-Deacon Wardlow
Money talks, but who’s listening? It’s difficult to decide where advertising dollars should go. Newspaper readership is at all time lows, people listen to satellite radio or their MP3 players, flyers are picked up by the wind more than by potential customers and the internet grows so rapidly it’s hard to tell if you can make any headway. Where is the money best placed for the greater return.
I was speaking with a friend of mine about Digital Signage Solutions for advertising within a business or organization. The conversation basically boiled down to, “Is it a purchase or is it an investment?” He was looking at Digital Signage as a purchase. A one-time cost to his business and I disagreed. A flat screen for the home may be considered a purchase; after all, what value does the TV add? The TV is a portal for entertainment, education and actually brings a lot of value to the household, in this case it can be seen as an investment in oneself (or one's family). Digital Signage (LED Sign, LCD, etc.) is an investment. The initial cost is one small component in the greater picture against the overall value it brings to an organization.
Digital Signage (DS) requires time and effort to work. Someone using DS doesn’t just put up their displays and a couple of messages and expect people to come breaking the doors down. DS is a communication to the community, to the competition, to your potential customer base. DS is DYNAMIC and should change, be fresh, offer a perspective and information which is new to the target viewer.
Like any good investment, the foundation has to be solid to show long-term performance. Buy low, sell high doesn’t work here. DS is one of the few areas where you often get what you pay for and you don’t want to “go cheap” on a solution for your business as it won’t pay out well for you in the end. There's a big difference between a "cheap" DS solution and a competitively priced one. Whatever you end up getting, the investment is made with some kind of return expected.
You get out what you put in. The better the content, the message and the look of your DS solution, the more the target viewer will be inclined to interact (whether that means stop in the store, email, twitter, facebook, or whatever your call to action is). The investment will net you a return. The return could be an ROI (Return On Investment) or perhaps your focus is ROO (Return On Objective, such as getting the community to interact more or take part in their town/city/school/church).
After arguing my side, I asked him, "Is Digital Signage a purchase?" He agreed with me and redifined his view of a purchase as a one-off item (or service/whatever) which, while it contains value to you and a few others, does not inherently gain you a return on anything other than the pleasure of ownership. An investment in DS will help you grow your organization and will be a key element in your success. Make sure your investment is a sound one and compare what’s out there. When you shake the apple tree for a comparison, you might be surprised to see a few lemons drop. I hope the blog helps you spot the lemons and avoid the frustrations.
*I invite you to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.
-Deacon Wardlow
Oil change $19.99. Bottomless cup of coffee: $0.99! Sale! Town Hall meeting: 7pm. A lot of Digital Signage is failing the target audience. We push out information without considering the medium nor the end-result. Digital Signage is dynamic, alive, changeable and still unique enough to be eye-catching for even the most mundane of messages (time and temperature).
Without a call to action, Digital Signage falls flat. What is the reason for the target audience to do anything other than forget your message when they’ve passed by the display? Regardless of the medium (LED Sign, LCD, DLP, etc.) content which lacks a call to action fails.
A call to action doesn’t have to be a clarion call to the masses. Simply adding a small touch, a few words to something changes the nature of the message and makes it more appealing to the audience:
OLD: Oil Change $19.99
New: Meet Bubba, have a cup of coffee & an Oil Change, all for $19.99
OLD: Coffee: $0.99!
NEW: Free coffee with cup rental: $0.99!
OLD: Town hall meeting: 7pm
NEW: Be heard and be a part of the community, Town Hall Meeting @ 7pm!
The call to action is often lacking and this underutilizes a valuable resource for communication to your audience. A monologue (Coffee: $0.99) becomes an intriguing message which potentially leads to a stop-in (Free coffee with cup rental: $0.99!). Having your audience connect with you draws them in, makes your message more memorable, more effective, and your signage becomes dynamic.
Put a special on (i.e. free drink for the best joke emailed to: _____@email.com), give people something in return for their taking the time to stop in or do something. Put up messages with no other purpose than to make someone smile (give a person a smile and they’ll remember you and come looking for more).
The next time you’re putting together a message, ask yourself if it contains a call to action. If it doesn’t, step back and see how it can be modified to turn the monologue into a dialogue. You have the opportunity to start a great conversation, make it happen today!
*I invite you to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage LED has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Note all posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.
I read an article last week (read here) about a church in Virginia who was cited by the county government for changing their LED sign more than twice in 24 hours. The church was apparently unaware of this particular restriction and tried to work with the county on a compromise. Unfortunately they couldn’t reach an agreement so the church is now suing the county saying that the law restricts their free speech and free exercise of religion.
I agree with the church, and not just because I work in the LED sign industry. I believe super restrictive sign codes are wrong in general. Signs are usually the first communication that organizations have with the local community. LED signs have taken this communication to the next level, allowing clear and specific messages to be given. This country was built on free speech, free exercise of religion, entrepreneurship, and hard work. I believe overly restricting the ability of organizations to communicate goes against these principles. That being said, I understand the need to make sure we don’t have giant digital billboards shining into a residential area.
Reasonable restrictions and guidelines are necessary, but limiting message changes to only two per 24 hours is going too far and might be overreaction by the county, worried about turning the area into a mini Las Vegas. This “Las Vegas” fear has its roots in the fact that LED signs are still relatively new to the commercial market. In the beginning, only organizations with deep pockets (like casinos) could afford the full color high quality signs. Additionally, these new LED signs were purchased not just to communicate, but to be an attraction on their own, seeing who could make the biggest and fanciest sign on the strip.
LED signs are much more affordable, and are now used regularly for churches, businesses, schools and other smaller organizations. Unfortunately, the old idea of an LED sign’s purpose continues to affect sign codes across the country today. This story has received more coverage than normal, but it is by no means an uncommon situation. I have personally been involved with a number of these type of situations across the country and they can be extremely frustrating for the organization involved, who in most cases just wants to replace old technology and better communicate to the public.
I am glad to see this church fighting for their free speech rights, and that this story has received national press. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. The county has already backed off from there original stance (see update here), and many local officials have agreed with the churches position. Supervisor Pat S. Herrity (R-Springfield) is quoted in the updated article saying “This is what happens when you’re not careful with regulation.” Hopefully this inspires other organizations facing similar issues to stand their ground and work with the local government for more reasonable sign codes.
LED signs are the future, they will be around for a long time. Rejecting them in the sign code is like rejecting the car because it goes faster than a horse and buggy. Obviously, this is the wrong way to approach the situation. Speed limits are put in place, better roads are built, stoplights are utilized and fair traffic laws are developed. This same level headed approach should be taken with LED signs. Fair regulations will promote a higher quality product and safer installations that benefit the public, organizations, and the industry in general.
- Scott Hofheins.
I hope this post has been informative and helpful. As usual, I welcome ALL constructive comments. Please feel free to comment and add anything I’ve missed, or additional tips you may have regarding this topic. Please visit www.vantageled.com for many other resources, white papers, and of course: Great looking LED Signs!
**All posts/thoughts/writings are strictly the viewpoint of me and me alone and do not reflect nor speak for Vantage LED’s beliefs, attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically stated.
