Monthly Archives: September 2014

Projectors used outdoors for entertainment and profit


Posted by Stella

Money and fun using projectors.

Like all technology, projectors are being developed all the time, from the old OHP to the 4K projectors with awesome images. But let us look at some applications for entertainment and profit.

Projectors for profit.

outdoor projectorsIf you ever look round at a business you will see the technology that they have invested in, this can be computers, the latest smartphone and the 4K projector. Now one business sector is maximizing on the projector side and they are sports bars come restaurants. They operate during the normally daytime hours as a sports bar and when it becomes dark, the establishment transforms into an upmarket restaurant.

Now some business minded owners are using projectors outdoors, to promote discount and events on buildings, in a massive scale. One restaurant in Florida has set as ide Wednesday as couple’s night, during this time they have romantic movies shown in the secluded garden adjacent to the sports bar, helping the couples put some magic back into their relationship. This has been a huge success, with Wednesday’s restaurant reservations being booked solid, until mid-December from August!

Other bars and night clubs use these devices to promote their resident DJ’s, or special drink offers, reports ProEnc (proencltd.com), who are a leading manufacturer in the projector housing industry.

Outdoor entertainment.

projectors

Like flat screen TV’s, a projector are high in demand and coming down in price as new technology is launched, making outdoor entertainment at home or in the community a real possibility.

Projectors can be set up for the local home owners association and show a family movie over a weekend, when everyone can get together and share a meal. This is an ideal way to meet your neighbors and to catch up with people you may not have seen over the past few months, due to work schedules.

People are even deploying OHP’s in their backyard, so they can be entertained while they chill out in the Jacuzzi, just remember the projector needs protecting from the weather and potential theft.

There are three solutions open to people who want to put projectors outdoors, the first is buy a commercially available outdoor units, but the problem is there is nothing on the market as yet. The next option is to bring the unit in every time you have finished watching whatever the device is showing, or lastly, or use an outdoor protective housing for the device, that will provide the essential protection from the weather and theft all in one unit.

Then you are free to set the projector up once and leave it outdoors all year, now does that sound like a plan? No matter what you choose, consider your options well, as newer projectors will be launched in the next 6 months.

No matter if you are using them for profit or fun, projectors are flexible.


A New Revelation for Retail Technology.


Posted by Stella

Types of Retail Technology.

Introducing the new retail technology blueprints including smart fitting rooms, digital ways to pay and an enhanced customer experience.

touch screen retail technology

Latest evolutionary computer engineering has opened up the world of digital signage, to stage which was only thought possible in science fiction films. Back in the 1950’s there were design ideas for futuristic and imaginative ways of changing the way we see life and use our time, but who would have thought, just a few generations on, we would have a 3D mirror, with a virtual store assistant giving us advice, selecting a different size or even picking out an alternative garment; thinking ‘outside the box’. A scary thought, but it is already out there in our malls, welcome to retail technology.

Touch screen Retail technology.

Touch screen technology has brought retail technology to the average customer; and not necessarily the high-end stores. Branches of well-known chain stores are investing heavily in the new digital posters and mirrors. Just think how much more convenient it would be to use a touch screen in store; research a little more information about the product, select your preference of colour and size and if it isn’t in stock, the store will order it for you. Of course most stores have other forms of contact, like a website, but that isn’t always convenient via your cell or smart phone – lost signal, inability to connect to the internet on demand, yet in store, these obstacles are overcome as the store supplies the means to order. And they’ve got you captured… you’re in the store, in the mood to purchase, a little disappointed you can’t buy the item there and then, but you can order it for a time which suits you. The store is doing everything to make a sale, even if it means communicating through a touch screen, rather than a human being!

How would you feel about a virtual personal shopper? There you are in the changing room, removing your own clothes, when a face appears in the mirror – ahhhh! No, it’s not quite like that, it is more unobtrusive. Whilst your privacy and modesty are preserved, the virtual assistant can offer constructive advise on the piece of clothing you are trying on. Depending on the software package accompanying the digital screen, will depend on the advice or suggestions from the 3D assistant, for instance the program may suggest a different size garment, as it has calculated your proportions (it would be flattering if it suggested a smaller size – don’t know how I would feel about needing a larger size on the advice of a screen!). But can you really trust a virtual assistant? It isn’t someone spying on you through the 2 way mirror, it is an actual digital poster, with a touch screen facility. You can switch it off, alter the suggestions, and order from the privacy of the curtained changing room just by using your finger to make choices.

Then it comes to paying; shall we use traditional cash? How many of us have cash in our pocket these days? Ok, so a card payment, well, even that is out dated. Many of us a re familiar with ordering goods on-line and keying in the account details, or using a payment site like PayPal, so Apple thought they would launch their own, as ‘i’ products have become so popular. Once the account is set up, it is just a matter of a security check at the point of sale and the transaction is complete – one happy customer.

