Years ago it would have been impossible to think that the real world and the digital one would mix in a store, a restaurant or a shopping centre, even for informational, advertising or commercial purposes. Today, Digital Signage is just that. It is about reaching the consumer through their different senses, to inform them about a product that they are going to consume, or perhaps about a product that is on offer through different sensory mechanisms. So…
What is Digital Signage?
Digital signage (also called dynamic or multimedia signage or sensory marketing) is an advertising format based on the use of digital devices at the point of sale. Generally, these devices are located in stores, restaurants or simply in public places, and allow the company or advertiser to reach the target audience through the senses (via audio-visual, physical and sometimes even smell).
Digital Signage can be classified in different ways. Depending on the location, it is often classified between Indoor and Outdoor:
Indoor Digital Signage: is all the signage or digital tools used in interior spaces, whose purpose is to sell, inform, convince or seduce the visitor. It is often more invasive than outdoor signage, more direct, more effective, and usually cheaper.
Outdoor Digital Signage: is digital signage in outdoor spaces. It is normally used in spaces with a large influx of people. The main drawback is that this type of signage requires a greater investment than Indoor Digital Signage. However, the advantage is that it can have a greater impact on the target audience. Examples of this can be found in the main squares of each city (what a great example Times Square is!).
What are the advantages of Digital Signage?
- Novelty Effect: To this day, Digital Signage is still considered a great novelty. Like anything new, it attracts attention powerfully, and the potential customer is immediately intrigued.
- Brand Impact: Advertising and the essence of s brand enter us through the eyes, the ears and smell, which causes a great impact and the memory of the brand is remembered more so. A multisensory experience is not so easily forgotten.
- Improve the Experience: The customer can interact and participate actively, as well as enjoy or be entertained. Think of long lines in a store much improved while watching content on a screen or listening to music.
- Increase sales: various studies have shown that sales increase when using digital signage or digital billboard systems. It is therefore a feasible for companies to recoup investment in this type of audiovisual or sensory systems.
A way to conquer your senses
The advancement of science and technology is unstoppable, as well as the ways to convince a potential consumer at the point of sale. Normally, when talking about Digital Signage, it refers to digital billboards, however the tools are much larger and more powerful:
- The world of touch: Interacting through touch screens at the point of sale, in order to complete purchases or make virtual queues, is one of the latest innovations. This encourages and involves the user in the purchase process, and increases sales ratios.
- The aromatic world: Major global brands leave nothing to chance. The aroma of a brand creates its own olfactory identity. What does a Zara store smell like? What do Abercrombie & Fitch stores smell like? Large amounts of money have been spent researching and implementing corporate scents. Analyse their aromas next time you enter these types of stores. A new world for your senses.
- Music: A great ally to increase sales, with which we are very familiar at Free Music Projects, as we are experts in this … Clear examples of how the background music influences sales can be found in fashion chain stores. In some of them we see young people shopping while moving to the rhythm of the In-Store music.
Digital Signage and Music
At Free Music Projects, we have been working since 2012 on setting up musical Playlists for all types of businesses: hotels, restaurants, retail …
Each brand or company has specific needs and a brand image that makes them different from the others. Precisely for this reason, they must sound different from the others and extend their personality through music.
From our own experience, we can say that selecting music for brands is an art, in which we have many years experience and of which we are deeply proud, because it is a wonderful responsibility. Furthermore, by working with royalty-free music, we also have the opportunity to meet artists outside the commercial scene, meeting impressive independent artists from all over the world.
The next time you enter a store, take the test: breathe, listen, observe… Nothing you perceive is there by chance, absolutely everything is thought-out in detail. Welcome to Digital Signage.