Over the years, out-of-home (OOH) campaigns have evolved from printed signage or billboards to getting more digital—DOOH. Digital signage has grown in popularity among businesses and it’s not just limited to primary use cases like QSR chains and retail stores. Time to explore how digital signage with MDM can be a winning combination.
What is Digital Signage?
Digital signage means utilizing electronic displays to showcase content such as information, messages, videos, or presentations. The content is pushed to the device over the air using mobile device management (MDM) solutions. With an MDM, digital signage can be configured and provisioned remotely.
Types of Digital Signage
Digital signage technology can vary in the form of devices, displays, and purposes. There are various types of digital signage solutions ranging from LCD, plasma, or modern LED derivatives like OLED, AMOLED, and QLED. They can be interactive, dynamic, or automated as well, while input methods are generally touchscreen type when devices serve interactive purposes like customer feedback or surveys. Devices could be kiosk-mode consoles, wayfinding standees, standalone TVs, mounted tablets, etc.
What is Digital Signage Software?
Digital signage technology includes digital signage software, a critical component in managing and delivering content to digital displays. This software streamlines the creation, scheduling, and distribution of multimedia content, ensuring it reaches the intended audience effectively. With advanced features, you can even stream live content directly to your displays, keeping your audience engaged with real-time updates. Digital signage software enables users to remotely control and update content across various displays, providing flexibility and scalability. Overall, digital signage solutions help in maximizing the impact and efficiency of digital signage technology in diverse applications.
How Does Digital Signage Work?
Ever thought about how digital signage works? Digital signage works by utilizing digital displays to showcase dynamic content, such as images, videos, and text. Through a combination of hardware, including screens and media players, and software, such as content management systems, users can create, schedule, and manage content remotely. This allows for targeted messaging and real-time updates, making digital signage an effective tool for communication and advertising in various settings, from retail stores and corporate offices to transportation hubs and public places.
Digital signage software supports multiple file formats like PNG, JPEG, JPG, GIF, and MP4 files for display on devices. In some cases, you might need to change the file format for readability. Content can be projections in the form of presentations and played in a loop without any manual intervention. Time intervals can be set for ads to run as screensavers. Landscape mode on devices also helps improve engagement. Businesses can use digital signage as screening devices or media players to stream live content as well. You can also integrate interactive content from third-party apps.
As digital signage runs on unattended devices, troubleshooting them proves to be a major challenge. However, with an MDM solution, active screens of devices are mirrored on the centralized MDM dashboard to gather real-time information, take screenshots, and sync files to resolve device issues or raise tickets. If you ever face difficulty regarding how to set up digital signage, an efficient solutions provider can surely come to your aid.
Benefits of Digital Signage Solutions in Business
Mobile devices, when used in kiosk mode, work as digital signage and have applications in various industries. It’s apt in high-footfall areas for either advertisement or information purposes.
Some applications in different industries are:
- Digital signage is useful in advertising or branding for any business. It makes use of interesting content and interactive digital signage to communicate with the audience for a long-lasting impression. In general, such signage is set up in malls, stores, restaurants, cafes, hotel lobbies, and waiting lounges.
- It can be used in retail stores to either advertise or display product information.
- It can be used at transport hubs like airports, railway stations, malls, and bus stations to display schedules, departures, and arrivals.
- It can be used to display temperature and pollution-related details at various locations in the city.
- Work as digital signs to display information in universities, schools, malls, and stadiums for wayfinding.
- Display manufacturing-related information on production floors.
- It can serve as digital menus or tariff cards for restaurants and hotels.
Examples of Digital Signage
The requirements of digital signage are distinct in various environments, serving diverse purposes and industries.
1. Retail Stores:
Digital displays are commonly used in retail stores to showcase promotions, advertisements, and product information. These displays can be strategically placed throughout the store to attract customers and drive sales.
2. Corporate Offices:
Corporate digital signage examples are used to showcase internal communication, company news, announcements, and upcoming events. They can also be used in reception areas to welcome visitors and provide directional information.
3. Transportation Hubs:
Airports, train stations, and bus terminals are common places to use digital signage devices for passenger information, displaying flight schedules, departure times, and wayfinding instructions.
