Key Takeaways
- Billy Sims BBQ, a fast-casual barbecue franchise with 30 U.S. locations, selected NoviSign Digital Signage Software to manage its digital menu boards and promotional displays.
- Each location runs four digital screens: three menu boards and one promotional display.
- The in-house creative team designs boards in Adobe software, then deploys them through NoviSign’s centralized dashboard.
- Franchise accounts are managed centrally, while each location keeps its own account to support market-specific pricing.
- Food photography on the boards has driven measurable increases in sales of featured items.
Why Did Billy Sims BBQ Choose NoviSign?
Billy Sims BBQ chose NoviSign to gain centralized control of its digital menu boards without losing the flexibility individual restaurants need. Managing displays across a 30-location network means balancing consistency with the reality that menus and prices vary by market. NoviSign gave the chain’s in-house team one system to handle both.
Recognized by USA Today as one of America’s best barbecue chains, Billy Sims BBQ now uses NoviSign across all 30 restaurants.
How Does NoviSign Work Across 30 Locations?
NoviSign lets the Billy Sims BBQ team push content to every location from a single dashboard. Each restaurant runs four digital displays: three dedicated to menu boards and one promotional screen that rotates offers and featured products. Updates deploy quickly across the network, so pricing changes and new promotions reach every screen without manual work at each site.
How Does the Creative Team Use Adobe Software With NoviSign?
The creative team designs menu boards in Adobe software before uploading them through NoviSign’s centralized dashboard. That workflow keeps design control in-house and speeds deployment. Once a board is finished, the team publishes it across multiple locations in minutes rather than updating each restaurant individually.
How Does NoviSign Support Custom Menus and Local Pricing?
NoviSign supports both a shared core menu and customized boards for locations with different offerings. Most restaurants run the same menu, but some carry local items that require their own boards. Franchise accounts are managed centrally by the in-house team, while each location keeps its own account to set market-specific pricing where needed.
How Does Food Photography Affect Sales?
Food photography on the digital boards has driven a clear increase in sales of featured items. Billy Sims BBQ found that products shown with strong images sell better than those listed by name alone.
“We’ve noticed when we have specific food shots on our menus, that’s where we really start to see an uptick in those items,” says Sean Higgins, senior graphic designer and social media manager at Billy Sims BBQ. “We have a giant hero photo of one sandwich, and it’s become one of our fan favorites simply because customers see that image.”
What Does This Mean for Restaurant Operators?
The setup addresses a common problem for multi-location operators: updating menus, pricing and promotions fast without adding work for restaurant teams.
“Restaurant operators need to update menus, pricing, and promotions quickly without adding complexity for their teams,” says Gil Matzliah, CEO of NoviSign. “We’re proud to help Billy Sims BBQ centrally manage its digital menu boards while giving individual locations the flexibility they need.”
