What is Digital Signage

Here at RIFCO, we are only one part of a larger ecosystem that’s called Digital Signage. We’ve got a unique approach and business model, only focusing on running our solution on a cloud-based infrastructure for digital signage networks. We strive to be the most transparent and engaging company in the market by publicly listing our pricing, providing free, unlimited online technical support, and even opening our team to new ideas and improvements suggested by our customers and partners.

WHAT ARE THE PIECES TO THE PUZZLE?

There are many components to a digital signage solution, but these can be covered in a few broad categories:

Hardware – the physical components: screens, media players (if necessary), network components, mounts, etc. Platform – the content and/or device management system(s) which is our platform. Connectivity – the ways in which digital signs connect back to the content management system, whether using hard line, Wi-Fi or mobile technologies. Installation – the entire installation process, from site surveys through the final installation. Content – the biggest ongoing cost of the network: the continuous creation of or subscription to fresh content to keep the network current and relevant. Procurement – the channels end customers use to purchase the various parts of the digital signage network.

It can be a confusing process! Coming up with the idea of creating a digital signage network, whether for revenue, branding, education or information is complex and therefore time-consuming. Hopefully, this guide will provide a good starting point and assist you as you look to implement your digital signage solution.

SO, WHAT IS DIGITAL SIGNAGE?

That’s a great question! There’s been a lot of discussion about the meaning of the term and even if the name itself is even the right one, but there’s no question that it’s everywhere. You can’t drive down the road, walk into a restaurant, head to an airport, even go a school anymore without seeing digital signage. Because it’s all around us, the name is a catch-all for all kinds of different technology being used in lots of different ways for different digital signage purposes.

Here’s the very dry Wikipedia version:

Digital signage is a sub-segment of signage. Digital signs use technologies such as LCD, LED and Projection to display content such as digital images, video, streaming media, and information. They can be found in public spaces, transportation systems, museums, stadiums, retail stores, hotels, restaurants, and corporate buildings etc, to provide wayfinding, exhibitions, marketing and outdoor advertising.

So, in summary, digital signage consists of any size screen displaying any type of content for any reason. That’s an incredibly broad description and one of the main reasons that the average person looking to install a digital signage network can get easily confused. The other key reason for confusion, of course, is the huge number of vendors to choose from, which is why we are here for you.

So what’s the best way of navigating this maze of options? Look no further and contact us today!

IDENTIFYING YOUR NEEDS

The first question we ask our customers – and the one that they often struggle to answer – is “what is the ideal result once you deploy your digital signage network?” This is the first step in identifying a potential customer’s goals and objectives, and we go a little deeper with a few more questions:

How many screens are you looking to deploy? What’s the timeline for the project deployment? What’s your content strategy? Do you have a budget?

After conducting this exploration process we tend to either quickly move to a demonstration of our capabilities or the potential customer decides they have homework to do. Either scenario is a good one. If you’ve got a clear understanding of the intent and the resources required to make your network a successful one, it’s time to get some screens and get your feet wet. If you don’t, it’s far better to take a step back and think it through instead of falling into the trap that many people do: buying screens, hanging them up and spend months trying to figure out what to do with them.

DETERMINING THE SELECTION CRITERIA FOR TECHNOLOGY

So, you’ve got a budget, a plan and the resources necessary to make your network successful.

Or do you?

The good news is that the costs for procurement and installation of a network have come down considerably in recent years, so you’ll likely be able to quickly figure out the hard costs. The soft costs are much more difficult to determine because the services vary so widely in what’s offered and the business models that they represent. The easiest way to think about this is to look at the two largest ongoing costs of the network: content creation and network management.

Content creation costs vary widely based on the purpose of the network, the quality required and the frequency of change.