Understanding the technology used for advertising in the retail sector helps us all, try to remember some of the points for retail technology.


Digital Menu Boards For Restaurant Success.


Posted by Stella

Restaurant digital menu boards.

A restaurant needs to display its menu to potential customers to get them to buy the food; this is successfully done using digital menu boards, so the company can turn a profit.

Restaurants menus.

digital menu boards

Have you ever entered a restaurant and thought where is the menu? When you are given one and read it, you can sometimes be left confused. The problem with the old printed menus is that there is no flexibility in them. The restaurant owner cannot put specials on, this is why they use unsightly blackboards and call them the “specials board”.

Now if you are rushed, with choices from what type of bread you want, to what filling, what salad items you want on the deli roll and finally what sauce you want. If you are like me, you will have ordered the same thing for ages, because you do not have the time to think, however using a restaurant digital menu board, you can see the full menu in advance and read it, and decide on what you want for lunch before you get to the counter.

Digital menu boards – promoting specials.

This is when the digital menu boards come into their own, as the content can be changed within seconds. So a restaurant can use locally sourced produce at a more cost effective price and put a special deal on for lunch.

QSR menu boards

Then once the special is sold out and no produce is left, another special can be uploaded, ideally something that is a food overstock.

Using dayparting, the restaurant can have 3 sets of menus that are all displayed at different times of the day. One for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner, the times are set in the scheduling software built into the media player and at a preset time, the ads change to the next menu of the day. This prevents people having to remember that one mean has finished for the day.

Also using animation on these electronic menus while people are queuing, also acts as timewarping. This is when they are entertained with the content on the display and when they get to the front of the counter the perceived wait time is much less., this results in a better customer experience and this is what builds loyalty to your restaurant.

Not much investment is needed for these digital menu boards, as these are better off in larger sizes, such as 55” so only a few are needed. The screen can be zoned (split into sections), to promote different food items on the menu. This is the future for any forward thinking restaurant and Quick Serve Restaurant.

It has been proven that digital menu boards do increase sales, one QSR saw an increase of 8% in soda sales and 42% in burger sales compared to printed menu solutions in other identical restaurants. The only difference was one has a printed menu, the other has digital menu boards, now the chain has these electronic menus in every outlet.

Hopefully, you picked something out of this article that can help you and your restaurant, will you be thinking of using digital menu boards?


Advertising Using Wall or Free Standing Digital Signage Hardware.


Posted by Stella

Digital signage hardware to increase your businesses profit.

Advertising is vital for the success of a business; this is why using digital signage hardware is so successful.

Even the oldest profession in the world needed to advertise! But now, no matter where we look there are electronic signs everywhere. From shopping malls to places of worship, the simple fact is that digital signage works, so let us look at the digital signage hardware solutions available to the everyday business owner.

Wall mounted digital signage is there for everyone to see, it can display the specials on the menu in a Quick Serve Restaurant, it can provide automotive service promotions in an automotive garage, or just used to promote a small mom and pop stores inventory.

Essential parts of a profitable digital signage hardware deployment.

Let us look at what is needed for the digital signage hardware to function almost straight out the box.

Content creation, this is essential and can be simply created using free templates available online, or by using images you have taken of your service or product. Failing that, if you are reselling a product you could ask the manufacturer to provide high quality images. Then once the content is created how you want it to appear, you just add it to the media player using a flash drive.
Set up the ads using the onscreen menu, set the time you want the screen to power on and power off at the end of the business day and you are set, that is presuming you have powered the unit up.

Mounting the digital signage hardware.

digital signage

Wall mounted displays specifically designed for digital advertising can be placed in either portrait or landscape, the best position in our experience is portrait, otherwise it just looks like a television.

As the name suggests, these come in a floor standing housing that is designed for indoor use, content creation and updates are carried out just as before. Yes these have more impact; they tend to engage more with consumers.

The housing can even be wrapped in vinyl to brand the kiosk with the logo of the business, adding more impact to the advertising message.

example of digital signage hardware

Screen sizes.

Both solutions come with commercial grade screens, which is essential as the digital signage hardware is capable of running 24×7. These high tech displays are available in sizes 32”, 40”, 42”, 55” and 65”. Normally the most affordable solutions are the sizes up to 55”, the jump to 65” is usually too much.

Now when you compare printed advertising, there is no comparison, you are competing against other contractors and businesses offering similar products and what’s in tonight’s edition of the paper are thrown away tomorrow. This is one of the reasons why newspapers usually have an online presence.

Digital advertising has been around for a while, but now the costs are falling, enabling business owners to get in and use digital signage hardware to promote their business.


Solutions For Retail Digital Signage Success


Posted by Stella

Is your store using retail digital signage?

