Digital displays and signage are becoming more common in all types of retail stores as this technology gives businesses the opportunity to display signage using high-definition images and even video content.  In order for this digital content to be highly effective and grab the attention of customers, many believe that it is best to work with professional content creators to make the digital displays and videos seen on screens throughout a store.  For many retail businesses, this means outsourcing the creation of this content.

It seems like common sense, that if a retail store wants the best possible content on their digital displays, they should work with the best third-party content creators that they can.  What is not considered with this approach are the costs of working with a third party and getting this content produced and put on screens along with the time sensitivity of the content.  It is very possible that the digital content received from a third party may be outdated once it finally hits the digital displays in stores.

This is not a cost-effective way to create content and keep it up to date.  When it comes to this way of creating and implementing digital content in retail stores, the emperor has no clothes.

The use of various types of content on digital screen displays is an excellent innovation for in-store advertising and promotions that retail chains can easily use to their advantage.  But it is important to create and implement digital content for in-store displays in an efficient and cost-effective way to improve your ROI.

The most effective way to do this is to be able to create, implement, and edit the content for your digital displays in every location all from one system.  At ECS Global, we understand that the key to improving ROI when it comes to in-store signage and displays is with the integration of the entire system.  ECS5 is a cloud-based retail management solution that integrates multimedia signage and displays in one place that can be easily and instantly managed.

The Shortcomings of Traditional Multimedia Signage and Displays

There was a time not that long ago when paper signage and displays were the norm within retail stores like grocery stores, pharmacies, clothing stores, and department stores.  The signs were printed in-store by employees as needed, and the process for doing this often differed from store to store, even between stores of the same chain.  The lack of a central system that can be used by all locations causes this to become disjointed.

As more retail stores adopt digital displays to blend with paper signage, the digital system is often separate from the system used to manage paper signage.  This makes it even more difficult to be consistent with messaging, pricing, and promotions across locations, and even within the same store.  Changing the paper signage must be done separately from changing the digital signage, forcing stores to devote more time and resources to ensuring the consistency and accuracy of their signage and displays across all of their locations.  With so many employees making these updates in different locations and in different departments within the same store, there is still a risk of inconsistencies simply from human error.

Reaching out to a third party to create content for digital displays adds another wrinkle to this process that is already disjointed.  By doing this, you are relying on the third party to get the work done in a timely manner so you can put it on your digital displays while the content is still accurate.  There is also the cost of having the third party create the content.  Having your digital content created by a third party may result in a great looking display, but if the content goes out of date quickly after receiving it, is it worth the cost? How about the cost of doing it all over again to create new, up-to-date content?

This disjointed approach to multimedia signage and displays is costly and inefficient.

Benefits of Integrating the Creation and Implementation of Multimedia Signage in One System

As we mentioned above, the key to consistent, accurate, and cost-effective multimedia signage is integration.  ECS Global offers the perfect solution with ECS5 which allows you to manage the digital signage within your store and across locations all in one place.  ECS5 seamlessly integrates your digital and paper signage in a single system along with planograms, inventory, and pricing and promotions which allows you to make instant updates to your digital displays.

ECS5 is a cloud-based system that gives you the ability to do the following:

• Create digital signage and displays that incorporate image files and video content with the Media Manager included within the system. This saves you the cost of working with a third-party content creator.
• Instantly send digital content to all in-store displays. You can also geo-target which displays get sent to which locations for promotions that are running only in certain locations.
• Instantly update the information on your digital displays at all locations. This eliminates the cost and turnaround time of creating additional content with a third party.
• Sending the same design instantly to all of your digital displays ensures consistency and accuracy of your messaging.

Integrated Digital Signage with ECS5

Integrating digital signage with traditional print signage is an excellent strategy for retail stores, but to get the best ROI, it is important to be cost-effective with its creation and implementation.  The best way to do this is to integrate the design and implementation of digital signage into a single system.

ECS5 allows you to create and manage dynamic digital signage and displays with a cloud-based solution.  The Media Manager within ECS5 allows for quick and efficient creation of digital signage using templates and you can instantly send the content to your digital displays as well as quickly change the content to stay up to date.  The ability to handle the creation, implementation, and edits to your digital displays from ECS5 allows you to get the most from your digital signage for a better ROI.

Contact ECS Global for more information about ECS5.