Press Release: By Fritz Esker Contributing writer, DigitalSignageToday.com

Businesses need to convey information to consumers, whether through advertisements, announcements or entertainment.

The advent of digital signage has caused a massive paradigm shift in how businesses communicate with customers. Suddenly, businesses can no longer rely soley on the old informational strategies that worked for television, print or radio. In those mediums, information is designed to reach a static / captive audience, such as people sitting on the couch watching their favorite program or in the car commuting to work. Digital signage, however, is aimed at people who are on the move — people who walking from point A to point B in a shopping mall or down a city sidewalk. Because the audience is moving, digital signage has only a precious few seconds to attract a customer’s attention. Businesses have to discover how to attract, and keep, the customer’s attention in such a short time span.

Like any advertising medium, digital signage also needs to be relevant to the customer. If someone likes the digital signage content, he / she is more likely to stop and watch it. If not, the display will be ignored and will become ineffective.

Digital signage exists both indoors (such as in a retail store) and outdoors (such as signage displayed on a sidewalk.) The two types of digital signage, while related, have distinct needs. A content strategy or specific screen type that works for indoor digital signage might not be effective in an outdoor setting. A number of different factors make selecting successful outdoor digital signage — from the standpoint of both content and technology — a separate exercise from creating effective content and technology for indoor digital signage.

“Indoor displays are designed for certain ambient light conditions, certain humidity levels and certain temperature levels,” said Peter Kaszycki, VP of business development for Manufacturing Resources International, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based company that creates both outdoor and indoor digital signage displays. “When you go outside, everything changes.”

In order to maximize digital signage that is placed outdoors, the unique challenges — brightness, sun load, temperature control, serviceability, remote monitoring and getting a return on the investment — must be examined thoroughly.

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