4. Restaurants and Fast-food Chains:
Digital menu boards are usual in restaurants for easy updates to menu items, prices, and promotions. They can also enhance customer experience by showcasing mouthwatering food visuals.
5. Healthcare Facilities:
Hospitals and clinics use digital signage for patient communication, displaying appointment reminders, and health tips. They can also be used as digital directories for locating specific departments or offices.
6. Educational Institutions:
Schools, colleges, and universities utilize digital signage for campus communication, displaying announcements, event schedules, and emergency alerts. digital signage can also improve classroom learning through interactive displays and multimedia presentations.
Revolutionizing Digital Displays through Mobile Device Management (MDM)
MDM-managed digital signage can help businesses drive branding campaigns in a seamless manner. Let’s take a look at some of the maximizing MDM benefits for digital signage.
Content Management
Digital content needs to be pushed on unattended devices securely, and this is possible with an MDM solution that allows remote management of any form of content on devices. So, whatever industry it may be, a remote digital signage content management system saves IT admins from the hassle of reaching these devices individually to update or manage the content. It reduces the stress of visiting the device sites every time you need to change the content on the device.
Location Tracking
As digital signage functions as unattended kiosk devices, it’s extremely important for IT admins to track these devices for their safety and security. MDM not just locks devices to the kiosk mode, but also tracks them. It gives complete visibility of the device fleet using features like geofencing and GPS-based location tracking.
Remote Troubleshooting
Digital signage devices are set up in remote locations that IT admins can’t reach each time physically. In such cases, troubleshooting the devices can become a major challenge without MDM. IT admins can remotely cast and control the devices and mirror device screens to sync files and troubleshoot the issue through an MDM dashboard. This saves a lot of time and effort while digital signage runs uninterrupted, fulfilling the dedicated purpose.
Device Security
MDM offers several security features to ensure secure deployment of kiosk devices for various business use cases. The security features can be easily configured using a central, unified MDM dashboard. The security features cover network security policies, such as firewalls and VPNs, strong passcode policies, and data encryption policies, so that there is no scope for data leaks.
Continuous Monitoring
MDM analytics helps view and monitor remote devices for device health and usage. Detailed device-level reports can be obtained based on vitals like data usage, battery usage, device activity, and security breaches, if any. An MDM dashboard provides compliance violation details and helps in continuous monitoring of devices at a granular level.
Automation of Tasks
Routine IT tasks can be easily automated using an MDM dashboard. Automation of tasks includes pushing content and routine app updates, OS updates, switching devices on and off, pre-scheduling tasks, and device booting, to name a few. As the devices are located in remote locations, task automation simplifies workflows to get the best out of devices.
Last words…
Whatever the industry application, digital signage saves time and effort for businesses when used with an MDM. MDM centralizes device management and monitoring of digital signage without compromising on usage or security. Digital signage is extensively used in retail, hospitality, and healthcare, and its application will increase in the coming years as digitalization continues to spread.
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FAQs
1. What Does Digital Signage Mean for Your Business?
Digital signage for business enhances brand presence, engages customers, and streamlines internal communication. It conveys targeted messages, promotions, and company news, driving sales and fostering employee engagement. Embracing digital signage enables businesses to create immersive brand experiences and stay competitive in the modern market landscape.
2. What is Digital Signage Content?
Digital signage content refers to the visuals and information displayed on digital screens, such as images, videos, text, and interactive elements.
A digital signage content management system (CMS) is a platform that allows users to create, schedule, and manage content for digital signage displays. It provides tools for designing captivating visuals, organizing content playlists, and remotely updating information across multiple screens.
3. How to Create Content for Digital Signage Software?
To create content for digital signage software, start by selecting a user-friendly platform that suits your needs. Define your goals and target audience, then design compelling visuals with clear messages and consistent branding. Consider a good software for digital signage content creation.
4. What is Digital Signage Hardware?
Digital signage hardware refers to the physical components used in the installation and operation of digital signage systems. Proper digital signage hardware installation is essential for ensuring optimal performance and reliability in delivering content to viewers.
