How Different Industries Use Digital Signage

How Does Your Industry Use Digital Signage?

Digital signage is everywhere, from roadside billboards and touchscreen kiosks to ticker tape LEDs, and in-room televisions that display the weather. We see it everywhere and utilized in a number of ways.

Do you want to modernize your facility and you are wondering if this could be the best solution?

Are you looking to enhance communications and/or the customer experience in your facility or on your campus? Have you seen digital signage in other places and are wondering how you might use it?

Well, you are in the right place. We are going to show you ways various organizations and industries use digital signage and the benefits it can bring.

 

How Digital Signage Works

Before we explore the ways to use it, it is important to understand how it works.  Depending on the type of digital signage, the setup, control, and functionality can work differently. For example, an interactive touchscreen wayfinding system with mobile interconnectivity will work differently than a digital sign with static content displayed. However, the basic principles apply to all digital signage.

 

Here is how it works:

  • The digital signs are just tv or video screens.

  • The content displayed on screen is controlled through a device called a media player. This is a compact computer that can easily broadcast high-definition images, videos, and animations.

  • The content the media player is broadcasting to the screens is updated from a connected desktop or laptop. 

In simple terms, you can control everything that is displayed on the signs from your computer.

To utilize more complex features or enhanced functions, you will need to work with specialized digital signage software that allows you to get the desired function. For example, Navigo® digital directory signage allows you to add live news, traffic, and weather feeds, and mobile QR code scanning, and integrates with other technologies to view analytics, usage data, and a lot more.

The best way to understand how digital signage works for your specific use case is to get a demo. Getting a demo will give you firsthand experience with the various parts of a digital signage system. 

 

How Different Industries Use Digital Signage

Since 1999 we at ITS, Inc. have been developing digital solutions for buildings and it has been amazing to see the innovations for use cases as technology advances and as consumer behaviors change.

As you will see in a moment, digital signage provides incredibly unique solutions to challenges in various industries. Seeing the possibilities below may just help you solve the challenges you are experiencing.

Let’s dive into some other different ways to use digital signage. 

 

Digital Signage Applications for Corporations and Offices

Companies of all sizes are using digital signage to welcome visitors and connect employees across their organizations. Unlike static posters and signs, digital signs can be updated on the fly and rotated as often as you wish to keep your employees informed, engaged, and on the same page. Corporations are using digital signs to spotlight achievements, convey essential information and announcements, display real-time business intelligence data, and reinforce their histories and brands.

digital signage for offices

Inside a corporate office, you will see digital signage used in a variety of ways:

  • Announcing upcoming events

  • Visually display KPI

  • Share menus

  • Provide entertainment in lounges and waiting areas

  • Honor birthdays and employee anniversaries

  • Track progress toward significant goals

  • Make emergency announcements

  • Share local, relevant traffic, news and weather reports

  • Showcase new products

  • Honor achievements in a big way

  • Help visitors navigate facilities

 

Digital Signage Uses for Education

With their sprawling campuses, high visitor traffic, and extensive communication needs, educational institutions are at the forefront of digital signage. Digital signs connect students, staff, and visitors seamlessly across locations, providing better user experiences, promoting safety, uniting the school, and disseminating important information. And they capture the attention of today’s tech-savvy generation.

 

Digital signage-connected campuses are informative and engaging. They have a strong identity and a dynamic means of spreading school spirit. And they convey a high-tech, progressive vibe that today’s students are looking for when shopping for a school.

 

Below are ways schools and campuses are using digital signage:

  • Publishing menus

  • Sharing calendars and schedules

  • Promoting events

  • Making critical announcements

  • Providing sports scores and rankings in real-time

  • Generating revenue through campus-approved advertising

  • Thanking donors

  • Recognizing student achievements

  • Broadcasting ceremonies and speeches

  • Helping new visitors navigate the campus

  • Promoting bookstores, cafes, and other on-site venues and amenities

 

Digital Signage Applications for Healthcare Facilities

With their extensive facilities, large, mobile staffs, high visitor traffic and critical communication needs, healthcare providers are enjoying tremendous benefits from digital signage. They can help streamline important communications and simplify navigating the maze of hallways, departments, and campus grounds.

