Why Digital Signage?

by Gunter Woodson - Tightrope Media Systems

Once you start paying attention, digital signage systems are everywhere. Since joining Tightrope Media Systems (www.trms.com) and managing a digital signage dealer channel, I’ve noticed them at airports, hotels, schools, retail establishments and restaurants.  Actually, they seem to be omnipresent. When I see the systems in action, I like to think about the features the system offers and how it is meeting the needs of the customer.  But who is the customer and what vertical market are they in?

For starters, the consumer can be practically anyone in any vertical market.  Take a school for instance.  The customer (let’s say the viewer of the signage in this case) could be a student or the faculty.  Heck, it could even janitorial staff or visitors to the school.  The wonderful thing about digital signage is that you can target multiple different groups.  Say you want to communicate specific and relevant information to the students or you want to let the faculty know some new policies.  Just put the appropriate information on the screens where they will be viewed by the target audience, and BOOM, you have given the correct information to those that need it.  There is confusion everywhere so why would you not want to erase that confusion with applicable information?

Tightrope Digital Signage

But often the trick can be maintaining the content that goes the screens.  The worst piece of digital signage that you could ever think about purchasing is one that is difficult to use.  One that has a clunky interface where users might become a little intimidated.  For 14 years at Tightrope, one of our goals has been to make the easiest solution to use.  We want less technical people like secretaries, volunteers, and students to maintain the system.  If they can and are excited to do so, they will create the dynamic content that draws people to the screen and communicates the needed information.  After all, this is why you want digital signage in the first place, right?  Dispelling the chaos with appropriate information makes everything run smoothly.