Digital signage can stand out from the crowd

As businesses realise the benefits digital signage offers over traditional, static forms of advertising, screens are proliferating in stores across the nation, including shopping centres. But before installing digital signage in shopping centres, users must be aware of the unique challenges posed by the environment.

The Challenges

To be effective, digital signage must be seen.

A shopping centre filled with people, stores, music and other signage, is a difficult environment for advertising media, and it can be hard for digital signage to stand out.

The digital signage needs to break through this clutter by size or content or location to get noticed.

When venturing into uncertain territory, a natural inclination is to fall back onto established traditions. While operators might be tempted to go with traditional advertising paradigms when placing advertisements on shopping centre digital signage, this is not always the best solution. Commercials seen on the television are too long, not as effective on digital signage and not suitable for shoppers in a shopping centre. Shoppers are busy and distracted and usually will not stop to watch a full commercial. This form of advertising can be referred to as a ‘glance medium’.

The Solutions
Firstly, it is essential to determine where the highest traffic locations are in the shopping centre and place screens there. Areas with long-dwell time, such as food courts also present opportunities for digital signage. Keep in mind, when determining the locations, as some anchor stores have clauses in their contracts protecting their sight lines from any obstructions.

Create relevant, useful, fun and interesting content. Consumers need to be entertained, engaged and feel a sense of enjoyment during their shopping experience. Part of keeping the content relevant understands who is in the shopping centre at specific times. Who is in the shopping centre at what times?
- Older consumers shop in the morning
- Mum’s are the main demographic from midday onwards
- Children from late afternoon/early evening are the prominent demographic

The content needs to reflect this and the messages tailored to these different audiences.

The content should also appeal to the consumer’s mindset and focus on the shopping experience. Some may think it would be beneficial to inform customers about news and weather, this is not ideal for shopping centres. People are not interested in this information; they would rather be informed about bargains, special offers, sales and events within the shopping centre.

However, not all informational content should be prohibited. Announcements for shopping centre events, such as telling customers where Father Christmas can be found during the holiday season, are appropriate. Other tools, such as way-finders which allow customers to reach their destination more quickly are acceptable too.

Informational content can be integrated with mobile technology to further assist retailers. By allowing customers to engage with the signage via their mobile device and get directions to a store, individual retailers can find out how many customers are entering the shopping centre specifically looking to shop with them, as opposed to customers who just wander into the store because they already happen to be in the shopping centre.

Interactivity can be used to create an experience that is also fun for customers.

When deployed with proper content strategy and screen placement, digital signage in shopping centres creates a win-win situation.

Businesses attract more customers, customers are able to find stores more easily, shopping centres are able to provide another source of entertainment and information to the customers and businesses can keep on track of who is specifically looking for their stores.

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