The next time that you’re in a grocery store, waiting room, or any venue that has a digital signage network, take the time to study the content. While you’re doing that, look at the people walking – or sitting – nearby. Are they paying attention to the screens? Do they have the look of somebody who is interested enough to respond? Chances are, the answer is no. And if the marketing collateral that is being displayed doesn’t get a person’s attention, it is not doing its job.
In most of the signage content I’ve observed, the sales message is completely buried. This is true whether it’s a 3-minute segment at my local grocery store or a 20-minute segment at my dentist’s office. The problem is the level of complexity within the message. In today’s article, I’m going to make the case for simplicity in your signage content. The factors that influence your viewers – for example, color and motion – should be consistent with a simple message.
Less Is More
Here’s what we know about most people who view a sales messages: they’re impatient, often lack focus, and don’t like to think about what they’re watching. That might sound harsh, but understanding your viewers’ perspective will help you craft content for your signage network that compels action. The segments that you – or your creative agency – design must not overwhelm people with too much information. While they’re watching, they’re not thinking. Providing too much information makes them less willing to continue watching.
Throughout any segment, there’s also an ever-present possibility that your viewer won’t understand what he or she is watching. If the marketing collateral that you’re displaying is not completely intuitive, it will raise a question mark in their mind. Each question mark represents a moment of disconnect. If your viewer disconnects too many times, you will lose their attention.
This is the reason why your signage collateral must deliver its message in a tight package. Less is more. That doesn’t mean that every piece that you create for your network should be short. Rather, it means that every piece should be designed to cater to an impatient, unfocused, and unthinking viewership.
Getting Attention Quickly… And Keeping It
The best way to capture the attention of passersby is to begin each of your signage segments with a fast jolt of intriguing content. By “intriguing,” I’m not necessarily referring to full-motion video or other eye-catching collateral. It could be as simple as displaying the three most powerful benefits of a product in an easy-to-read font. The reason for the initial jolt is because those first few seconds are when a person is deciding whether to continue watching or to keep walking.
Once you have their attention, your segment must continue to hold it. This is a fine line. As I noted above, less is more. However, if you don’t continue to tantalize your viewers throughout the segment, you’ll lose their interest. On the other hand, if you give them to much, too soon, you’ll confuse them. And once they’re confused (even slightly), their ability to comprehend what they’re seeing begins to decline. That’s why you need to walk a fine line between providing too little and too much information throughout an entire segment.
Creating Simple Content
Think of each screen within your signage network as a billboard. And think of every piece of digital signage content as a request for your viewer’s attention. As they’re speeding by, you have mere seconds with which to capture them. If your content does its job, they’ll not only notice it, but they’ll pull over to the side of the road and continue consuming it. And while they do, you’ll be communicating the benefits of your product in a way that compels them to take action.
For years, researchers have known that certain colors can evoke specific emotional responses. What’s more, various hues have cultural connotations that can elicit different reactions or inferences based upon heritage and ethnicity. The question is whether these elements can be used in the content that you develop for your digital signage network to arouse a response.
In this article, we’ll approach the topic of color usage in digital content by exploring customer preferences and the effects of specific tones. I’ll explain the emotions that are commonly induced by red, blue, and other hues as well as the differences in cultural perceptions. Finally, I’ll describe their true impact on generating a response.
Customer Preferences
Color is deeply ingrained within most people. Here in the U.S., it’s a larger part of our culture than most people realize. For example, blue is often cited as the most popular while red evokes the most intense emotions (we’ll talk about emotional responses below). The American flag, arguably one of the most widely-recognized and emotion-inciting emblems, is comprised of red, white, and blue; each is powerful on its own accord.
Customers have color preferences. They can influence moods, purchase decisions, and behaviors. But, the extent to which this influence can be leveraged through digital signage content is still unknown. Most customers have limited exposure to digital signs. That’s why effective content that motivates action must be delivered in short spurts. Signage exists in an environment where much of its effect occurs within the first minute. That’s usually not enough time to accurately measure the emotional impact of different tones.
Reds, Blues, And Other Hues
Even though the impact is undetermined, it’s still worth noting how various hues affect people. Research has shown that red can increase a person’s heart rate and stimulates faster, shorter breathing patterns. As I mentioned above, red evokes the most intense emotions. By contrast, blue has a calming effect on most people. It suggests dependability and resiliency.
Green, like blue, also has a calming effect; darker shades imply a conservative nature. Yellow is often misunderstood and as a result, misused in signage content. While it suggests optimism, it also increases frustration levels. While network operators might think yellow will attract the eyes, the effect on response can actually be damaging.
Noting Cultural Differences
Today, any business or high-traffic public area will attract members from several ethnic groups. While the cultural diversity in customer bases implies new marketing opportunities, it also makes it more difficult to use color in signage content. Cultures perceive colors differently. For example, red implies excitement for those in the west, while it has traditionally represented purity in India. Further, red indicates good fortune in China while signifying a time of mourning in South Africa.
Evoking An Emotional Response
All digital signage content should be developed to evoke an emotional response. That is the core of effective copywriting. While color can be used to enhance specific aspects of the content, it cannot be relied upon to persuade viewers to take a desired action. For example, consider a shoe store that is using digital signs in order to increase sales for a given pair of shoes. The content should be written carefully to persuade store visitors to make a buying decision. Various colors can be used to support that message based upon what we know about their psychological effect, but their impact is largely unknown.
This is the reason why digital signage content – and all marketing collateral – should focus on the core principles of copywriting. Those include attracting attention, building interest and desire, and designing a clear call to action.
