The use of digital signage content is still evolving. Even though DOOH technology has been used in various industries for years, operators have yet to fully grasp the potential of their creatives. I have walked by plasma displays in many environments and wondered what would possess the venue owners to loop the segments I'm watching. Images are jumbled; the audio is oppressive; there's no call to action. Meanwhile, I suspect the network operators are unable to explain to their managers why the screens are failing to perform to expectations.



There are dozens of elements that can transform good creatives to great ones and fair creatives to catastrophes. In this article, we'll focus on the impact a venue can have upon the effectiveness of your content. We'll explore a few of the factors that trigger action in shoppers within a retail environment and how traffic flow has an enormous influence.

What Triggers An Action?

Many stores depend on impulse purchases for a significant portion of their annual sales. If a retail venue has deployed a signage network in order to lift in-store sales, the segments that loop on each screen must be created to motivate immediate action. Once shoppers have drifted beyond your displays, they are unlikely to recall the creatives and take action later. Here's a critical point that network operators often ignore: the mode of your viewers plays a key role in whether they will take action. Their mode is dictated by the venue.

For example, suppose your network is deployed throughout a mall that contains 50 stores. Further suppose your screens are not deployed within individual stores; they are only deployed in the walking areas. In this case, shoppers tend to be in passing-by mode. They're unlikely to dwell around your displays. In order for your signage content to trigger a response, it needs to be simple. On the other hand, if a venue is designed for people to linger (for example, a coffee shop), your creatives can be more complex because viewer dwell-time is higher.

Understanding Traffic Flow Around Your Displays

Viewer dwell-time leads naturally into exploring the traffic flow around your DOOH displays. And that, again, depends largely on the venue in which you're deploying your signage network. Consider grocery stores. Even though most people are there to pick up items they need, they'll normally browse around to see whether something else catches their attention. Traffic flow is relatively slow. Dwell-time is high and as a result, your content can be relatively complex.

Now, consider train stations. People who visit that type of venue are there to catch their connections. Nothing more. If fact, many visitors try to arrive at the last moment possible. In this case, dwell-time around your screens will be minimal. If you want to motivate a response, your creatives need to be simple and direct.

Traffic flow - and by extension, viewer dwell-time - has an enormous impact on the effectiveness of your digital signage content. Traffic flow at a restaurant will be different than a train station. Both will be different than a mall.

Solutions To Consider

With concepts like viewer dwell-time, traffic flow, and shopper mode in mind, what type of content is appropriate for your digital signage network? That depends on your objectives and the venue in which your network is deployed. The past few years have seen a number of companies step forward to fill the void. Today, you can fill the space between your creative segments with financial news, sports, and weather and traffic feeds. It's worth emphasizing that those solutions are merely to fill space.

Unless you're streaming loops from advertisers, you'll need to either develop your content in-house or approach an ad agency. As to whether your creatives are effective, we'll explore some of the metrics you need to follow in a future article.