Connected patients are more comfortable and confident, more relaxed while waiting, and better informed. They make better use of your facilities and have better experiences. Connected staff are also better informed, engaged, and up to date.

digital signs in hospital

From immersive multi-floor, multi-building hospital maps to promoting hospital services, digital signage can be used in a number of both simple and more complex ways, including:

  • Providing entertainment in waiting areas, patient rooms, and gathering places

  • Helping visitors find their way around

  • Providing educational programming

  • Promoting virtual patient services and information

  • Recognizing donors

  • Communicating important information to staff and visitors

  • Making emergency announcements

  • Spotlighting patient stories and staff achievements

  • Providing weather and other local news in real-time

  • Publishing food menus

  • Displaying wait times and appointment availability

  • Promoting on-site amenities 

 

Digital Signage Solutions for Hospitality

For hotels, conference centers and other travel destinations, providing great visitor experiences is not just nice to do—it is at the very heart of your mission. When visitors miss critical information or cannot find their way around, you lose business. Connected guests enjoy better experiences, use more of your facilities, and buy and spend more on amenities and services.

 

These are a number of ways the hospitality industry can and should use digital signage.

  • Provide responsive maps and other important navigation assistance

  • Promote on-site amenities and local vendors and venues

  • Post menus, specials and restaurant hours

  • Generate revenue from advertisers

  • Share weather, local news and other live content

  • Connect guests with transportation and other local services

  • Publish event schedules and daily events

  • Post check-in and check-out times and other guest announcements

 

Digital Signage Solutions for Retail Establishments

Today’s shoppers are always connected. To get them to buy, you need to connect with them on many levels. Unlike printed fliers and signs, digital signs reach out and engage shoppers with real-time messages in a format they can’t ignore. Connected shoppers buy more, explore more of your retail facilities and enjoy better experiences, encouraging repeat visits.

Here are some common ways retailers use digital signage:

  • Capture attention with video walls and other immersive displays

  • Provide real-time inventory and pricing

  • Advertise specials, upsell and cross-sell

  • Direct viewers to interactive content through QR codes

  • Communicate important messages to staff

  • Share store hours and announcements

  • Promote on-site services and amenities

  • Provide menus for in-store cafes

  • Provide interactive kiosks for store information, language translation, or other web-based applications

  • Provide wayfinding for visitors needing directions on-site

  • Generate revenue by selling ad space

  • Make emergency announcements

digital signs for retail stores

 

Uses of Digital Signage for Restaurants

Restaurants are connecting with restaurants in innovative ways, streamlining routine tasks like communicating specials, offering a touchless menu option, and placing orders. The result is better workflows and more enjoyable guest experiences. Quick-service and full-service restaurants alike are revolutionizing their processes with digital signage.

Connected guests are relaxed, informed and entertained throughout the dining experience. And connected restaurants provide better service with less work.

From self-service kiosks or digital menus, there is a variety of ways a restaurant can use digital signage, including:

  • Providing dynamic drive-thru displays

  • Advertising pricing and specials

  • Updating menus and offerings with less effort

  • Allowing table-side ordering

  • Up-selling and cross-selling

  • Providing video walls, table-side TVs and other immersive entertainment

  • Linking ordering, stockroom and food preparation areas

  • Communicating critical information to backroom staff

  • Providing weather, news alerts, and other real-time local information

  • Generating revenue by selling advertising space to local partners

 

How Transportation Authorities Use Digital Signage

Digital signs have transformed the travel experience for guests and transportation providers alike. Airports and public transportation authorities are using digital signage to direct customers, communicate schedules, and other important information, and generate advertising revenues to offset operating costs.

Connected travelers find what they need faster, require less staff assistance, take advantage of more on-site amenities and are more prepared for travel, creating a better experience for staff, commuters, and travelers alike.

