Planning and Quality Content: How Current LED Sign Owners Benefit More From the Holidays - Join The Club, You Can Too.

-Scott Hofheins

One of the greatest times to be an LED sign owner is around the holidays. While many businesses are decorating their store, sending out mailers, and doing their best with temporary signage, LED sign owners are resting easy. They have likely pre-scheduled most of their holiday content earlier in the year, and know the sign is working hard to bring in the shoppers. If you don’t own an LED sign now, you may want to seriously think about taking the plunge and investing in a product that works all day, every day with no overtime pay!

You can’t re-face a traditional sign every time a holiday comes around and changeable copy boards are limited to static text that is difficult to change. LED Signs provide such a great opportunity to communicate often and directly to your audience, it’s surprising to see some businesses not taking full advantage of this.

I’m not just talking about Christmas. Any holiday like Valentines day, Memorial day, Columbus day and Thanksgiving are all great times to communicate specific promotions or events to your patrons. Mike posted an awesome post about being a hero with PSA messages, and Deacon had some great insights on why you should keep your content fresh.

There are many reasons some people may not be using their sign to the fullest extent. One of the biggest is the “Not Enough Time” factor. It takes time to get good solid content created and scheduled for your sign. Most small to medium organizations are already utilizing their staff above capacity. After the initial excitement of a new LED sign installation, the updates tend to become less frequent as the staff re-focuses on their other responsibilities.

There is a solution to this: Pre-Planning. Most LED sign software these days has some sort of scheduling option. Use it! Take some time to pre-program most of your general holiday messages into the schedule. I promise, it will be worth it. With an LED sign you have the ability to communicate one message on Christmas eve, and another Christmas day. You can advertise “fine wine” New Years eve, and “hangover remedies” New Years morning. Direct dynamic advertising has never been easier.

But what if you don’t have time to actually create the content? Pay someone to create the content for you. You may think this is overkill, but you have a very expensive sign that is advertising your entire organization to the traveling public; it’s worth the investment at a reasonable price. Do some research online and look for people who create content specifically for LED signs. It takes a slightly different approach than website design, or print media to be done effectively and utilize the full potential of an LED sign.

If you don’t own an LED sign, and are thinking about getting one, now is a good time to see how effective they can be. Gifts and shopping are at the top of everyone's mind so it’s just a matter of making sure they see what you have to offer. An LED sign can sometimes be like those shelves at the checkout counter, you weren't thinking about the batteries for all the toys you just bought until you looked to your left and saw them hanging right there, conveniently easy to reach.

Do your research (this blog is a great place to start) and make sure you plan ahead and use the experience of others to help you make a good choice. Plan for some of the things I’m talking about here. Look for a company that has software that takes the pain out of content creation and scheduling. If you don’t have a graphics staff, include the cost of a  Content Creation Service in your budget before you buy the sign. This will save you time and money in the long run.

An LED sign is a powerful tool and a solid investment. When it’s used effectively with quality content and planning, you will see a substantial ROI, more street visibility, and ultimately more sales to grow your business.


-SH


P.S. I may not post again until after the new year, so I just wanted to say thanks to those who read our blog and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you have a great New Year. This year has been great, and I’m looking forward to an even better 2013 where we will continue to post more insights and tips for the sometimes confusing, but always exciting LED sign industry.





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.

Is your Digital Signage creating a call to action?

-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.

How does a Programmable LED Sign help business?

-Deacon Wardlow

Years ago, the SBA (Small Business Administration) released a document demonstrating how LED Signage can help increase business. Some of their numbers were (I feel) a bit overboard, but the overall premise is sound and the returns are definitely there. If you’d like a copy of the SBA report, drop me a line and I’d be happy to provide it (you can still find it various places online). The question remains, how does an LED Sign help business?

When looking at Digital Signage, there are several factors driving businesses to Digital. Newspaper readership is in decline. People watch TV shows off Hulu and Netflix, even radio stations have been taken over by the satellite movement. Traditional advertising dollars are swapping around tremendously and now (more than ever) on-premise advertising is crucial for success..

LED Signage allows businesses to push specials to the public and improve their P/L (profit/loss) statements. When a restaurant isn’t selling as many prime rib specials that night, drop a message on the display to emphasize a prime rib special and the sales will likely increase. Communicating business events and opportunities through and LED Sign gives the business an opportunity to directly communicate with the customers who go by every day. Customers are often looking for something to draw them in, and LED Signage drives people towards business. While specials and promotions are one large component, LED signage gives business more than a place to advertise. LED Signage can also be a form of community outreach.

A lot of people focus hard on the ROI (return on investment) but overlook the ROO (return on objective). LED signage allows businesses to communicate with the public directly. With LED signage you can be an active member in the community through your sign, publishing local notices, community events, PSAs (Public Service Announcements), and more. An LED Display is a big investment for business owners and it’s important they use the system to the fullest to reap the largest return. In order to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by LED Signage, the software has to be easy-to-use.

