What is digital signage and how does it work? These are the most frequently asked questions when talking to customers who want to apply digital communication technology at the POS or for their corporate communications. I usually give a presentation then that is still very complex and specific but not as formal and technical as it used to be 7 years ago when I started with digital signage.
My experiences so far: Once the presentation has ended and the costumer has understood why he needs digital signage and how he can apply it, the next hurdle came up that meant an early ending for many projects: the question of costs. What do I need to buy to get it all running? The result: a list getting longer and longer…
Today it is much easier than 5 years ago because now there’s a simple solution for each customer that promises an easy start and can be recommended for a large variety of projects.
Our answer is the IAdea XDS-101 Digital Signboard
The signboard is a 10.1’’ display with integrated SMIL player and Wi-Fi connection. If anybody wants to nag “10 inches only and that SMIL thing can’t even play all formats” he’s right!
But actually he has no clue since 10 inches is a lot keeping in mind that nowadays almost everybody is watching videos on cell phone screens that are way smaller – without grumbling about it. For all projects that have a viewing distance of less than one meter these 10 inches are completely sufficient.
And what’s so bad about sticking to only two content formats? This will cut down the number of errors in a project by 50% and more. You shouldn’t create texts with a 8pt font size, of course, and keep in mind that a picture often says more than a thousand words – but we’re all professionals, aren’t we?
The simpleness of this solution is unrivaled. Just as I say “Bang a nail into the wall and here we go!” Okay, this is not exactly how it works but bringing the XDS-101 online is even manageable for me. And installing a Wi-Fi router – in case it’s not yet available – isn’t rocket science as well.
So what about the price? For an operating time of 36 months – provided that internet is available – you’ll have costs amounting to 11.40 € per month for the Oxygen Media Platform connection: that is 0.38 € a day!
Here’s the total:
Acquisition XDS-101 9.95 € / month
Oxygen Media Platform 11.40 € / month
Total: 21.35 € / month
You’re wondering where to apply the device? There are various options:
… on the self-service shelf, near the product on promotion racks (thanks to Wi-Fi), on the sales counter, at the hairdresser between the customer seats, in the shop window, in display cases, in beauty and wellness salons, in waiting areas and wherever the customer is right in front of the product.
Here’s a good example: www.salontv.ro
For more information on the Digital Signboard please visit:
www.smil-player.de
Kind regards
Peter Dombrowski