Faced with a myriad of electronic advertising methods, it can be difficult to find solutions for retail digital signage success, but as technology is expected by consumers, let’s narrow down the options to make the decision easier. A state-of-the-art theatrical, custom production is within many retailers reach, as it is mostly computers and screens which do the hard work. It’s just a matter of creating an interesting featured background in which to house the screens and hardware. By deploying retail digital signage, you are a step ahead of the competition, who are still using traditional forms of printed ads. The success of digital signage is so great that it is worth billions of dollars and is increasing all the time, which in turn increases your revenue, whilst keeping costs under control; in fact once the hardware has been purchased there is little else to include, other than regular content.

The results of many consumer surveys has revealed the following facts:

  • Brand awareness was constantly featured
  • One of the best locations was POS or POP (point of sale or purchase)
  • Passers by were attracted to the screens and stopped to take a look
  • Printing costs were vastly reduced and in many cases became obsolete
  • The digital signage enhanced the customer experience, by customizing and personalizing
  • Customers engaged with the application, as we are now more comfortable and familiar with electronic devices, like smart phones and tablets
  • Additional revenue can be generated by integrating with third parties
  • There is so much choice for designer software

Retail digital signage is all about getting your message across; brand awareness sells products.

retail digital signage

Customer behavior studies have shown who, when, why and what is likely to be purchased. This information is then directed into particular campaigns aimed at specific demographics to achieve the optimum results. For consumers, the in-store retail area is all about the shopping experience; if a person feels comfortable, empowered and entertained, then the greater likelihood of a positive outcome; making at purchase. Reaching out with new technology is embracing the need and desire of the potential customer.

Here are some ideas where retail digital signage is predicted to be successful:

  • Rather than waiting frustratingly in a food queue, the restaurant window converts to a touch screen where orders can be placed and even pre-paid with a wireless terminal.
  • In-store clothing ordering; you know how annoying it is when the store doesn’t stock your size or the colour you prefer, but you can order it at the click of a button whilst shopping.
  • Design-your-own; cocktails, meal starter combination or even paint colour – the options are endless. This has the benefit to the store too, by being able to quickly adjust their stock levels.
  • Most of us have used a check-in facility via a touch screen, at medical facilities or in a hotel. This digital screen can also be utilized by supplementing the information with commercials.

Most of us welcome the presence of a smile from a sales assistant, cocktail server or hotel receptionist, but there is room in our busy lives for quick access via a touch screen, which frees us up to enjoy other things.

Knowing what digital signage can do for your store, are you tempted to use retail digital signage now?


Is Cloud Based Digital Signage For You?


Posted by Stella

Would You Use Cloud Based Digital Signage?

With all the recent issues about private data stored on the cloud being made public, people are becoming cautious. But using cloud based digital signage does not have to be concerning, discover why.

We have all heard people say in meetings, I store my data on the Cloud, but if you quiz them, they will rarely know exactly where or what the Cloud is! The Cloud is a platform or software that stores data either off site on server farms or at third party service provider that specialize in secure data storage and not at your location – this is the cloud! Another reason it is called Cloud computing is that the information and data is sent over the internet and if you have watched any draw a computer network they show a cloud image as the internet.

cloud based digital signage schematic

Look at cloud based digital signage Pros and Cons.

Cons.

Like everything that is not under your control, you have to rethink everything including, connectivity, cost, actual content (is it time sensitive?) and security of the cloud based digital signage solution. Digital signage in its natural process allows users to update content on the move, using the cloud can restrict this valuable asset of digital signage. Imagine you had an over stock or rain coats and your city had the worst weather in years, with torrential rain, using digital signage you could change the ads and show you have a special on the rain coats. This then helps the company sell the over stocks and increase profit for a product that has just been sat in storage!

Using cloud based digital signage also creates other challenges; one that springs to mind immediately is a security issue. As soon as the data leaves the business, anyone can intercept it and if it had sensitive information on a new product range, this could be extremely valuable to your competitors, especially if you are in
a race to market with them.

Pros of cloud based digital signage.

Now imagine, rather than having your data on a large server farm, why not use a mini WAN, this would in reality act as your own mini cloud based solution and you would own it! You can then ensure the essential security is in place, you can keep the costs down by around 63%. Historically, large enterprises have been using the Cloud, but not any longer, any business can use the same cloud based electronic signage solution and display content just like the big boys!

3G Cloud based digital signage.

3G cloud based electronic signage hardware has one main difference when compared to other advertising hardware and that is there is no need for a media player, as all the content is stored on secure mini clouds under each business name, who have total control over them.

Before cloud based signage, the ads had to be stored on some device, usually attached to the display at each location, now using 3 and 4G this is no longer a restriction, in fact it is an advantage. One restraint on deploy electronic advertising is that it has to be well planned, this meant traditionally the location had to have several power outlets, 1 for the display and 1 for the ad player now a display can be deployed anywhere with the only restriction is that it has to be near 1 plug socket to power the system. As the admin of the cloud solution, you have total control that accesses what part, so you can block, limit or approve users, making 3 and 4G digital signage very flexible.

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of cloud based digital signage.