The Secret Sauce

Have you ever followed a recipe right down to the teaspoon, but the result was less than desirable? You go back and think about what you did, and you start tweaking. An extra dash of this, a pinch less of that, and you try again. Nope still not there. So you try again. Voila! You have it. Of course, you had to eat something that was pretty lousy a couple times before you got there.

Digital signage is like that.

You're ready to start building that digital signage network. You have research from every nook and cranny of the industry, you have a budget, an integrator, management, and content. You have all the ingredients ready for a great execution. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything.

If you're jumping into digital signage, this will be a little discouraging. I have something to tell you, something that no one else will tell you: It goes wrong for everyone else too.

Let's be perfectly clear here: No one installs a digital signage network because it's just cool to have. Every network is installed and operated under the assumption and hope that it will increase the business of the network owner; it will generate more revenue, create greater awareness for your brand. It will make the experience better, whether you're trying to sell shoes, direct people to the wedding reception in the big ballroom, or to kill time before that root canal - it's designed to get the viewer to have a positive mindset about the experience. (I'm not sure a root canal can have any positive connotation with it.)

There are challenges. Plenty of them, but don’t let that discourage you.

ROO or ROI?

You might believe that without these two acronyms in your strategy, you'll fail without question. ROO (Return on Objective) is quite different from ROI (Return on Investment). When putting together a network, there are certain objectives you want to achieve that will satisfy the return on your investment. Think of it this way: The objectives are how you get the return.

Here's the thing with ROI: It doesn't accurately measure the return. (Oops. Did I let a secret out here?) You're going to put hard dollars into this system, and you'll have to justify that over a fiscal plan. The dynamic appeal of digital signage is that it has much greater impact than a static sign, of course. And if you can prove that someone bought something because you promoted it on a screen then you have your numbers, right?

Not really. You can't measure an impression. (Oops. Did I let another secret out?) You can't measure when someone looks at your screen and thinks, "That's cool". Yet the impact a screen can have on a venue is often much greater than the numbers reflect. There is serious potential with creating a greater experience for all of your patrons by simply hanging the screen to begin with.

The value a network has on the brand is always greater than the revenue it will generate.

The positive effects a network can have on a venue should be part of your ROI. It's the intangibles that may keep patrons returning after they have leveraged the screen to make a purchase. You'll find out people prefer visiting your venue because you have a better experience. These intangibles won't appear on a spreadsheet. Often unseen, unwritten, and unknown, they will pop up the very second you boot up the computers. They will have impact on your objectives, and certainly impact on your investment.

There is no playbook or blueprint that works for everyone. While the fundamentals for a digital signage installation are sound (you need a screen, you need a computer, you need software, and you need content), the secret sauce is in the execution.

While you have the strategy and research in front of you, the problem is you really don't know what makes up that secret sauce. And you won't know until you try it. Digital signage works if executed properly, but the secret sauce comprises just the right mix of things like the campaign, the time of day, the day of week, the month, the season, the item being promoted, the location of the item in the venue, the location of the screen in relation to the item being promoted, the shelf life of the message, the customer's navigation habits, the customer's mindset, the venue's physical characteristics, such as lighting, flooring, paint. Other visual stimuli in the screens area, like other screens and audio. . .

Those are a lot of ingredients.

So what do you do? You can't put something out there if it doesn't work, yet you won't know what works until you try it. There are intangibles to network execution and management that you won't find on a business plan or strategy. Statistics give you a representation of your efforts over time, but those efforts include some TLC that you won't find on a spreadsheet.

Crack A Few Eggs

Once your network is running, you will start to understand what makes it work. It should never be a goal to upset people. However, sometimes you have push the limits a little to see where the breaking point is. I used to do this all the time because, frankly, no one in the venue told me I was doing a good job. It was only when I heard about what made the patrons mad that I knew where the limits of success lay.

With that in mind, there are a few things you can do to ensure that you get positive feedback and successful results quickly.

Acceptance is the First Step

Know that people will get angry with you, you will fail with bad content, your screens will not work, your computers will glitch, employees will (yes…will) turn down the audio or even turn off the screen. In most cases, patrons are forgiving if they know you're trying to make their experience better. They become fickle when you insult them. When you see your network challenged to create the experience, figure out why. What was it that made the customer walk away? What was it that made the employee not care? Sometimes it can be as simple as copy on a screen or the length of a video clip.

While at Best Buy, I once ran a clip from The Office where the fire alarm goes off in the clip. Because the audio was up on so many screens, many customers thought it was a real fire alarm. Lesson: Don't run content with fire alarms in a crowded retail space. Duly noted.

Listen to What the Man Says

Measurement of the network's efficacy is a must. But, a key factor in the success of the network is the employee. Have you asked them what they think? Listen to the employees and ask how the program can make their efforts better.

Chances are you have a feedback system in place for employees, some way to gauge how they feel about their work environment. Take it a step further. Go into the venue and ask them how it's going, how the program looks and feels, and how it’s affecting the patrons. Because there's a good chance their responses won't look like the responses you got from the store surveys. There is a good chance you will get deeper understanding on the network’s impact from the very people who are around it all day.

A Pinch of This, A Dash of That

Don't be afraid to tweak often. Everyday, if you must. Checking in once a week to see how it's going is not effective management if you started the program on Monday, made everyone mad on Tuesday, and waited until Saturday to find out. Technology has enabled network operators to alter programming on the fly, so easily that the next time the program loops, it will be different because you changed it.

While managing the video and audio experience for a baseball team, I had several ushers in the stands that would send me hand signals up in the booth to indicate whether or not the audio was too loud. It was real-time, and it was invaluable in making sure that the fans had a great experience, and I didn't blow their eardrums with Gettin' Jiggy Wit It.

Ask Around.

There are dozens, maybe hundreds of resources that can help you, immediately if needed. Doing a Google Search will yield several results where you can locate case studies, programming and content tips, and insight on measurement. All of this is intended to not only help you leverage the network in order to increase your own value, but to promote and encourage the growth of the digital signage industry with best practices.

Before long, someone will come asking you what you did to make it work so well.

You'll be able to do is give them the ingredients. The right mix is up to them.

Paul Flanigan is the founder of Experiate, consulting clients on brand marketing through digital media. Paul managed Best Buy’s billion-dollar in-store network from 2005-2009. Before Best Buy, Paul spent seven years in professional sports developing customer experiences for Major League Baseball, NFL Football, minor league sports, and collegiate sports programs. You can find him blogging regularly at www.experiate.net