When a monitor or screen fades to black, it is not uncommon to see fingerprints smudged from corner to corner. Whether the device is a touch screen or not, the expectation from users is that it will be. Interaction with devices has become the standard, and digital signage is no different.

On the third and final Transforming the Experience podcast from DSE 2019, a trio of digital signage experts explain the importance of interactivity and connectivity between brands, devices, and consumers.

Give the People What They Want and Expect: Touch Screens! with Kristen Robie of Elo Touch Solutions

Smart technology has changed consumer expectations across almost every industry. Touch screens have been in people’s pockets for more than a decade now, and today people’s desire to interact with the increasing number of screens around them is driving business decisions.

“It’s the way the market is going, and it can be used in so many different environments,” Robie said.
Elo designs touchscreen hardware for businesses in industries from hospitality to education, and Robie says it is that same experience people get with their phone that is driving a desire for more.

“People want and expect that experience from your brand or your space,” she added.

Bringing the Billboard to the Palm of Your Hand with Doug Pittman of BoardActive

Businesses are finding more and more creative ways to reach customers in today’s fragmented media landscape. A billboard may seem obsolete now with their inability to interact with drivers in their fleeting seconds before they pass it.

That is why Doug Pittman founded BoardActive, which creates a virtual perimeter around billboards or any location for that matter, allowing brands to interact with potential customers on their smart devices.

This connectivity is giving billboards a digital life and business owners new insight into just how much return on investment a billboard is providing. When a driver passes a billboard, he or she can check the BoardActive app to see a more targeted message. From there, a business can see whether that interaction led to a sale.

“It’s not advertising anymore, it’s personalizing. It’s going to be a personalizing relationship, one-on-one and we know that” Pittman said.

Connecting to people’s devices allows brands to develop a closer relationship with consumers and a new frontier for advertising.

Finding the Missing Element of Digital Signage with Jim Nista of Almo AV

Digital signage has provided brands a new forum to advertise and create content for their customers. However, as more and more businesses begin to create content, a new challenge has begun.

“What really is the missing element in content is relevancy. That’s actually more important than content itself, is how relevant it is to the person,” Nista said. “We’re adding technology to that now with the analytics and some of the tracking information to build relevancy into these screens.”

Educating store employees on the benefits of personalized digital signage content has become an important part of Nista’s role at Almo.

Nista said he is encouraged by the education of more end-users on the benefits of personalized digital signage content and believes it will lead to a better shopping experience for consumers of all demographics.