Digital Signage
businessinfomag.uk
magazine
24
Providing a smart, effective way
to communicate with customers,
staff and passers-by, large format
displays are used by more and
more organisations for advertising,
promotions, product information,
wayfinding, entertainment and other
digital signage applications.
So much so that market research
company Technavio is predicting a
compound annual growth rate of 6%
between 2016 and 2020, when the
digital signage market is expected to be
worth $14.23 billion globally.
Christopher Parker, senior product
manager for visual solutions at Sharp,
has seen this growth first-hand,
especially in the retail sector.
“The market for digital signage
displays is continuing to grow globally.
Currently we’re seeing particular
growth in the adoption of entry-level
displays, which is recognition that digital
signage displays help increase sales. This
advantage should not be restricted to
large retail players with large budgets,
but be available to smaller retailers with
more restricted budgets,” he said.
“Digital signage is a great way for
businesses to ensure that their particular
stock or brand is given the visibility it
deserves and that sales are made based
on a heightened sense of awareness
from potential customers. Research from
InfoTrends found that digital signage
adds an upswing in overall sales volume
by 31.8%. No company is going to want
to miss out on that.”
Gareth Day, UK group manager
for visual systems at Panasonic, also
highlights strong demand in retail where
digital signage has been shown to boost
customer engagement.
“Companies are increasingly seeing
value in multi-channel marketing, and
are realising that having dynamic and
varied ways for customers to interact
with and learn more about their
products and services in a showroom
or retail environment is a sure-fire
way to help nudge customers towards
making purchases and improve visitor
experiences and engagement,” he said.
More generally, Thomas Walter,
product manager for public display
solutions at NEC Display Solutions
Europe, points out that digital signage can
be cheaper and have more impact than
Modern digital signage solutions are smarter and more intuitive than ever, claims Tayla Ansell.
A sign of the times
Buyer’s guide – Ask the experts
printed posters and signs in any sector.
“Going digital means lower
operational costs because printing,
shipment and changing paper posters
is very costly. Interactive and moving
images demand attention, making
digital signage more successful than
static posters. Digital signage screens are
‘people magnets’,” he said.
Brighter, bigger and smarter
Constant technological developments
mean that digital signage is much more
than just a screen on a wall. The most
significant of these, says Day, have been
in picture quality.
“LED displays are unbeatable in terms
of brightness and energy consumption.
Panasonic is investing a lot in 4K, both
in displays and projection. For customers
looking to future-proof, 4K is the next
step,” he said.
NEC’s Thomas Walter highlights a
trend towards high brightness and high
Thomas Walter,
product manager,
NEC
Christopher Parker,
senior product
manager, Sharp
What key factors should you consider when choosing a digital signage solution?
Business Info
asked the experts.
For NEC product manager Thomas Walter, one of the key buying decisions is the choice of display
technology – what he calls the ‘3 Ls’: LCD, Laser or LED. He says NEC is ‘technology agnostic’ and
can provide all the major display technologies based on the customer’s requirements.
Another ‘L’ to consider is Location. Sharp’s Christopher Parker says businesses should ask
themselves whether they need digital signage for indoors or outdoors; what the ambient light
levels are like; how they can get content onto the screen; what PC or distribution architecture is
supporting the content; and whether they need a LAN, wireless, daisy-chain or USB connection.
Panasonic’s Day says that organisations will also need to decide on their display size and whether
they need a single focal piece or a number of smaller displays. He added: “Typical visitor viewing
distance is important because it affects the size of the display required. The perceived quality of the
display is also affected by typical viewing distance, so it is important customers choose the right
display for the type of installation they are planning.”
