How to Be the Digital Signage Player Your Clients Need

There are many digital signage solutions serving clients’ various needs, however the amount of hardware and software choices can be daunting, and the cost of installing a digital signage network can be large, which is why clients need a commercial integrator with expertise to help them make the right purchasing decisions.

CI Staff

Digital signage has moved beyond the advertising billboards we’re familiar with. In fact, it’s so widely used now that it can be found everywhere, from small family run restaurants through to schools and religious institutions.

Fortunately, there is a huge range of options, from super cheap, single display solutions, through to UHD installations that can provide customer data. The most important thing to do is to plan exactly what your client will need from a display before providing a recommendation, as there will be an option that suits the need perfectly.

For instance, in the restaurant space, McDonald’s had an entire in-house team to update its restaurants with digital menu boards and touch screen kiosks for ordering.

However, if your smaller restaurant client has been wary of digital signage due to the perceived complexity and cost, you can assure them that hardware costs have decreased dramatically, which means a player needn’t cost thousands of dollars.

Software development has also proliferated to offer a variety of choices and content management is simpler than ever – which may well suit your smaller clients – unless you will be managing the network on their behalf.

If your small restaurant client is wondering where to get started before committing to digital signage in a big way, one option is to install a digital menu board. This is a simple prospect as there is no video and very few image changes, and can be achieved for very low cost by using cheap hardware and simple software thanks to the basic requirements.

Hardware can be as cheap as the $30 Raspberry Pi and software can be had for free. Ubuntu, as an open source, free to use operating system provides the basis for many of these free propositions. Most are simple to use and have their own editor and widgets to create simple displays.

There is often an HTML editor if your client wants to create something more custom, and plans to build out the network in the future. That’s a brand new digital menu board for around $30 + the cost of the display itself.

Digital signage is also becoming more prevalent in corporate offices, particularly in call centers and sales environments. If your client is in the corporate space, they will appreciate the ability to share information across a team, which can be invaluable for employee feedback, worker moral and workflow management.

As an additional benefit, sales teams can all view their targets and see what needs to be done to get there. Your client will recognize that having free-flowing communication across a team can significantly improve productivity.

When buying hardware specifically for signage, you may opt to recommend a Windows platform like one of Intel’s Compute Sticks, particularly if your client’s existing hardware is already running on a Windows platform. That way, the personnel they have in place would be sufficiently familiar to operate and maintain the network.

However it’s worth thinking about exactly what your client wants from the display. Linux based platforms can add more flexibility, while Ubuntu can be simpler to manage, is free and will even run on existing hardware like old PCs that the company no longer needs. This can be a great way to get started without any financial outlay, particularly if the first installation is viewed as a “test” and tightly budgeted.

The retail sector has historically been the bastion of digital signage. Display technology has carried advertising for years, but more modern uses see signage as integral to driving purchasing decisions.

Retailers use large video wall installations to engage shoppers, with hero imagery that conveys a brand’s identity to consumers. Some luxury retailers opt to use 4K (UHD) displays that give a high gloss finish.

Read Next: How This Company Is Making Digital Signage Smarter in the Out-of-Home Space

Beware, because the catch is that when using a large high-impact screen any error will be all the more obvious to customers. An empty “blue screen” greeting customers could seriously dissuade shoppers from even entering the store.

If this is the case, your client will need powerful hardware like a high-performance NUC to be most effective and costs can easily grow into thousands of dollars when taking the cost of these displays into consideration.

Because you will want to install the hardware in a concealed space, out of public eye, you will have to factor in a solution that can be remotely updated. For instance, Ubuntu Core can be updated transactionally, which adds another layer of reliability.

In the future your client may wish to have customer metrics, which means adding a camera to the signage so it can count customers or introduce an interactive capability. By choosing a powerful player that can be easily updated initially, you’ll ensure that your client’s digital signage is prepared for the future.

The amount of hardware and software choices are daunting and the cost of installing a digital signage network can be large, which is why client’s should seriously consider engaging an experienced commercial integrator who will be familiar with the options and know that there is a player out there that suits every use case.

Such a professional knows that digital signage needs to output video reliably without issues and with hardware costs continuing to decrease it’s easier than ever to put together a great system. There’s a player out there that will suit every client.

As a member of the Digital Signage Federation (DSF), author Thibaut Rouffineau will be a panelist on the DSF’s July “Hangout” discussion entitled, “How do I Select a Media Player for My Signage,” on Wednesday, July 13 at 2pm EST. More information on this and other DSF events can be found on the DSF website. Both DSF members and non-members may join this or any of the DSF’s scheduled Hangout discussions for free – but registration is required and can be accessed on the DSF website.

Thibaut Rouffineau heads the devices marketing team at Canonical/Ubuntu. He has been active in the mobile, telecom, software world for the past 15 years as an all-rounder from the research labs, to the telecom shelter, from core network to core OS, from photons to airwaves and from product management to community strategy. Thibaut has been heavily engaged in the migration of the telecom industry towards a more open, developer community and software approach to innovation. In his role as Canonical he continues on his mission with a strong focus on bringing a more open and fast moving Internet of Things and a new generation of mobile devices. As an entrepreneur he’s co-founded a marketing agency, an innovation management software platform and a nutritionist-in-your pocket app and built large developer event brands.

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!