Here are some ways transportation authorities can use digital signage to improve the experience for their travelers:

  • Posting arrivals, departures and other schedule information

  • Providing weather updates and other local information

  • Offering touch screen kiosks for ticketing, navigation and more

  • Helping travelers find their way through facilities

  • Communicating important announcements including emergency notices

  • Connecting employees across distant work areas

  • Providing entertainment in waiting areas and lounges

  • Promoting services and on-site amenities

  • Connecting travelers with travel options and other local services

  • Generating revenue by providing ad space for suppliers

 

Digital Signage Solutions for Small Businesses

Digital signage can be as simple as a single welcome screen or kiosk. Small businesses are using digital signs to welcome visitors, connect staff across separate work areas, and communicate important information. Connected business makes a big impression on clients, visitors, and employees.

There are a number of things small businesses can use digital signs for. Here are a few:

  • Make daily announcements

  • Share accomplishments

  • Publish calendars, schedules and assignments

  • Welcome visitors

  • Promote special events

  • Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and achievements

  • Share weather and other local information

  • Provide entertainment in waiting areas and lounges

  • Publish menus for dining facilities

  • Help visitors navigate facilities

  • Post emergency notices

 

Enhance The Visitor Experience of Entertainment Venues with Digital Signage

Signs for entertainment venues should be as exciting as they are functional. Digital signage enhances the overall visitor experience at theaters, amusement parks, sports venues, concert halls, zoos, museums, parks, shopping centers, and more. 

 

Not knowing where to go, or what to do can turn a fun experience into a frustrating one. By enhancing the overall visitor experience, guests will be happier, more engaged and more likely to return. 

 

Every entertainment venue should utilize digital signs. Here are a few ways they can use them to improve the visitor experience:

  • Help visitors navigate on-site with step-by-step wayfinding

  • Provide schedules, announcements and other important information

  • Serve as virtual concierges, guiding visitors to local information and services

  • Post event schedules

  • Promote on-site amenities

  • Communicate simultaneously with staff across distant locations

  • Publish menus

  • Provide touch screen kiosks for ticketing, wayfinding and more

  • Provide entertainment in waiting areas and lounges

  • Communicate important information

  • Provide scores, stats, and other data in real time

  • Make emergency announcements instantly

  • Broadcast events and shows over a campus

  • Enhance shows with video walls and other large screen displays

  • Provide direction in parking areas

 

How Financial Institutions Use Digital Signage

Financial institutions are using digital signs to connect with customers and provide accurate, up-to-date information. Whether it is a video wall and LED tickers for a trading floor or a kiosk in a bank, providing accurate, current information is critical whenever money is involved. 

 

Here are some common ways financial institutions are using digital signage:

  • Share real-time data such as interest rates, stock prices, and more

  • Help and manage visitors find what they’re looking for

  • Connect staff across distant locations

  • Provide entertainment in lobbies and waiting areas

  • Make important announcements

  • Provide weather updates and local news

  • Using kiosks for service automation and personalized information

 

Digital Signage Uses for Churches and Places of Worship

Churches are all about connecting people, and digital signage can make that easier. Whether you’re a small church that wants to provide a welcoming, engaging environment or a large church trying to connect hundreds of guests each week, digital signage can help you engage with guests and regular attenders. 

 

From communicating, to managing ministries and enhancing the overall worship experience, digital signs can help in a number of ways, including:

  • Welcoming new visitors

  • Providing touch screen kiosks for sign-in and childcare

  • Broadcasting services over multiple campuses and locations

  • Helping visitors find their way

  • Making announcements

  • Publishing schedules and events

  • Posting menus

  • Sharing weather and other local information

 

Digital Signage for Energy and Utility

Mission-critical, real-time data visualization is essential to utility providers. Screens that display and relay data from various sources allow for fast response to major events. Flexible solutions that allow a provider to change the digital signs when certain conditions occur like “Dark Sky Days” make an operator’s information workload much more efficient.

 

Whether it is emergency notices or everyday communications, energy and utility companies can use digital signs in a variety of ways.