As the cost of advertising continues to increase, companies are pursuing alternative methods for getting their message in front of people. Direct mail campaigns, billboards and buying space in magazines and newspapers are all still viable channels of marketing. However, advances in electronic broadcasting have opened the door to new, cost-effective options. Digital signage has quickly become a staple in the marketing budgets of companies of every size. Businesses have discovered that they can leverage their advertising reach by deploying these signs. Below, we’ll describe the benefits of using digital signage, potential applications and how the technology can boost your ROI.
What Is Digital Signage?
At its simplest, digital signage is the use of multimedia displays for the purpose of broadcasting a message. The broadcast can be used for marketing objectives, customer service, or to communicate any type of information to an audience. Some solutions employ unsophisticated message boards. Others are deployed across a network of hundreds of plasma screens. In each case, the signs are typically controlled remotely by a computer. The messages that are broadcast onto the signs are programmed on the computer and can be changed instantly.
Benefits Of Using Digital Signage
Digital signage offers a number of attractive benefits. First, businesses are using the technology to expand their marketing reach. The costs of using the signs is often far less than purchasing advertising in other media (such as magazines). Second, the content that is displayed onto the signs can be modified within seconds. Because the content is controlled and broadcast remotely from a central computer, a broadcast to a network of hundreds of signs can be altered easily. Third, digital signage allows organizations to communicate messages that are designed to leverage consumer behavior. For example, a message can be broadcast to mall shoppers about a sale at one of the stores within the mall.
Ways To Apply The Technology
While many companies have been using digital signage for marketing purposes, it has several other applications. The technology can be used to communicate information. For example, airports can display “real time” data about arrival and departure times. The signs can also be used to reduce the cost of hiring employees. Rather than hiring people to manage a kiosk for answering customer questions, an interactive plasma screen can be a cost-effective alternative.
Digital signage is also being used increasingly within businesses in which customers wait for service. For example, restaurants can deploy signs that entertain those who are waiting for a table. Movie theaters can display movie trailers and ads for concession stand items for customers who are waiting to enter the theater. Theme parks use digital signage to help those who are waiting in line to pass the time. Companies are also beginning to take advantage of branding opportunities. Digital signs can be placed throughout a store or venue to constantly market that venue’s brand, thereby encouraging customer loyalty.
Boosting ROI By Lowering Costs
One of the largest expenses for businesses is the cost of communicating with its audience. That communication includes advertising, brand-building, or simply distributing information to customers. Digital signage can increase a company’s return on investment by reducing these costs. Advertising messages can be deployed dynamically from a centralized computer. A company’s brand can be supported perpetually without the need to purchase magazine space. Digital signage can also replace employees to help customers with directions, product details and other information.
Businesses continue to realize the advantages of using digital signage to broaden their reach while lowering their cost of doing so. Meanwhile, the technology behind the medium continues to drive prices downward. As companies seek more cost-effective ways to market their products and communicate with their audiences, digital signs are likely to become a primary marketing channel.
Within theaters, movie posters are quickly becoming an advertising medium of the past. While they used to be effective in luring moviegoers to the theater, digital signage has made them seem dated and dull. The drawbacks of using movie posters to advertise upcoming films is that the posters are static, costly and can easily become useless when consumer tastes change (which happens quickly in the movie business). Digital signs attract attention. Once installed within a theater, they can be a cost-efficient way to market to a captive audience. Below, we’ll explore how movie theaters are using digital signage to increase their revenue, encourage customer loyalty and react quickly to consumer preferences.
Digital Signs At The Concession Stand
When moviegoers visit a theater’s concession stand, they effectively raise their hands and identify themselves as willing customers. Digital signs can be placed throughout the concession stand to advertise drinks and food items. Because these purchases are mostly impulsive, it’s a prime opportunity for theater owners to cross-sell or upsell customers. A customer can be easily encouraged to add a bag of candy when ordering a bucket of popcorn. They can be enticed into ordering large drinks for a family rather than medium-sized drinks.
Executed properly, digital signage can be used to increase the average order amount. Because most items sold at a theater’s concession stand are already highly-profitable, increasing the average order amount can have a dramatic effect on profits.
Cross-Promotion Of Movies
Consumers’ movie preferences can be fickle. They can change as a result of a star’s recent public escapades or a well-executed media blitz. Action movies may be popular one week and romantic comedies the next. This is the downfall of using static movie posters. In addition to the high cost of designing and printing the posters, their “shelf life” is unpredictable. If an upcoming movie’s star loses public support, the poster can become a drain on the theater’s available advertising real estate.
Digital signage has a key advantage in promoting current and upcoming movies while having the ability to react to the public’s fickle tastes. If a movie (or its star) falls out of favor, the signs (message boards, LCD screens, plasma TVs, etc.) can be changed quickly to market other movies.
Multiple Targeted Messages To A Captive Audience
Moviegoers are essentially a captive audience. Once they enter the theater, they don’t leave until they have watched the movie. During that time, they may wait at the concession stands, loiter in the hallway before entering the auditorium, or visit the restrooms. This provides theater owners with the opportunity to market to a targeted audience.
Marketers know that once a customer has purchased an item (in this case, a movie ticket), they become a more valuable prospect for additional products or services. Digital signs can be used to leverage this opportunity. They can promote food items sold at the concession stand, upcoming movies and other products sold at the theater.
Increasing Revenue With Digital Signage
While installing a network of digital signs throughout a movie theater requires an upfront investment, it can significantly lower the cost of marketing to moviegoers. Messages that promote movies and concession items can be displayed to an audience which has demonstrated a willingness to spend money on similar products. That can have a considerable impact on a theater’s revenue.
Digital signage also allows movie theater owners to react quickly to consumer preferences. By controlling the network of digital signs from a computer, the content that is broadcast on the signs can reflect trends and tastes in real time. While movie posters will likely always have a place in the promotion of films, theater owners are discovering that digital screens are a more effective use of their limited advertising real estate.
