The digital signage industry is all about a fusion of different displays, media players and software packages. If one carefully notices these latest technologies, they can all blend together into just a handful of key categories, and these are: more usage of IoT, better content management and insight strategies and the increase in number of smart cities.
Let us have a look at each one of these carefully…
1. Increasing use of IoT
Many companies are using the Internet of Things for promoting their products. One example is a retail clothing brand using an interactive mannequin that lets customers pull up different kinds of outfits and accessories on any part of the mannequin. To this technology device, the brand integrates beacons to identify customer location and how much time they spent at the mannequin.
Internet of Things can also be used with LED displays and touchscreens. For example, an automobile dealer could use interactive touchscreens to allow customers to browse through different types of cars and display each car on big screen along with its unique features; thereby making decisions easier for customers.
As we can see, every industry is being controlled by The Internet of Things, and of course, digital signage will not be excluded.
2. Better content management and insight strategies
Digital advertising firms are increasingly promoting smart and simple tools for managing digital content. One company for example recently exhibited a content management solution allowing digital signage investors to design and control permission for content. In this software, the end user is able to permit certain employees to edit certain images in a design but not make any changes to the branding. Users are also permitted to add unique codes to the content management system in order to improve certain features.
As for insights, newer analytics tools allow end users to figure out how long a customer stood and looked at a display and which part of the content they interacted with – using beacon technology.
With the above two examples, one point is certainly highlighted in the digital signage industry: content management is no longer just about updating content and keeping your signage fresh – remotely managing content is easier now than ever before – the real challenge is to understand how strong is the impact of the content and how it can boost ROI further.
3. More of smart cities
Digital signage manufacturers should be aware that smart cities are on the rise and that market has to be catered to. Smart city solutions such as simple way-finding guides as well as advanced features such as Wi-Fi facilities should be addressed to the audience. Smart cities are looking at improving ‘quality of life’ for the ever increasing urban population. More and more people living in the rural areas are moving to the city and as a result, cities are going to get crowded with more traffic and more resources being used. City officials can invest in smart LED displays to analyze patterns of resident movement and also to meet the needs of citizens. By obtaining valuable information, they can hugely improve the overall efficiency of the city, particularly in terms of traffic congestion.
Wrapping it up…
Overall, the above three key trends are all directing towards one big issue – the ability to provide varying and useful content to viewers. With the Internet of Things, firms can directly respond to consumers, and with improved content management systems, efficient delivery of content is possible. Smart cities are able to respond well to a citizen’s needs.
Simply implementing a digital signage system and ignoring it is a bygone era. Dynamic signage is the present era.
