Digital Signage Need to Know: Why Digital Signage is Important

-Deacon Wardlow

On-premise advertising (signage) was king up until the late 30s (when radio advertisement for local stations became cheaper), then TV came along and gave organizations another venue for community outreach alongside newspapers, radio, and community message boards (boards in the middle of town used for advertising good/services and community updates).

Signage declined because of the other mediums available. People weren't putting as much into their storefront sign because there were so many other outlets for communication and advertising options. The 21st century has changed a lot of that and on-premise advertising/outreach is, once again, more important than ever.

Think about your daily communication and where a majority of people go for info. They likely turn to their smartphone for news and updates. More people are declining cable packages and upping their internet connections to access Hulu, NetFlix, and other online entertainment services. newspaper is in a constant tailspin and many of the larger agencies are selling off their assets (resulting in fewer options for print media and higher ad cost). Profit and non-profit organizations are looking for ways to recapture the community's attention and Digital Signage is one of the best means to do this.

A digital Sign (LED Sign outside of an organization or strategically placed interior LCD/other displays) gets immediate attention from the community around a client's location. Schools, towns, and churches see the importance of the medium and are part of the fastest growing segment for LED Signs and interior digital wayfinding/signage systems. C-Stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses are purchasing more LED Signs than before as they effectively communicate  the goods and services available to the community. LED Sign systems are also picking up services from FEMA and other national organizations so the displays can be used in emergencies to get safety information to the public expediently.

Digital signage is so much more than a return on investment for an organization - it's a return to effective communication for the masses and a tool to help bring communities closer together. When the real potential of a DS system is realized, it's amazing what can be accomplished. DS is much more than a pretty picture... it can be a lifeline for a business and community. I'd rather see a great LED Sign effectively communicating a business' goods and services and helping the organization thrive than people holding the "flip signs" for a going out of business sale.

Please comment here or send questions or requests for information to 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 noted.attitudes, thoughts, etc. unless specifically noted.

Digital Signage Need To Know: Helping Non-Profits Purchase LED Signs

Every retail sign company, whether they have one storefront or a thousand, have customers whose need for an outdoor messaging sign is larger than their allotted funds. Many of these customers are non-profit organizations such as churches, civic groups, or community-focused clubs. They need to be able to share their message, reach their congregations, and promote their events and services, many times without the bank account to “make it happen”.

Until now, many have relied upon donations, bake sales, car washes and raffles to raise funds,  but no longer! The days of volunteers counting nickels and dimes on the home kitchen table are finally over.

Crowdfunding, also called crowd-financing or crowd-sourcing, is the collective effort of individuals who network and pledge their money, using the Internet, to financially support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. In the case of SignVine™, they are specialized in raising funds for important changeable messaging signage, such as LED or reader board, for deserving non-profit organizations within the community.

Paul Martin, Project Director, and Mike Prongue, SignVine™ Campaign Director, provided feedback regarding the SignVine™ launch and the mission of the website.

“This Internet crowdfunding phenom has existed for about 15 years,” stated Mike Prongue, “We’re just the first to adapt it to charitable fundraising to provide outdoor message signs for deserving nonprofit organizations.”

A church, for example, needs a LED display to replace their old  monument sign. A church representative would enroll on SignVine.org and initiate an electronic fund-raising campaign to capture donations by supplying details about themselves and their outdoor messaging sign requirements. The church then works closely with a local sign company, part of the SignVine™ Builder network, to define the costs and technical requirements of the project.

“Our sign company partner will provide a quote,” Prongue said, “And that dollar figure will be the target for the campaign."

The specifications for their sign project are entered into their online profile, a financial fundraising goal is set and the campaign begins. The church promotes the SignVine™ website which provides visibility to the donation campaign locally, on social media, and other venues to raise the required money. Monies are pledged by interested parties and their fundraising goal is met and their sign project becomes a reality.   

“Using the SignVine™ website and by providing a little bit of information, a church or club can make it’s wishes come true by accessing its greatest resource- it’s people,” Prongue said, “Once they connect to people and tell their story, electronically or otherwise, people rise to the occasion and support them with donations.”

“Contributors are motivated by more than just altruism,” Prongue said, “Each donation level has a reward associated with it. It could something like a commemorative e-medallion or a T-shirt or a more substantial gift at higher donation levels- that’s pretty cool!”

SignVine™ will provide donors many “thank you” rewards from a “Golden Shovel” to the previously mentioned online medallions for proud displaying on the donor’s Website. The non-profit organization enriches the SignVine™ rewards with their own offerings to say “thank you” to every donor.

“We want to have fun with this,” Paul Martin, Director of Marketing for SignVine, Inc. commented, “ We employ a ‘Garden’ theme, and state that we’re ‘growing’ a sign. The campaign coordinator for the non-profit is a Gardener and all contributors are “Viners”.

“Also, we will work with individuals and companies who are benefactors contributing money and services to promote the success of our overall efforts,” Martin  said, “We call these people or groups ‘Patrons’.”

The first Patron that has pledged to support every campaign is Spectacular Media, an Austin, Texas based digital signage cloudware company - pledging a Copper-level content creation subscription of their SM Infinity™ cloud-based software residing on the internet, allowing their clients to securely login from any PC or MAC connected to the internet and request content for their display. Spectacular Media will provide free Copper Level service to any LED sign purchased through the SignVine™ donation campaign. This means free professionally produced content to the non-profit. You can review the Spectacular Media™ company at their website- www.spectacularmedia.com.

The SignVine Website and campaign efforts will debut in March 2014 but several non-profits organizations have volunteered for early beta-testing and are currently working with SignVine™ to refine financial collection systems and procedures.

"We’re excited to launch this SignVine™ service,” Martin declared, “It’s an efficient and easy system for deserving community organizations and we feel it’ll be a fantastic solution for them.”

For additional information on outdoor messaging  sign campaigns currently being funded, or for more information on SignVine please visit their Website at www.signvine.org.

These comments are my personal perspective and do not reflect the opinion of Vantage LED, Inc. or SignVine, Inc. or any other person or organization. If you have constructive feedback please email me at michael@signvine.org. 

- Mike Prongue