  • Adaptable video walls

  • Trigger content changes for fast-response scenarios

  • Arrange data from multiple sources for easy understanding

  • Engage staff with better communications

  • Emphasize safety with high-impact multimedia content

  • Recognized important milestones and achievements

  • Share weather and other local information

  • Post emergency notices

 

Whether you’re a consumer-focused business or a company serving enterprise needs, digital signage is a tool for boosting communication, engagement, and productivity.

 

Benefits of Digital of Using Signage

Digital signage is more than a modern way to display static communications. It can be used as a dynamic tool that allows for better customer interaction, visitor experience, and displaying communications in a more engaging way.

 

Industries of all shapes and sizes are utilizing this technology in so many ways because of the benefits it delivers.

 

You’ve seen in the previous section what digital signage can be used for. Now let’s explore a few of the benefits it can bring.  

 

Digital Signs Amplify Brand Image

Your signage reflects your brand. Digital signage is an indicator that your brand is forward-thinking and focused on high-value results. By transitioning to digital solutions, you can elevate or maintain your brand image and preserve your brand equity with consumers, and employees, alike.

 

Your signage is a direct reflection of how your brand chooses to present itself. Opting for digital signs affects the messaging image, look, and feel of this marketing content, which in turn, benefits your brand.

 

Further, the messages and content you display on your signs is more dynamic and engaging. By incorporating movement, powerful imagery, and color-correct graphics, your brand can be displayed very professionally.

 

Improved Communication and Coordination

Whether your digital signs are customer-facing or employee-facing, they provide a valuable service in facilitating communication. Whether the content of your digital signage relates to sales, promotions, store navigation, workplace reminders, or other information, these displays make it possible to relay information to a large, mobile group of people, giving them the information, they need in the locations they need it.

 

By supporting communication within your business, you’re able to better coordinate activities in the organization. This can lead to improved workplace morale and greater productivity.

 

And with digital signage, you can take advantage of more real estate, in a dynamic environment. That just is not the case in a static print environment, where a multitude of messages were, at times, crammed onto one size-limited display.

 

Centralized Control Keeps Messaging Consistent

Brand messaging must be consistent. This means coordination not only between digital signage, but also between sign displays and other marketing content. A marketing manager can manage signage with much greater ease through a cloud-based solution that offers centralized control, real-time editing, and instant display.

 

Simply put, when a sign needs to be changed, it’s done instantly online – whether that is from a corporate office, a home office, or beachside somewhere. Instead of running around manually swapping out sign content, you can synchronize or customize your content from the comfort of your internet-connected device.

 

Management Across Multiple Locations

For businesses operating multiple locations, managing consistency across these physical divides can be a headache. But with digital signs in place, a single manager can oversee all of the signage at every location, and can adjust the displays on certain locations to make sure every sign is displaying the same message. Or, you can deploy custom messages at each location to capture a local event.

 

With a single click of a mouse, one administrator can see and/or change the images and content displayed on digital signs in retail environments, corporate offices, and anywhere else these a digital signage system has been installed.

 

In summary, enhancing your brand image with dynamic digital content, deployed from a central location, ensures your brand not only appears forward-thinking, but is also consistent and accurate.

 

How Will You Use Digital Signage?

The use cases for digital signage has grown over the years. As you’ve seen from the above applications, digital signage is more than a digital form of static communication. It can improve the users’ experience, help visitors find their way, allow for emergency communications, provide virtual services on-demand, and so much more.

 

The purpose of this content isn’t to tell you how great digital signage technology is, but rather help you discover how digital signage can solve some of your unique challenges. 

 

What does your organization, facility, community, or campus need? Do you have a need for a unique communication solution? Is improving the visitor experience important to your bottom line? Would your business benefit from modernization?

 

Digital signage can help you overcome many communications, customer satisfaction and business challenges. The best part is that it is flexible and can be suited to meet your specific needs.

 

So, how will you use digital signage? Contact the experts at ITS, Inc. to explore the viable solutions available to meet your challenges. 

 

                                                                                                               

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