- Germán Talón, chief product officer at nsign.tv
One aspect of digital signage always seems to spark debate and discussion within corporations: who are the primary users of digital signage systems – IT or marketing? This stems from the nature of digital signage, which displays content to an audience in physical spaces using various hardware. These hardware devices require installation involving physical elements, networked configurations, anti-theft security measures, protection against cyberattacks, and ongoing maintenance – all aspects that typically fall under the domain of IT teams and are outside the scope of marketing.
Designing with tech teams in mind
Moreover, many digital signage platforms are designed primarily with technical teams in mind, rather than focusing on those responsible for content management. Consequently, the system tends to revolve around technology rather than content. Consequently, it’s often the IT team that ends up handling content publishing and programming for digital signage systems. Following this logic, one could argue that marketing and communication departments should also send content from other content management systems (CMS) for web or social media to the IT department for publication.
However, IT directors often push back, emphasising that content management falls outside their purview. Therefore, heads of marketing and communication departments must acknowledge their ultimate responsibility for these platforms and recognise that just as they publish content on webpages, they can do the same on displays visible in physical locations.
A burden for everyone and a benefit for no one
As digital signage systems evolve, and offer increasingly sophisticated tools – such as audience analysis by gender, age and viewing time – relying solely on the IT department for content management becomes burdensome for all involved and provides little benefit. Therefore, it’s more strategic for marketing officers or teams responsible for web publishing, e-commerce, loyalty apps, or social media to also manage content publication in physical locations. This approach streamlines content publication, reduces reliance on other departments, and ensures more coherent communication across all channels.
Digital signage enables seamless publication of the same content across various channels, from advertising networks and social media to banners on webpages and displays in physical stores, accompanying customers throughout their entire journey.
A publishing tool like any other
Digital signage systems should be treated like any other tool for publishing online content, supporting similar audiovisual formats, resolutions, and measurement of effectiveness. Therefore, the IT department should focus on maintaining the infrastructure while marketing and communication departments concentrate on content creation, campaign publication, and effectiveness analysis.
While the boundary between responsibilities is clearer, digital signage manufacturers mustn’t overlook the challenge of developing robust, agile and reliable solutions from both IT and marketing perspectives. Solutions should cater to the diverse range of digital signage system users, ensuring a seamless and effective user experience for all involved.
