regions, each controlled by playlists that can present different content files every few seconds if need be. Digital Signage is not just a new “better than static signage” display capability that exploits the inherent economies and flexibility of “digital”, but is a dramatic shift in the business communications that underpins retailing.

It’s all in the branding
To brand is to gain a favored position with consumers for a product, service, experience or organization. Branding is to create revenues that are sustainable with positioning for greater growth at contained costs.

Not only can dominant brands stay in that position, but any advertising in the brand’s category supports the brand leader.

That is, unless the sale is made by a challenger. In-store profile offers an immediate opportunity to motivate the sale, and create a new customer in the best way that brand management can persuade.

This new “on-location” alternative display medium, presents a significant threat and opportunity to brand management because it is “outside-the box”. It changes display processes, improves display location and reduces the entry level of investment for consumer branding and sales activation spending. It heralds an enormous change in marketing communications ­ a paradigm shift, or what the Harvard Business Review called a Blue Ocean Strategy in an October 2004 article.

Digital signage has emerged as an integration of technologies in response to the business need for lower cost, more reliable, more flexible, more cost-effective marketing communications. Early providers of digital signage (though this is changing) are not the people who deeply understand “audience”, “consumers” and “categories”, as brand managers do; but are those who can bring enabling tools that better business processes. It is a sharper tool for the hands of capable marketers.

Enabling technologies take hold when the value in using them exceeds their cost, and when the capabilities, cost and availability of component technologies can be effectively integrated. Digital signage has been at this point for several years, the greatest impact being the ongoing reduction in the cost of electronic displays. Digital signage is in the “killer app” category. It is a proposition so compelling that it heralds a widespread shift in business processes, supply chains, partner collaborations and the speed of transactions.

Leverage of technology
Technology advances have reduced the costs and improved the effectiveness of communications. This has occurred as the pace and critical nature of training, education, merchandising, branding and stakeholder communication have increased, and the need for investment effectiveness (ROI), and return on communications effort (ROCE) are under growing pressure. With its dynamic content, controlled playlists and day-parting, digital signage enables message targeting to preferred demographics at the point of choice, of consumption, where and while consumers shop ­ at the “moment of truth”.

As such, Digital Signage approaches consumer communications differently ­ much closer to a retailer’s way of thinking than that of brand thinkers, which interestingly is where brand thinkers try hard to be.

Successful brand managers stay very close to retailers. The partnership is essential to the brand because of the growing power of the retail location provider to impact the success of the brand.

In-store Digital Signage is like jet engines for retailers. When shelf space is allotted and stocked, and customers are in-store, digital display generates sales, increases basket size, improves the shopping experience and deepens the retailer’s relationship with the customer.

But the “moment of truth” is of greatest importance to the brand. It is the last three feet of the marketing plan, the point at which all planning, production, distribution and marketing dollars have been spent. At the moment of truth, revenue is achieved and a customer gained, or not. This moment of truth merits investment above all.

Digital Signage focuses on revenue acceleration in the retail environment using digital technology. So the management of organizations who make their money from consumer spending such as retailers, brand managers, ad agencies, marketing service providers, franchise and chain store operators, must look carefully at the competitive impact of Digital Signage. It will work for them or against them ­ it is not neutral.

The great rewards are realized when all disciplines gather around the opportunity together ­ including brands, creative, display owners, location providers, research, ad sales and technology providers. Because digital signage does something new, that is delivering dynamic images to the at-shopping experience, traditional approaches to creative, display, measurement and pricing are not adequate.

Communicating
The communications areas of marketing display, staff training and business collaboration have generally developed independent of each other (from both organizational and objective standpoints). But the common characteristics of these business communications applications are that:

1. Content originates from a single location.
2. This content is delivered to many (all) locations.
3. The minimizing of cost related to the downlink is very important in containing on- going operating cost.
4. The communication is primarily display based, and can include an instructor or a spokesperson, as well as visuals such as video, static or animated graphics.
5. The content should compel a behavior. Whether training, education or merchandising, the intention is to motivate a behavior in the interest of the organization.

Digital Signage infrastructure can also be used for sponsored event private broadcast, instruction, staff training, subject-focus edutainment and business collaboration, therein providing multiple contributions to the development of the brand.

The customer experience and their relationship with both the brand and the shopping experience change when digital signage infrastructure is used for other communicating.

So long as there is production overcapacity and market opportunity, marketing that is cost-effective in achieving branding and merchandising goals is attractive, if not essential.

Patrons and staff can be trained through sponsored events and distance education. Customers can be acknowledged and entertained through private in-store broadcast. Locations and personnel can be merchandised and the distance between suppliers, management and staff can be reduced through business television.

Reaching people is the new domain of digital signage in supporting brand building.

Lyle Bunn is BTV+ Director, Digital Signage and Rich Media. He has published over 25 articles and Whitepapers on Digital Signage, presents at all primary Digital Signage events and is formerly Chair of the Education Committee, POPAI North America Digital Signage working group. . lbunn@canbtv.com