Digital Signage Market Explodes as Companies Scramble to keep Employees Engaged

Sept 6, 2009 by Mark Allen 
  
Digital signage is replacing cork and thumb tack boards all over America, as Companies scramble to keep employees “in the loop” during these challenging economic times.  According to ABI research, this hotly growing market is expected to grow by one third in 2009. 

While it is more vital than ever to keep employees engaged, it is also critical not to focus on “aimless engagement” efforts.  Your training, communication and organizational initiatives should focus directly on your own most vivid strategic priorities, rather than using “off-the-shelf” engagement solutions.  The following will help you evaluate options for workplace digital signage that creates maximum impact within your facility.  With good planning, you’ll create a system which assures return on business investment, both immediately and over the next 3-5 years, as digital signage evolves.

Before you get started, consider these ten questions:

Questions about Content

1.  What is the main outcome you want to achieve?  How will you rate your return on investment?  (ie,improved safety, morale, productivity, participation, etc)
2.  How many departments will be allowed to help create content?  Will this job go to one person?  Or is it a priority to involve input from Operations, Marketing, Safety, Human Resources simultaneously? 
3.  If you pick one department to manage the system, how will you be sure they secure participation from other departments to help communicate with your work force?
4.  If you pick multiple departments to be responsible for input, how will you keep everyone trained and involved over time, as managers hire in and out of their positions?
5.  If you use content from an outside content provider, how can you be sure it will be appropriate for your industry?  How will you control the quantity and quality of programming?

Questions about Display Hardware

1.  Where will you locate your new system(s)?
2.  How will signal be delivered between you, media player and displays?  IP, LAN, Coax, VGA, Cellular Digital?
3.  If you choose a central player, then “push” signal through boosters and extenders to multiple displays, can you afford blank screen on all the units at once, if entire system goes down temporarily?  If not, consider the  use of one media player per screen as the most dependable method of signal distribution.
4.  If you will have multiple displays, who will be committed to learning the technologies for installation?  Maintaining integrity of the zones you set up?  Set up RSS feeds? Content Scheduling? Live video? Media players? Boosters? Extenders? Ongoing maintenance? 
5. If you have the system built in-house, how confident can you be that the same individuals will be around later for technical issues? … to maintain or perform repairs in 6 months, 36 months or longer? 

Of course you could go to Best Buy and purchase a retail grade Display (Est $800) and Bracket (Est 299) , then place a computer (Est $500) nearby to run the screen through the VGA port.  Keep in mind that these $800 screens are NOT meant to run 7 days a week/24 hours a day. Because of that, maintenance will be an issue. You will also be on your own for content management.  Of the home grown systems I’ve come accross in the field, most have a dedicated computer with PowerPoint running them.  In the case of one HR manager at McLane Food Service in Tracy, CA, “Our people got sick of seeing the same thing over and over, and the screens are dark right now”.

Option 1:  Go to a leading provider of professional A/V equipment, such as  Blackbox,  Minicom Digital Signage, Corn Digital or Industry Weapon.  You will be able to save money by purchasing the equipment direct, while taking advantage of their phone support for general questions about networking. As a way to get around hassles of corporate networks, you can go with cellular digital.  Partly for that reason, one industry leader in Digital Signage, Mediatile, is known for installing digital cellular in all of their equipment.

If your IT department has time and resources, they will be able to install a high quality system with all the flexibility needed to reach an audience spread out over many buildings or even many areas of the country.  Now what about programming that truly engages your work force with YOUR priorities?  Read on!

Option 2:  Go to an A/V integrator who will help keep you out of trouble on your installation, making sure you end up with a reliable hardware system and peace of mind with ongoing technical support.  (Compview, Corn Digital)  

But here is where careful advanced planning on content management will make or break the success of your Digital Signage.  In addition to hardware, your A/V integrator may provide software that allows online creation and scheduling of Flash graphics, bundled content, etc… ( Dynasign, Symon, Scala, Helius), these programs tend to work better for software, graphics or marketing departments.  How about your typical Management executive, Operations Mgr, HR Mgr, Safety Manger, etc??  Only one in ten may have the time to dedicate to it and certainly you should never expect multiple departments to keep up with communicating faithfully to your work force in this way. 