LED Signage software is getting simpler and the top manufacturers work closely with both dealers and end-users to ensure the software meets the needs of business owners. If you can’t make a great message in under 5 minutes (and send it to the system), the software has already failed you; the easier software is to use, the more the system gets utilized and the more vibrant/alive the content is.

How can a Programmable LED Sign help business? Community outreach, on-premise advertising, direct market push to the customers in your area and the ability to not only promote your Unique Selling Point to customers but also demonstrate your connection to local events/information... this is all achieved with LED Signage where other forms of advertising can’t perform to the same level. WIth the right partner in place, LED Signage can really make the difference between survival and success.

*Please 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), check out the site periodically as we’re constantly adding new material.

**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.

Change is good: Content creation

-Deacon Wardlow

Change is good. The first time people go to a new place (a new shopping center, city, town, etc.) the new place is vibrant, detailed and refreshing. As something becomes more familiar, less details are noticed, what once stood out fades into the background. The same is true of your display. The first time a new display goes up, people take notice. The display stands out and catches the eye. How do you avoid having a display fade out for the viewers? Change is the answer.

Reader boards are replaced with LED Signs which can be quickly and easily updated.  A common problem I’ve noticed is they are used well the first few weeks and then, suddenly, they’re no better than a static sign. When I’ve asked end-users why this happens, I get various answers back:

-The software isn’t easy to use.
-I don’t have new slogans/ideas to promote every week.
-I’m too busy.

A programmable LED sign is an excellent mode of communication between a business and the community/customer-base. Changing content is a must to keep the conversation fresh and ensure the eyes turn toward the sign. The issues above can be quickly resolved.

Software is the hardest one to overcome. When sourcing an LED sign, make sure the software is easy to use and update so the end-user doesn’t see the sign as a burden of business.

For slogans/campaigns the end-users only have to reach out to the community. There are many charitable organizations which could benefit from some time on the sign. The end-user gets to do outreach and show they are a vibrant part of their community and charitable organizations get a resource for community communication. If the content itself is the same week-to-week, change the look/feel of the content, use current news/events for content and put funny quips/comments on the board. Emotion is a big draw for advertising and making someone smile can be the difference between a new customer and no customer.

There should always be some time set aside for the display. An LED sign gets more impressions on the people actually going by your business than any other media (print, TV or radio). Even if you only have a few thousand impressions a day, ten percent of those impressions are waiting for the right impulse to bring them in the doors. Would you turn away a 10% increase in business because you don’t have time to keep things fresh?

Digital Signage is not a cost of business, it’s an investment. The way to see the greatest return on that investment is to nurture it to get the most benefit. A little time spent with keeping your content fresh and interesting will be returned ten fold with the increased interest generated in your business. For more on content creation, checkout the new guide created by Scott Hoffhein! Click on this link to view the new guide in our resources library.



*Always feel free to comment here and/or email me directly with requests at deacon@vantageled.com. Vantage has white paper resources and more educational material on the website (http://www.vantageled.com), please check it out when you have a moment. Advertisements/promotion for your business and inappropriate comments will be deleted.. Thank you!

**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.

How much does an LED Sign or Digital Signage cost?

- Deacon Wardlow

Many people ask how much a Digital Signage solution (LED Sign, interior or exterior LCD/Plasma/etc.) costs. While they mean well, many points are overlooked or not addressed up-front. The sweet smell of a low price is replaced by the lasting bitter taste of a system which underperforms and potentially costs both the dealer and the end user money and reputation. Let’s take a quick look at the basics of what you need to know when looking at the “cost” of a digital signage system.

Objective:
What does the end-user want from the system? Are they looking for a direct ROI (Return On Investment) or ROO (Return On Objective) or perhaps a blend of both? You need to know where you want to end up before you start the process.

Location:
Where is the system being placed? Is there appropriate power? Can communication be setup quickly or are there special site requirements (i.e. an outdoor LED Message Center requiring a hard-wired connection where there are currently no feeds available which will require trenching, a remote connection or wireless integration)?

Content Creation/Management:
Who is creating and managing the content? A Digital Signage solution (LED message Center, interior, etc.) is only as good as the content running on it. Digital signage which remains the same day-in and day-out for weeks on end will quickly lose any appeal for customers and badly created/managed content can negatively brand the business. Over-repetition of “THIS MONTH ONLY!” specials, poor color contrast choices (i.e. blue text on a red background which not only hurts the eyes but is difficult to read), and other poor content creation/management judgement can do more harm than good. Remember, customers are not sitting at that screen for a long time. You have (at most) 5-10 seconds to make an impression. Make it BIG, make it fast and keep it simple.

The Equipment:
These are professional commercial-grade systems. You can’t just go to a store and pick something off the shelf and expect it to perform for you. Just as businesses buy commercial-grade computers (servers) meant to run systems 24/7/365, your Digital Signage solution needs to be commercial grade. While there are many manufacturers who offer a cost-conscious model to meet end-user demand remember the caveat, you get what you pay for.

