Digital signage - it's the detail that matters
Important aspects to consider when selecting a service provider – some critical success factors:
Compatibility and re-usability
Distribution and to be able to display all data formats, such as Full HD, Flash, Codecs etc. should be possible without special processing. In order to provide content rapidly, continuously and at reasonable cost, the reusability of existing content (TV campaigns, films, web-flash campaigns etc.) should be guaranted – without cost-intensive rework by the digital signage provider. Your agency's digital signage technology does not set any limitations or obstacles to creativity because of proprietary or older/obsolete formats.
No PowerPoint animations.
Professionally-generated motion media on TV and the web set the standard. Digital signage at the POS will be judged by this standard in the future. Animation like PowerPoint, which often simply consists of an animated image of the product and the simple animated price does not attract the desired attention and will soon no longer be adequate.
Central control with local influence.
Digital signage should be completely controllable by central marketing. However, it should also guarantee maximum local indiviualization by changing content variables such as price, dealer logo, local claim etc. The prerequisite is simple operability via a web interface, only then is it possible to make use of digital signage as an integral part of local retail marketing.
Independence in the selection of individual services.
In order to achieve acceptance and process quality at the POS, cost-efficiency, quality and process reliability though central provision of campaigns and content are important. For sustainable and widespread use you need separability of creative agency services (content), local image hardware (screens, beamers/projectors, billboards etc.,) distribution and playback infrastructure. Digital signage may not be an obstacle to selection of the best in each area - companies that offer everything from one source - from creation, through infrastructure operation up to screen locations, cannot be the best at everything.
Compatibility with every type of (existing) hardware.
A digital signage solution should work with every hardware that is already available and should not render investments which have already been made useless. All presentation equipment which exists today and which is foreseeable for the future (older TVs, all flatscreen formats from all manufacturers, beamers/projectors, large billboards etc.) must remain capable of use. Digital signage which allows local sites the freedom for decentralised purchasing and support, care, replacement and upgrade of screens ensures a higher level of acceptance. For the relationship to local specialist dealerships and reciprocal businesses, often banks and "Sparkasse" banks, vehicle dealerships, continue to be possible. The product cycles of screens are less than 6 months. Their prices fall continuously and fixation on a few models quickly leads to obsolete equipment with higher costs.
Distribution of large volumes of data independently of band width.
Above all in locations in the country, it is important to achieve distribution of large volumes of data (several Gigabytes) independent of bandwidth in uniform networks, via very small and unmanaged lines (including 128 kilobyte ISDN, EDGE or simple Consumer DSL) or via existing company networks. A large and constantly number of locations which have to be provided for at the same time should also be possible without follow-up costs.
In order to avoid follow-up costs or loss of quality, it is important to know that company networks are limited for reasons of cost. Independent retailers make their own choice regarding their provider and low-cost broadband DSL will still not be available everywhere, even in 5 years.
Even a TV advertising campaign in original quality already has a size of between 500 and 1,000 Megabytes (=1 Gigabyte). Professional motion media Flash animations with variable control can easily reach 200 to 300 Megabytes with high resolution. With these volumes of data, in the classic download and/or streaming process, neither the bandwidth of the individual dealers nor the network bandwidth of the centralised feed server are sufficient to handle many simultaneous downloads/streams. The result is Expensive network upgrades result sooner or later.
Total financing capability through marketing budgets.
To achieve a fast decision making and implementation speed, digital signage should be financed completely through marketing budgets. It must be possible to unroll and operate digital signage without being tied to IT. This is the only way to invoice distribution and playing infrastructure as an "all-in" service like a media broadcasting service.
Independence from IT standards.
Independence from IT standards and regulations is useful since often times IT standarts contradict to the use of the latest multimedia files and standarts and the Apple technology which creative agencies work with.