For content management software only, here are some other options to consider  (Carousel, Advanced Method)

Option 3:  A Workplace Communications Vendor will offer an all-in-one hardware solution, including installation of display and media player.  (The Marlin Company, Clement Communications) Since these systems are created specifically for workplace environments, you will have confidence that the screens and media player are industrial grade and designed with flexibility to handle your signal delivery preferences, such as IP, Network Cable, Digital Cellular,etc.  And, they will come with assurance that if signal goes down, a simple phone call will either get you back up or new equipment shipped to you immediately. 

In some instances it may be best to purchase your hardware installation from one source (suggested for installations over 10 units) and purchase your content management from another source.  Be sure to consult with a pro first.  I met with a University in San Francisco who had gotten excited about digital signage, and in a rush purchased a variety of boosters and repeaters to run signal varying distances only to find that method could not distribute content the way they originally thought.  They ended up having to start all over and distribute their signal using another method.

Many A/V and Software development companies are entering the market place claiming to have Content Management solutions for workplace communications. However, be sure your Digital Signage Solution allows your managers to keep doing what they do best, rather than spending their time trying to be graphic designers and computer programmers. 

Before you invest, ask if your Digital Content Management system does this:

1.  Connection through Digital Cellular?
2.  Continuous offline playing while internet is down?
3.  Provide daily animated hot topics featuring your industry issues?  (Safety, Quality, Productivity, etc)
4.  Includes work culture assessment and feedback tools?
5.  Web based portal for creating, editing and scheduling content?
6.  Unlimited number of Administrative Users?
7.  ABSOLUTE EASE of use for sending content to one location or unlimited zones?
8.  Scheduling of flash, jpeg, PowerPoint shows, movie/audio files, web pages?
9.  Comes with built in news feed?
10. Comes with easy to program rolling marquis?
11.  Online training tutorial?
12.  Local training and support?
13.  Free monthly Webinar offering advanced training to your newer users?

This page mentions various vendors based on contact I’ve had in one form or another.  It is not intended to be a complete list.  If you know of related services who deserve a mention, please feel free to leave contact info in comments section.

(Mark Allen, of The Marlin Company,  is your Workplace Communications Expert, located in Northern California. Sign up HERE to receive updates from this blog site each time  Workplace Communication issues are being discussed.)

Popularity: 100% [?]

September 7, 2009  Tags: clement, content management, cork and thumbtack board, digital signage, digital signage content, display hardware, employees engaged, keep employees in the loop, mark allen, scala, the marlin company  Posted in: Communication

• « Previous post
• Next post »

• If you'd like updates sent to you by email just enter your address below. You can cancel any time. Enter your email address:

• 


Proof: You can improve employee performance and productivity in all categories Patent Granted to The Marlin Company for Workplace Digital Signage Product Workplace Rewards August Idea Bulletin Recognize & Reward to make a difference in the workplace Workplace Rewards Idea Bulletin: Month of July Panel of Experts 32 comment(s) | 777 view(s) Making the workplace a BETTER place: Improves performance and productivity. (How you can help) 6 comment(s) | 389 view(s) Digital Signage Market Explodes as Companies Scramble to keep Employees Engaged 4 comment(s) | 1611 view(s) Surprising detail revealed in the "2010 Digital Signage Future Trends" Webinar 3 comment(s) | 779 view(s) Mobile Marketing 2 comment(s) | 284 view(s)

September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009

• 

• REWARDING ACTIVITIES Reactivities provides rewarding experiences for individuals, corporate meetings, special needs activities, retreats, reunions and more. Her capable team handles all facets of the event. More...

  
  

  
  

  WORKPLACE COMMUNICATIONS. During economic crisis it is critical for managers to keep employees absolutely focused on profit impacting issues. We make that easy using large digital and print displays broadcasting targeted workplace messages around the workplace 24 hours a day. More...

  
  

  
  

  AWARDS EXPERTS Brand:creative adds WOW factor to any promotion with personalized gifts, employee recognition programs, safety promotions, incentive give-aways Their database of over 300,000 products will help you quickly and easily find solutions for any promotional need. More...

  
  

  
  

  BENCHMARKING EXPERT Workplace Stars provides survey tools to measure human capital. By providing you with easy to use polls, then document results, measure and create goals for improvement, significant positive changes in culture will occur. More...