Digital signage and digital out of home advertising have become buzzwords in marketing and advertising circles and you may be forgiven in thinking that this new media is the be-all and end-all of marketing.
However, as an advertising media digital signage is not without its drawbacks and limitations especially when you compare it to other forms of advertising already in use.
Unclear ROI
Perhaps the biggest limitation with digital signage and one of the main reasons people are put off investing in this new advertising media is the difficulty in working out a return on investment. Unlike traditional forms of advertising such as directory listings or newspaper advertisements, a quantifiable figure of increases sales can’t be easily worked out. With a newspaper or directory advert you can quite easily discover if the increase in sales stems from the campaign and you can evaluate the increase in profits with the costs of advertising.
With digital signage, things are a little more unclear. With a large initial outlay and with many digital advertising systems on site – it can be unclear if any increase in revenue can be attributed to the signage screens.
Untargeted narrowcasting
Narrowcasting is similar to broadcasting in the way it is viewed. Unlike a TV broadcast that is distributed everywhere and anywhere, a narrowcast system is viewed just by the people that happen to be walking past the screen. And like broadcasting, there is no way of telling if these audiences are part of your target market or not.
However, more targeted advertising can be attained by taking advantage of captive audiences such as those in point of sale queues in-store or by targeting areas where it is likely your target audience will be visiting.
Digital Signage is vulnerable to theft, vandalism and accidental damage
With such a large initial investment, damage, whether it is accidental or deliberate will make the headache of assessing a ROI even more difficult if damaged screens have to be replaced or repaired. However, by ensuring the screens are adequately protected should go a long way in reducing costs of implementing digital signage. Steel protective digital signage enclosures will defend against impacts and vandalism attempts and these LCD enclosures also act as weatherproof systems enabling the digital screen to be used outside as outdoor digital signage.
