The title of this post may lead you to believe that I’ll be writing about a movie but I decided to share with our readers my thoughts on the digital signage screens/hardware in the current market. This is divided between the Beauty and the Beast.

Let me explain. The Beauty are those devices that look very expensive and pleasing to the eye but functionally, the system behind it is useless. It may catch your attention at first but then when you get to know the ins and outs of the device, you’ll just put it to the side and wished you never purchased it. Then you have the Beast, which I classify as devices that look weird, ugly and cheap but is sturdy and the overall system is exactly what you want. So which one are you currently using at the moment?

In the years that I’ve been in the digital signage industry, I’ve seen so many Beauties and Beasts. We constantly receive emails from overseas businesses showcasing their products and to be honest there’s never been one that just stood out. Maybe it could be time for us to start developing our own system.

Category: Digital Signage Blog News

Tomorrow (AEST) is the beginning of our long weekend. Given that it’s Easter, we decided to do something very different and fun on our blog. As of tomorrow, 22 August 2011 at 10am (AEST) we will hide a virtual Easter egg (just a picture) on  a particular post. You will need to find this post and the virtual Easter egg and place a comment “Happy Easter digital signage blog!”. The first person to do this will receive a free advertising tile on the right hand side of the digital signage blog sidebar for 12 months. Obviously, the image on the tile will need to be reviewed and approved  by us.

Happy Easter everyone!

Category: Digital Signage Blog Events

I’m not sure whether most of you have seen this tender before but I thought I’d better share it with you all. It appears a Utility company (Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited) is looking for a company to supply a digital signage system for several of their power stations. The date of the submission will be open on the 21st April 2011.

There’s not much detail about the number of screens or what they are looking for and good luck to those that are applying for the tender. Here’s the link to the tender information. http://www.hellotrade.com/tenders/details/328898614/

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info

Take away stores are fast adopting the use of digital menu boards rather than static poster or light boxes. The advantages of moving to digital is quite obvious but let me summarise them again:

• You can quickly and easily update prices on a digital board rather than spending more money to print the posters
• Use animation to grab attention. A video clip of the food is more enticing than a static image.
• Schedule the food menu based on the time of the day. E.g. Breakfast for the morning, lunchtime for the afternoon and dinner for the evening.
• Easily manage and update the content yourself rather than relying on a designer. Once you have the template designed, all you need to do is just update the content. The process of changing the content has now become so much easier.
• It’s now more affordable!!!!

Now this week, we assisted a Pizza Take away store with the implementation of a digital signage solution.3 screens were installed behind the front counter and 1 near the front. The front screen is used for specials whereas the 3 behind the counter is used to display the menu. The solution is simple but most importantly affordable – this was the main criteria for the business owner.

Below are a few pictures of the implementation:

Digital menu boards can be implemented with the most simplest solution e.g. using a Screen with a built in player or for a large retail chain it can be a network of digital signage players with Content Management Servers.

It’s only a matter of time before we will see all menu boards going digital. So if you’re interested in a digital menu board have a look at this special package.

Category: Digital Signage Case Study, Featured Post

Our showroom screens

Last week I had a brief discussion with one of my colleagues about the confusion between Landscape vs Portrait content and the extra effort required to maintain content on these two types of layouts. In a digital signage network with screens in both landscape and portrait orientations, it can be quite confusing for the content creator who maintains a large network of screens. On a landscape screen you create landscape designs and for portrait screens you create portrait designs. Well, I mentioned to him that most administrators of the digital signage network may not be able to easily distinguish the difference especially if the network group of a digital signage screens are a mix and do the clients really understand the extra effort (may even cost) required.

There are some digital signage solutions that are just able to automatically rotate and crop the content so that it fits on the screen no matter if it’s landscape or portrait but in the case where your digital signage system doesn’t have this feature, what do you do? To solve this issue you need to have two sets of designs or templates – one in landscape and then one in portrait.Then, when scheduling the content the administrator needs to work out which screens will use the landscape content and which ones will use the portrait content. If you have more than 20 screens with a mix of landscape and portrait screen this can be a very tedious task. I guess if you have setup your screens to be within a group e.g Landscape screens, Portrait screens then this task may be easier but at the end of the day does your network require both screen orientations? If not, I would say stick with one type of screen orientation to minimise administration and design efforts.

As digital signage solution providers we provide consultancy services and help them understand the benefits and pitfalls of maintaining a digital signage solution.

Category: Digital Signage Blog Info, Digital Signage Blog Products

Looks like there’s a job opening at a reputable company in Seattle.

According to the Sharp website,  here’s the job description – to apply click on this link:

This position is responsible for the sales of Sharp Electronics digital signage equipment, consisting of primary equipment, accessories, software and ancillary services. Responsibilities will include territorial business development and providing sales support.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsible for prospecting and developing relationships with C Level Purchasing Executives in order to market and sell SEC digital signage equipment and accessories
Implements a top-down digital signage sales approach targeting Presidents, CFOs, and HR Directors to convert prospects into clients.
Supplies product information to selected customers in an assigned territory and/or arranges for business analyses of customer’s business communication requirements and develops benchmark demonstrations, proposals and value propositions that exceed customers’ requirements resulting in the development of new customers and retention of existing accounts.
Organizes and implements post-sale delivery and implementation of SEC digital signage equipment at customer locations.
Acts as the primary point of contact for all digital signage sales paperwork for customer orders.
Works closely with SBS sales representatives to identify digital signage opportunities within current SBS customer base
Promotes Sharp digital signage products and represent Company at off-site customer meetings, trade shows and conferences.
Maintains records of all account activity within sales database.
Identifies contacts in accounts and conducts strategic calls.
Serves as first line of contact with digital signage customers.

POSITION SPECIFICATIONS
Minimum BA/BS or related technical degree required
At least 2 years experience providing technical and sales support
Successful Sales History and Close Rate
Financial Modeling and business forecasting experience
Team building, time management and problem-solving skills
Must be able to Travel 50% of the time
Must be proficient in performing business and account analysis
Strong creative vision relative to digital signage
Strong understanding of display solutions
Team player with ability to coordinate efforts with sales reps to sell
Strong computer skills with current technical knowledge
Solid interpersonal skills in order to close deals and make presentations
A strong background in developing technical solutions that meet customer needs
A Valid Drivers License

All applications must include salary requirements & a resume. Local applicants only.

Good luck to those that will be applying.

Category: Digital Signage Jobs

Written by Guest Blogger Eugene Capon II from Capon Design

I first started in the digital signage space a year and a half ago. All my experience was in graphic design, web design and print. After a 3 month internship where there was an intense learning curve about the digital signage space, I was hired as the head of creative for a digital signage manufacturer. As a requirement, I often did tech support for those
trying to design their own creative. But after a while I noticed a trend. 90% of the phone calls were from print shops who have had years of experience working in print space and were now trying to tackle this new medium. This tutorial will help you get started in making content for digital displays as it addresses differences between the print and digital mediums. continue reading »

Category: Digital Signage Guest Posts