What is Digital Signage

Digital signage is a new communication channel to dynamically display content on screen such as images, videos, and other engaging information.

Remember the last time you saw a dynamic display with flight information at the airport? This is a form of digital signage. Yet digital signage is so much more. It’s everywhere around you.

You can’t drive down the road, walk into a restaurant or the mall, head to the airport, or go to school without seeing dynamic displays, digital menu boards, touch-screen kiosks or even interactive video walls that engage passers-by with media and useful information.

Digital signage solutions are used by the widest array of industries. From big retail brands, corporate business, educational and municipal institutions, to small shops, restaurants and the garage around the corner – everyone uses digital signage. There are signage solutions for small business and big businesses alike and the SpinetiX digital signage solution is one that caters to both.

Did you know…
The term ‘Digital Signage’ was born in early 1992 in a UK shopping center. Apparently, a security guard didn’t know what the network of video walls he was looking at was called, so he referred to them as Digital Signage. The terminology has since stuck, and for the past 30 years, Digital Signage has been on a journey of evolution!

What makes digital signage so useful? #

Whether you work in big business or own a small or medium-sized company, digital signage helps share your story with the world around you. Dynamic displays offer a unique way to communicate your message more effectively and in real time. Combining storytelling with innovative technologies is an effective way to offer personalized experiences to your audience at a reasonable cost. It works every time – regardless whether you are dealing with internal-, public-, or product-related information.

Dynamic content keeps your guests, clients, and employees engaged. #

It has never before been easier to customize your message and target the good crowd. Displaying the right information in an impactful way only takes a few drag-and-drops of the right images and videos from your phone to a media playlist or just connecting your company’s Instagram account and letting the good content stream.

Digital signage reduces your costs. #

Whether it brings dynamic wayfinding at a hotel’s conference center or acts as a retail screen behind a shop window, digital signage can serve multiple functions at different times. Besides, when connected to external sources of information like Office 365, G-Suite, or social media, the screen content updates on its own, reflecting your day to day activities. Such a streamlined interconnected system is easy to put in place, facilitates decision-making and eliminates disproportionate printed signage costs.

Digital signage elevates your branding and presents monetizing opportunities. #

Tailored brand messages or illustrative graphics can be used to raise brand awareness. Also, with third-party advertising, you can monetize your digital signage board by giving the option to bid for the signage space to promote a product or brand that shares your values.

The Traders’ Union of Milan is an excellent example of this. They use the digital signage solution installed throughout Palazzo Castiglioni – their conference center – to promote the brand, help visitors with wayfinding, and at the same, to place third-party paid advertising.

Increase the value of your communication with digital signage. #

Technology in the face of dynamic digital content is upping the game of personalized consumer experiences. Whether you are in a supermarket, at a car dealership, or on a cruise ship, self-acting display content controlled by sensors or data flows improves the point of contact with your customers.

For example, the Paradise Casino in Yuma, Arizona uses their digital signage installation to deliver unmatched guest experiences in the middle of the desert at a touch of a button.

Digital signage makes you and your team more productive. #

Overcoming information overload in the modern workplace and eliminating counterproductive practices like the overuse of email has brought the spotlight on digital signage as a relevant internal communication tool. Moreover, with modern workplaces becoming less centralized, the importance of making internal communication more accessible to remote teams has grown.

Digital signage has the power and scalability to provide a valuable communication lifeline uniting employees throughout dispersed workplaces. It seamlessly and securely plugs in the very tools your employees use daily such as Excel spreadsheets and Outlook calendars in order to bring on display, and in real-time, the information that is most relevant for your team to succeed.

Digital signage for your business #

Small businesses, corporate offices, retail, government institutions, and smart cities – you name it; digital signage works for just about any industry sector or organization: no matter how big or small.

Small business digital signage #

Perhaps you own a small clothes shop or work at a small company office, or perhaps you run a bar or even a family hotel. Digital signage is a great tool to turn your communication digital at your point of sale or at your office without being an expert or a graphical designer.

Dynamic screen content helps your customer find what they need quicker. It helps you show exclusive offers or the countdown to your seasonal sale. Digital screens for small business offices welcome your employees and clients in style.

Corporate enterprise #

Scalability is crucial in digital signage for big business. At corporate campuses, office buildings, and other office areas, a corporate digital signage installation must almost always be designed to serve multiple functions across multiple locations. Internal sources of information coming from calendars, spreadsheets and other Office 365 platforms like Yammer automatically feed valuable content to displays and create a nurturing environment for discussion and decision-making.

See how Vodafone streamlined visual communication at their campus in Düsseldorf: from meeting-room scheduling displays at the conference zone to digital menu boards in the canteen, to the large LED screen with the Vodafone logo on top of the office building.

Tip: Smart-building and room reservation technologies could easily save you a ton of money by helping organize and streamline your staff’s daily meetings and activities.

Hospitality #

For hotels, restaurants, bars, tourist attractions, tourist offices, camping parks, golf clubs, resorts and any other hospitality establishment, digital signage for hospitality can take many forms and functions.

Take for example, Azimut, a 4-star business hotel at the heart of Moscow. The hotel streamlines visual communication with visitors and guests on multiple levels – from reception welcome screens to informational displays installed in elevators, to digital menu boards and live sports streaming at the hotel’s food and beverage outlets.

