Ice Cold Outdoor Digital Signage
Increasingly, there has a lot more installs and interest emanating from ski-resorts and mountain areas in Europe and the United States. The screens are being used for both advertising and information and their use in such areas it is a good example of the unique benefits that outdoor digital signage can offer. Read More
Modern Outdoor Advertising – Visual Appeal of Outdoor Digital Signage
A common complaint often thrown at outdoor digital signage is that it is a blight on the landscape. There are even action group’s that apart from citing the potential distraction risks that digital billboards and outdoor digital signage poses to drivers, also claim that the screens are ruining the natural aesthetics of the roadsides. Read More
Digital Outdoor Signage – A Growing Industry
The outdoor advertising market remains healthy, as recent reports have suggested. And outdoor digital signage is partly responsible for the continued growth of the industry despite the global economic problems. Read More
An Outdoor TV for a Budget
The way we watch television has changed over the last few years. We have waved goodbye to the VCR and welcomed technology like TiVo that enables us to watch TV shows when we want – not when the schedulers want us to.
Where we watch television has changed a lot too. With the Internet now a common source for many of our favorite shows, the living room is no longer the only place where we settle down to watch TV. Read More
The Four Aspects to Protecting Outdoor Digital Signage
Outdoor digital signage can provide real advantages over indoor digital advertising and the use of other outdoor media. Outdoor screens will receive far higher viewership than an indoor screen and will be far more noticeable and engaging than other traditional outdoor static adverts. Read More
Outdoor Living Areas – Outdoor TVs
There are many locations where, due to the weather, living outdoors is a distinct possibility. More and more people in these types of locations have areas on their patio, by their pool, in the backyard or somewhere else outside where they can relax and unwind in the open air.
While barbecues have enabled Al Fresco eating for sometime, it is only recently that technology has advanced enough to enable outdoor TV use to be a cost effective reality.
Watching the big sports game, favorite TV show or a late night movie in the fresh air, especially during the warmer months, can be a real pleasure which is why there has been a surge in interest for outdoor TVs.
An Outdoor TV can be a joy
The Options
There are various options for watching TV in an outdoor environment and they can vary in practicality and cost.
The simplest option, and the most cost effective, is to take an old living room TV and place it outdoors. Ideally, this should be in castors as any device left out overnight, or in a sudden downpour will probably fail, but equally it is not the most practical method – having to wheel a TV back and forth.
To have a permanent outdoor TV installed then the most obvious solution is to purchase a waterproof outdoor TV. While these are highly expensive, they do allow the TV to be permanently left outdoors. They do need to be secure though as they make a tempting target for thieves and as they are highly expensive – a replacement could be crippling.
The third option for outdoor TV use is to use a standard LCD device but to enable it to be a permanent fixture it can be housed in an outdoor LCD enclosure. Outdoor LCD enclosures are not only waterproof, preventing the housed TV from becoming damaged from the rain, but they can also be securely mounted and offer a vandal proof steel enclosure to deter acts of tampering.
The greatest advantage of an outdoor TV enclosure, however, is the fact that they cost only a fraction of the price of specific outdoor LCD systems. Even with the price of the enclosed TV taken into account (that could even be an old indoor family TV) the combination of LCD enclosure and TV is still a fraction of the cost of a specific outdoor screen.
Where Does the Future of Digital Signage Lie?
Digital signage is as modern and dynamic as advertising gets. It has seen huge growth, popping up in shopping malls, retail stores, transport hubs, and even along the high street in the form of outdoor digital signage.
While using flatscreen TVs like the LCD in this arena is a very modern concept, brought about by the falling price and lighter and flatter technology, there is great potential for this medium to advance in the future.
Science fiction
Digital signage as a concept has long been explored by writers of science fiction books and films. With books like the excellent Philip K Dick’s The Minority Report (and subsequent but less brilliant Tom cruise film) analyzing the marketing potential of digital signage – where exactly does the future lie?
Well, much of science fiction is already science fact. The facial recognition explored in Minority Report, where passersby are identified and items promoted to them that have relevance to their previous shopping experience, is already a reality.
There have been trials of such technology already in Japan and the potential for this tailored marketing seems to excite many marketers – although it is causing consternation amongst civil liberties enthusiasts.
3D is another popular form of advertising often examined by science fiction. From Back to the Future II where the latest Jaws movie (Jaws 19 in the film) is advertised by a 3D shark that comes out of the screen and appears to attack the protagonist Marty McFly.
A 3D sign comes alive in the Robert Zemeckis film Back to the Future II
But 3D advertising is also becoming a reality. Glasses free TV is the latest in the renaissance of 3D moving imagery (which has actually been around since the early twentieth century) and 3D TV sets are already becoming mainstream and will undoubtedly be along our high streets – sooner rather than later.
Whatever the future developments of digital signage will be, one thing is probable – whatever they come up with next, a generation of science fiction writers have probably already thought of it first.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Digital Signage
Using digital screens for advertising and promotion is becoming a common form of advertising. Digital advertising and outdoor digital signage are springing up all over the place. With quite high initial outlays there is certainly a considerable investment involved in embarking on the digital route, but is it worthwhile?
Assessing the value of any advertising medium, let alone something as new digital signage can be difficult at the best of times but many potential digital advertisers are put off as they are unsure as to whether the effectiveness of the campaign will lead to a return on the initial investment.
Quantifying the success of digital screens can be tricky. Unlike other promotions digital signage is an indirect sales medium and accounting for its success can be difficult to measure, even with better than average revenues; however, some research has gone into the subject and there is now more evidence as to the effectiveness of digital advertising.
Research conducted by Brunel University and ROI Team (an independent retail research company) looked in-depth at the effectiveness of digital signage in the world famous Harrods store in Knightsbridge, London.
They discovered that digital content, combining both visual imagery and informative text has the most significant and positive effect on shoppers’ consumer purchasing behavior.
The research centered on nearly 500 face to face interviews conducted in spring this year and concerned a digital advert for a holiday in the Maldives which was shown on three different mediums, including a digital signage campaign and a control advertisement with the viewers responding more favorably to the digital signage advert.
Increasing effectiveness
While the effectiveness of digital signage is certainly less in doubt thanks to the latest research there is still much that can be done to increase the effectiveness of a digital advertising campaign.
Perhaps the most fundamental thing you can do to increase the effectiveness of a digital sign is to increase the audience size and the simplest method of doing that is to take the digital display outside.
Outdoor digital signage will reach far more people than a similar indoor campaign, and although there is an added cost of protecting the screen from the rigors of an outdoor location, the extra viewership can soon recoup any additional investment.
What Goes into Protecting Outdoor Digital Signage … Part Two
Continued…
The Cold
While overheating is vital to counter, when temperatures are at the opposite extreme it can also lead to LCD failure and the end of the outdoor digital signage. Read More
What Goes into Protecting Outdoor Digital Signage … Part One
As outdoor digital signage expands as a concept, more and more people are aware of the need to protect LCD screens in outdoor locations. Whilst waterproof outdoor TVs are an obvious choice for an outdoor campaign, commonly outdoor LCD enclosures are being implemented by more and more installed because of the cost savings. Read More