A ‘source’ vs a ‘RESOURCE’:
Make sure the source you purchase your digital signage from is also a resource (not just someone selling you a system, but actively working with you to ensure you have the right system to meet the site need, end-user requirements and has everything it will require to function properly before and AFTER the sale). While there are many people/businesses out there who will sell you a system to meet your basic needs, where will they be when/if there’s a problem? Will they be there to walk you through issues on setup/installation and if the system fails?

Overall, there are a lot of components to be aware of when figuring the cost of a system. To be truly successful, you need a partnership between the resource/manufacturer, the integrator/dealer and the end-user. Great achievements are rarely made by a single individual, there’s usually a team of people behind that achievement. When pricing a system, don’t go it alone. Work with an experienced dealer/manufacturer so when you get the price, neither you nor the end-user are surprised by the real costs down the road.




*Always feel free 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. Advertisements/promotion for your business and inappropriate comments will be deleted.. Thank you!

**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.

Why Digital Display systems fail: 'Creatives' and Content

-Deacon Wardlow

Digital Display systems have immense potential. People point to movies like ‘Minority Report’ and other distopian future films as examples of the potential nightmare of over-pervasive/intrusive advertising, but often fail to look at the benefits of well managed digital display systems. Advertising doesn’t need to be an annoyance; done well a 'creative' can amuse, entertain, educate and develop the brand all at the same time. Unfortunately, there are definite obstacles in the way of conveying your message effectively and these are a few of the many signs of a bad Digital Display system:

An advertising campaign can turn against you:
As Giselle Abramovich of Digiday.com points out on his tumblr account, advertising (print, digital, other) can seriously miss the mark. A bad ad can just as strongly enforce negative branding as much as it was meant to help grow/sell/educate a brand/product.

Get it right the first time:

Aside from spelling errors and misplaced pictures, make sure your content is properly uploaded and (if using templates) make sure the template is filled-in and previewed prior-to pushing it to your display. As you can see from the Fox News example (taken from a live feed), even “big businesses” slip up from time-to-time.

Does the message get to the point or miss it entirely?
I came across a great article on Entrepreur.com which very effectively explains some common mistakes people make with advertising. While getting eyes on the sign is important (using a witty quip/joke) you need to ensure the bigger point (drawing clients to your door) is not missed. Keep the focus on two things: what you’re selling and whom you’re selling to.

Keep track of what works and drop what doesn’t:
While most of us don’t have all the expensive toys/tools to check the success/failure of our advertising, there are some simple steps which can help you track the effectiveness of on-premise advertising. Your exterior LED message center can be used to track message effectiveness by dayparting messages. Dayparting means to push certain messages at certain times during the day. As Jim Meskauskas points out on imediaconnection.com, be sure the message has relevance to the time if you’re partitioning messages by dayparting.

In the morning, push out an ad for a timed special with a requirement the first 20 people to mention the ad get ‘X’ (discounts, a prize, etc.). This draws people in and allows you to track effectiveness of a certain campaign. Please keep in mind, your audience is mobile so you want to keep the message simple and straightforward and don’t have them TEXT/take a picture/or do anything which takes away from their attention to forward movement (walking/driving/cycling). That would be bad, very very bad.

Get the most from your medium:
Use the medium to the max. As some Japanese engineers have shown in Osaka, simple water can be presented in amazing ways to draw interest. A digital display (LED message center, LCD/Plasma/Smartphone/tablet/laptop/other) is limited only by your imagination. There are people doing amazing things with displays. Unleash the creativity, but be sure what’s presented achieves your goals.

Have fun, it’ll shine through:
Overall, engage your customers/clients/focus group in fun and entertaining ways when possible. Emotion is a HUGE driving force in advertising. Harness emotion where you can. Think of the overall impression you want to make with the digital signage and what goal you have in mind. See the system in your mind’s eye, go through how you want someone to view the system, what you want them to experience/feel and what you want to achieve; examples: more clients coming in the door, people calling that phone number, customers sending SMS texts to the display and interacting with your business using the display as the medium. What you can visualize can be actualized.

Keep your objective in mind:
Often too many people focus on the ROI (return on investment) and fail to focus on the ROO (return on objective). ROI gives you financial gain (a good thing) and ROO gives you a gain (i.e. educating your customer base as to why they should use you over the competition) which may not have a direct measurable monetary effect, but will get you farther towards building a relationship with your customer base. The trick is fitting it all into a spot which may only receive 5-10 seconds of attention.

Don't hesitate to reach out for advice if you're feeling stuck. There are loads of people (myself included) who are happy to point you to excellent resources if they can't help you directly. Don't be afraid to stumble a bit on the path to success, but avoid the big mistakes where possible!

*Always feel free 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. Advertisements/promotion for your business and inappropriate comments will be deleted.. Thank you!

**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.