Imagine if stores and businesses replaced display windows, signs and ads with interactive digital displays. Recent investments in digital signage by companies like Titan Outdoor help illustrate the growing demand for dynamic and interactive displays that grab and engage a consumer’s attention. Titan, in partnership with iblink, plans to install 6-sheet, 65 inch high HD digital screens for digital ad displays in rail stations throughout London. Besides their high image quality, they also feature Bluetooth technology that helps advertisers connect with consumers’ cell phones. It’s definitely a unique concept, and I would probably pay more attention to bright, dynamic interactive billboards than the fading static ads I see in my local subway station.
While your business or institution may not have $75 million to invest in digital signage like Titan does, you still have some pretty advanced options at your fingertips if you know how to use them. As we’ve mentioned before, interactive whiteboards provide a digital display with PC and Internet connectivity. Computer connectivity comes in handy for showing digital presentations you’ve made and the Internet can feed your display with up-to-the-minute information and media to keep your material fresh and interesting.
If an interactive whiteboard lies a little outside your price range, projection screens provide a wide and easy-to-see surface for your digital presentations. Larger spaces might require an electric motorized projection screen or manual projection screen, while a more intimate in-store display may call for a portable projection screen. Do-it-yourselfers can even try using a wall or table as a screen and enable consumers to interact with a device like the Wiimote Whiteboard.
Personally, I think it’s about time digital signage played a bigger role in marketing campaigns. I was riding the T in Boston the other day and as we passed through a tunnel, I saw a series of stillshots outside the window depicting a man skiing down a slope as we sped by. It was certainly an interesting way to advertise a local ski resort, but it also made me feel like I’d just stepped into a moving picture show from the early 20th century. Computers and digital technology have the potential to make dynamic, adaptable presentations that enable people to interact with what they see in a way that large pieces of cardboard simply can’t. Look for digital signage to take on a higher profile as more businesses and institutions look to get an eye-catching leg up on the competition.
(Photo courtesy of FreePhotosBank)
Posted by Taeho Lim
