Tim Baker, Marketing Manager
https://signagelive.com/
The difficulty of creating content that resonates is still a major block to digital signage adoption, deterring end users from expanding their networks, or worse still, investing in one in the first place.
KDS Europe talks to Tim Baker, Marketing Manager for content management solutions company, Signagelive, and asks what can be done to simplify the process and democratise access to impactful content.
Still perceived by many as an unpredictable and risky business, content creation remains an industry-wide challenge, that is, to this day, turning customers off. The good news is, however, that there is now an unprecedented range of affordable cutting-edge tools that can help facilitate next-level content creation. Here are five of the top developments.
1/ AI-driven visual analytics platforms
The advent of affordable AI-driven content creation has already transformed the web design sector, and now looks set to do the same for the digital signage and kiosk industry. With one click, AI visual analytics platforms enable you to run intuitive-to-understand analyses, and see, at a glance, if your content is likely to be effective and have the intended impact.
The heat maps that are generated can signpost ways that designs could be improved, highlighting how a simple change to the layout, colour, or size of your text could strengthen – or even salvage content before it goes live.
Any team member can use AI visual analytics solutions, with or without design experience, and it can save hours of time on constant re-designs while speeding up approvals, based on reliable predictive data. This technology is a potential game-changer.
2/ Integrated programmatic advertising platforms
With integrated programmatic advertising platforms, such as Snapp Digital and HiveStack, the most effective CMS solutions are not only helping end users to supplement and strengthen their content but also to monetise their networks, straight off the bat.
Alleviating the pressure to create round-the-clock 24/7 content, programmatic advertising solutions automatically match end users with relevant, genuinely interested advertisers, whose advertising can enrich in-house developed content schedules.
With content management systems, it’s easy to manage, schedule and deliver third-party advertising, either as full-screen campaigns or alongside in-house content in multi-zone template designs. The availability of integrated asset playback analytics also enables end users to give advertisers valuable insights into campaign performances.
3/ Interactive digital signage experiences
Interactive digital signage experiences have modernised the High Street, giving brick-and-mortar stores and venues a new lease of life. While these experiences have traditionally been restricted to the high end of both the retail and hospitality markets, they are now becoming increasingly mainstream, thanks to the integration of sensor-driven technologies with CMS platforms.
These integrations can help turn simple showcases into personalised brand and product experiences. Customers only have to interact with, and lift a specific item on display for more product and/or brand information to be triggered and delivered straight onto a nearby big screen. The solution effectively offers some of the benefits of an unobtrusive personal shopping assistant, enabling retailers to streamline store operations and maximise sales opportunities, as and when they happen.
Through the on-screen display of relevant product information, they can automatically pre-empt customer enquiries, as well as tempt shoppers to trade up to a more highly specified model or even invest in accessories that complement the item.
4/ CMS external device control
Next-generation experiential retail campaigns are known for turning heads and boosting customer engagement, but they are often too costly, complicated and time-consuming to develop. This is set to change with the evolution of a new breed of CMS solution that can offer an all-in-one platform for content management, as well as simplified external device control.
Patented technologies can enable users to send commands within content files to trigger at any stage of the asset playback, everything from motorised screen movements to changes in the lighting. Offering more possibilities for those in retail and hospitality to set the scene and ambience, it’s another way to immerse customers in the world of the on-screen retail promotion, or brand experience.
5/ Back office content tools
Digital signage may be best known as a customer-facing promotional medium, but the reality is that it can actually be just as effective when used as a hub for back office operations. The CMS integration of a whole raft of office content tools, in addition to apps designed for B2C communications, means that it can do it all, and double up, after-hours, as an additional employee resource.
With data integrations, retail and hospitality chains as well as brands can now use their networks to crunch numbers and immerse employees in the sales targets and data they need. Highly sensitive company information can effectively be rolled out quickly, and securely shared at scale from any business intelligence platform.
CMS integrations of YouTube Live Stream and IBM Cloud also make it easy for organisations to train employees more efficiently. End users can live stream their training sessions, so only a single experienced trainer is needed to train multiple employees located across different branches.
Access to good design isn’t just fundamental to the success of digital signage content, but also, to the very growth of the sector. With the development of so many recent innovations for content creation, CMS providers, together with resellers, can now deliver unprecedented, game-changing support to help open up the market and realise its full potential.
