There is a question regarding digital signage that for some reason always generates debate within companies and it is the following: what profiles should be the main users of digital signage systems, IT or Marketing? This is because in the end, digital signage systems are showing content to the audience in physical spaces using a wide range of hardware devices.
These hardware devices must be located by installing physical elements and also are usually accompanied by facilities and network configurations, security measures against theft of equipment and cyber-attacks and maintenance and management of the physical layer that does not exist in other systems. In other words, there is a technology component far removed from the software that requires significant intervention by IT teams to keep the system running, which is far beyond the responsibilities of marketing teams. In addition to this, it is often the case that many digital signage platforms are designed for technical staff and not for staff whose mission is to publish content. So we find ourselves with a system that ends up revolving around the technology but not the content. Hence we find that in many companies, it is the same IT staff who publish and program the content of digital signage systems. Following the same logic, then the Marketing and Communication departments could also send the contents of other CMS for web or social networks to the IT department for them to publish.
But it's content! say IT managers, when they are tasked with this job. So you have to show marketing and communication managers that, indeed, they should be the owners of these platforms, because, in the same way that they publish content on the web, they can do it on the displays that their customers will see in their physical spaces. Digital signage systems are evolving and the tools they make available to their users are becoming more advanced, even you can already measure what kind of audience views the content by gender, age, and time of viewing the content. When the IT department is in charge of publishing content, digital signage projects end up being a burden for everyone and a benefit for no one. So what better strategy than to have the same person or marketing team responsible for publishing content on the web, e-commerce, loyalty applications or social networks, also be the same team that publishes content in physical locations. This strategy not only streamlines the publication of content by reducing dependence on other departments but also greatly improves the consistency of communication by having the same team publishing on all channels.
Digital Signage allows the same content to be published in, for example, an advertising network in search engines or social networks, that this banner reaches a "landing" on a web page and then the related content is also displayed on the displays of the physical establishment accompanying the customer throughout the "journey" from start to finish.
So we can see that a digital signage system can behave like any other online content publishing tool: it can support the same audiovisual formats, the same resolutions (or even more spectacular effects using huge LEDs and even asymmetric LEDs) and even measure the impact of these communications with increasing precision. In short, the same as we already find in online channels. So seen in this way, the IT department must be in charge of keeping the infrastructure running and constantly evolving so that the marketing and communications departments can focus on their strategies for content creation, campaign publishing, and effectiveness analysis.
The boundary is thus better defined, that yes, Digital Signage manufacturers can not neglect the challenge of developing solutions from the robustness, agility, and reliability for IT but also have in our DNA development the best usability and user experience for Marketing. With this in mind, we will be able to provide solutions that satisfy all users of Digital Signage systems.
Germán Talón R.
CTO
nsign.tv
Photo by Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura (Pexels)
About nsign.tv
nsign.tv is a complete Communication Platform that is marketed as a Service (PCaaS) and, in a very friendly and intuitive way, allows brands and retailers to connect and interact with their audiences in physical spaces. nsign.tv stores, organizes, schedules and plays digital content in a measurable, centralized way and on any screen, integrating with total flexibility to scalable digitization projects through AI, Big Data and IoT to create differential experiences with customers and employees in any physical space. With headquarters in Barcelona and offices in Madrid, Valencia, Miami and Mexico City and certified partners in most countries in Europe, Latin America and the United States, nsign.tv manages more than 50 million digital assets in more than 20. 000 connected devices around more than 25 countries worldwide, and more than 2,000 users, 150 brands and retailers of reference from different sectors such as Ikea, Areas, Nespresso, Coca Cola Europacific Partners, Haribo, Unilever, Revlon, P&G, Domino's Pizza, Spar, Aldi, Electronic Arts and Cinépolis, among many others.