Education #

Want to convey important information to children and students? Speak to them in their digital language and redefine the way your message is delivered. From class schedules, alert and evacuation messages to transportation timetables, and cafeteria menus – anything can be communicated in an engaging way on screen.

Digital signage for education is used all around the world by students, teachers and parents alike in kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, colleges, university campuses, corporate training centers, and any other educational facility.

Events, sports, and entertainment #

Digital signage for events and entertainment comes in many shapes and sizes. From dynamic wayfinding that guides guests across spaces whose configuration changes all the time, to emergency messages that ensure your audience safety, to paid advertising spots on large external displays, to social-media video walls attracting visitors to your event.

What’s more, digital signage when used at sports venues helps celebrate emotions of thousands of visitors. Jubilee Stadium in St. Petersburg is a great example of how to deploy digital signage across a multi-functional arena. From the digital menu board displays in the cafeteria to the score-information displays and the venue’s emergency alert system, multi-purpose digital signage integrates seamlessly with the arena’s functions.

Production and industrial sites #

In an industrial setting, digital signage helps bring information closer to employees who don’t have immediate access to mainstream communication means and tools like email and a laptop. Digital signage for warehouses, production and industrial sites offer a powerful tool to broadcast information in real time to the right employees. It is a great tool to optimize processes, improve productivity, quality and security by giving people the right information at the right time.

See how Perodua, a car manufacturing company in Malaysia uses their digital signage solution across their headquarters and warehouse to provide visibility to employees about daily car production numbers and other important KPIs.

Retail #

Digital signage has found a true sanctuary in retail with the broadest range of applications and uses; from showrooms, supermarkets, shopping malls, duty-free areas, and gas stations to real estate agencies and car repair centers.

70% of customer’s buying decision-making happens at point of sale. Among the myriad of choices in today’s consumer society, it has never before been as important to stand out from the competition. A bright shop-window display or an in-store interactive wall help sell smarter and better. Digital signage for retail provides an engaging and entertaining visual medium for promoting products and services.

Tip: When planning a digital signage installation at your shop, consider what you already have. For example, you can integrate digital signage with your security IP camera feed to provide an interactive welcome screen at your shop’s entrance.

Institutions and government #

Digital signage for government is applicable to public services, administration, political institutions, NGOs, government agencies, military, police force, fire departments, libraries, courtrooms, and other organizations serving the public.

Digital signage for the public sector is often integrated with queue management systems and

interactive displays. See, for example, how the Lake Geneva regional placement office in Switzerland integrated digital signage with touchscreen displays and a professional-grade ESII self-service kiosks to improve efficiency when handling jobseekers.

Transportation #

Flight information display systems (FIDS) were one of the early predecessors of modern digital signage. Digital displays installed at airports and train stations reduce perceived waiting times and provide useful information for journey connections. But this is only a small part of the mission of digital signage for transportation.

From public transportation hubs, city buses and

commuter trains, to VIP lounges at airports, to cruise lines and other passenger areas, digital signage for transportation helps improve passenger experiences the world over and 24/7. Reliability and connectivity with information systems are therefore crucial factors for choosing the right digital signage solution in any transportation context.

Healthcare #

The footprint of digital signage in healthcare institutions like medical practices, veterinarians, dentists, opticians, clinics, hospitals, and labs is rapidly growing. Healthcare signage serves various functions like welcoming patients at the reception, reducing perceived waiting time, or serving medical professionals with visual aids when communicating with patients and family.

See how IMED, a large hospital in Valencia, Spain uses digital signage every day to create a supportive environment for patients and doctors alike and to focus on care.

Banks and financial services #

For the past five years, digitalization has been a buzz word in banking. Interactive kiosks that connect clients with their online banking accounts are becoming increasingly widespread. Digital displays and video walls with exchange rate feeds, stock listings and other financial information provide real-time information to clients and professionals who expect top-notch security, reliability and reactivity.

See for example how the oldest and largest regional bank in Austria, HYPO NOE, embarked on a journey of digitalization by integrating digital signage at the heart of its transformative strategy.

Smart city digital signage #

The digital transformation of buildings and cities makes infrastructure more reliable, efficient and connected. Big data is a great opportunity for cities and organizations to become more agile and better manage resources and activities. Digital signage takes center stage in this digital transformation helping cities and buildings go ‘smart’.

From interactive room reservation solutions at your office, to intelligent road-sign systems throughout your city, smart city digital signage is closer than you think. See, for example, how a sophisticated LED traffic info in the busy Kazak cities of Astana and Almaty underlines the principle of Smart City technology.

Next: You have been thinking about the benefits of installing a dynamic display, a video wall, or a full-blow digital signage network throughout your business? See how you and your organization can get started with digital signage today with TimeLine.

How TimeLine delivers digital signage. #

At TimeLine, we like to say that we work in the storytelling business. This is because digital signage is about connecting with other human beings through the power of messages encapsulated in an impactful dynamic format. With more than a decade of experience, we have become true experts in turning just about any screen to digital signage. We understand the different needs of large companies and small businesses alike.

Now, let’s talk about your project. We’d like to hear your specific needs and address them together with you.

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