Three ways digital signage can build a better advertising strategy
Everywhere we go whether in the real world or online, people are bombarded with advertising; on TV, on almost every web page we visit, in magazines/newspapers, on the side of buses and in transport hubs. Even as a marketer I get annoyed seeing things I’m not interested in or I become bored of people trying to sell me things. There are three fundamental reasons why potential customers ignores adverts:
- They don’t like loud annoying repetitive adverts.
- Most adverts are irrelevant to a lot of customers. For example, a vegetarian will have no interest in seeing an ad for British Beef.
- A lot of people just don’t trust ads anymore – they think there might be a catch or small print or suspect that because something is on offer the quality of the product is compromised.
A group of commuters who were tired of seeing advertising in their local tube station, Clapham Common, decided to raise money via crowd funding to replace all the advertising space with pictures of cats. To find out more click here. Their main aim was to make the station a happier friendlier place, rather than face the onslaught of perfume adverts or the latest film release.
To overcome the distrust and apathy of much of the population, a useful resource that advertisers could use is digital signage. Digital signage has a lot to offer when it comes to both in store displays and out of home advertising. It can reduce some of the negatives that are mentioned above and pump out more positive publicity, offering both variety and the ability to target many groups rather than just one. Here are three ways that digital advertising can be implemented:
- Smart content management – With digital signage, the advertiser can control the unit remotely making it easy to update with fresh content to target potential customers. For instance, in the morning you could use pictures of kittens to make commuters’ journey to work a little easier, but in the middle of the day, you could target products as people are more likely to be out shopping. Being able to customise content to suit the demographic, the time of day or a seasonal event is a significant advantage.
- Customer engagement – One new way that companies and advertising are using digital signage to engage customers is with interactivity. JCDecaux recently launched a number of advertising campaigns for companies including Pepsi and HSBC with an augmented reality display located at bus stops. Watch a few of the displays here. These displays didn’t just advertise the brand in the usual way but used an “out of the box” approach to engaging the customer in something different. They still had all the branding to make sure the customer is aware of the brand, but they didn’t advertise a particular product or campaign. The point is to get people talking about the digital signage and to get coverage over social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter. Augmented reality displays can even be used to bring adverts alive using a tablet or smartphone. Click here to find out more
- Offer useful public information – Digital signage can provide relevant public information such as the latest news or information on public transport. They can also provide info from an event like the most recent football scores.
The aspects of customisation, interactivity and displaying relevant information are key to engaging with customers. There has been a shift in the past few years where companies have been making a conscientiousness effort to improve the experiences of their consumers. Consumers have become more informed and will quickly move to a competitor who offers a better experience. This same principle applies to advertising, especially with consumer’s general negativity towards the medium.
Digital signage can help to provide the keys to drive a better customer experience in advertising.
