In a recent article, we discussed whether your digital signage viewers should be considered a captive audience. To sum that article up, it's dangerous to lump every person who sees your displays into a single category. People patronize various venues for a number of different reasons; treating each person similarly is a surefire way to dilute your message.

Having said that, the dynamic within specific venues varies. The people who visit a hospital tend to behave differently when presented with out-of-home media than those who visit a retail store. To that end, it's worth taking a closer look at the role and effect of digital signage in different venues. In this article, I'll describe how a "typical" audience behaves in restaurants, retail shops, healthcare facilities, and transit venues.

Restaurants, Cafes, And Other Eateries

Restaurants need to be categorized by type because they tend to attract very different crowds. On the one hand, there are quick-service restaurants. The patrons who visit are diverse with regard to demographics, but typically have a limited range of consumption needs. They tend to be more receptive to digital signage and in many cases, will prefer to interact with the displays (for example, playing on-screen games).

On the other hand, those who visit upscale restaurants are typically less receptive to out-of-home media. They too, are demographically diverse, but are often patronizing these places because they enjoy the ambiance, which glaring video can infringe upon. It's not uncommon for these patrons to relocate to another table or booth to get away from the displays.

Retail Shops

You might think that the people who visit malls and other retails shops would be naturally inclined to watch promotional digital signage content. After all, they're there to shop. However, of all audiences, shoppers are one of the most difficult to attract. First, they're not sitting down as restaurant visitors are. They're on their feet and on the move to explore the aisles and sales. Second, retail venues tend to be optimized in order to facilitate shopping. That means your signage network is constantly trying to wrest shoppers' attention away from items that are designed to keep their attention. That's not easy.

Healthcare Facilities

Hospitals are unique with regard to their visitors' behavior to digital signage content. In most cases, every person who is there is relatively unfamiliar with their immediate surroundings. This is true whether a patient is waiting alone in a room for a doctor, or friends and family are sitting in the waiting area. Because of this lack of familiarity, eyes tend to rest on the displays. For network operators, this makes it relatively simple to get a promotional message across to viewers. While they cannot technically be considered a "captive" audience, they come closer to that label than the people who visit retail shops or upscale restaurants.

Airports And Other Transit Stations

If a person is waiting for a plane, train, or bus, it's tempting to think that person is a captive audience. There are two problems with this assumption. First, many of those who are waiting for transportation in these venues have brought along items to occupy their time (for example, a book or crossword puzzle). Second, there are very few similarities between the patrons. Airports and train stations attract businesspeople as well as college students. Each has different tastes, consumption needs, and interests. So, a venue that seems to draw people who are receptive to digital signage content is actually quite difficult to develop content for.

The takeaway here is that signage media has a different impact on viewers depending on the type of place in which a network has been installed. Much of the audience behavior I've described above will also vary within the same type of venue. For now, it's enough to realize that your content may need to work harder to grab and hold their attention.