NO TV ads in Digital Signage!

“Can you play the creative made for TV on Digital Signage Networks? Answer: NO”

Each advertising medium has its own way of communicating with the audience. Television media uses both audio & video, while print media uses visuals & so on. In certain scenarios same form of advertisement is used for more than one type of medium as in case of Print Media and Signage Media (i.e. the Banner Media), where the exact same visuals can be effectively used. However the same concept cannot be applied to the Digital Signage & the Television media.

The ads created for Television are designed to grab the attention of a viewer who is most likely stationary. The Ads are deliberately created to capture the viewer’s imagination through creative visuals that includes sound, music, human emotions etc & then associate that imagination with the brand. These Ads are usually of 10 seconds to a few minutes duration, and are best suitable for Television Media. However in the Digital Signage medium even a 30 seconds Ad would still be a lengthy Ad.

Here’s why…. Digital Signage is out door & out of home advertising. Most audiences of this medium are mobile & are on the move. They are shopping in a mall, buying movie tickets, waiting for the lift to get to their office floors, or at a take-away joint or a grocery store. The Ads on this medium have to be visually appealing & of a short duration, preferably with moving content, which would instantly grab the audience attention. As the audiences are mobile lengthy Ads, designed for Television, may not appeal to them as they would not pause for a minute or even 30 seconds to watch the advertisement. Moreover not all displays on the digital signage medium have the audio output option. If television advertisements (which almost always have audio) are relayed on such displays without audio output, then the purpose of such advertising will certainly not be very effective or appealing.

Furthermore Digital Signage advertising is best known for its “Recall” effect. Its USP is its ability to influence the consumer’s buying decision when they are shopping. Research indicates that brand switching occur in-stores as customers are most vulnerable to change while shopping. Digital Signage is effective in capturing the customer’s interest by “recalling” the brand they heard about or have used in the past or if the buyer is already a consumer, it helps in reinstating their brand loyalty when shopping. As “recall” (reminding the patrons of a brand / generating awareness) is the prime objective of advertising on Digital Signage, short duration Ads are the best & most benefiting form of advertising on this medium.

Kiosk Mint, a new age digital signage network, has the technology to support lengthy Ads. However, for effective advertising, Kiosk Mint recommends Advertisers to design short duration Ads for the Digital Signage medium. Ads with visuals, text, animation, video clippings or 2D flash etc… that are visually attractive & which can immediately catch a patron’s attention are the best form of advertisements for Digital Signage Advertising medium.

Footfall Vs Viewership

“Is the number of Footfall the real measure of your Ad’s viewership?”

Every advertising medium has an Audience Measurement system that relies on various techniques, electronic equipments, surveys, research etc to collect audience data and determines the viewership or listenership or readership of the medium using algorithms & metrics. In the case of Digital Signage Medium, “Footfall”, i.e. the number of visitors at a location, is a commonly followed metric for the calculation of the viewership on the medium.

However existing digital signage network operators do not use footfall as a “standard of measurement” to “measure” the audience, but instead they use it as a “standard” to “indicate” the audience on their network. Which means, that if location ‘A’ has 1000 footfall per day and location ‘B’ has 800 footfall per day, and an advertiser’s Ad appears on the digital signages installed at both the locations A & B, then it is presumed that the Ad was viewed by around 1800 viewers on that day. Most existing network operators use this theory to indicate their market presence and the ‘presumed’ audience of the digital signages on their network.

A more reliable approach is to use footfall as a metric, i.e. a ‘standard of measurement’, to measure the audience of an Ad appearing on a digital signage. And to use an algorithm to analyse the footfall information as a metric, to estimate the viewership of an Ad. An algorithm that considers into account that the footfall at a location is spread through out the day and is higher during peak business hours; takes into account that not just a single Ad appears on a screen through out the day but other Ads are displayed as well; and that the footfall information varies from weekday to weekday at every location.

Kiosk Mint uses an algorithm that takes into account the above indicated considerations, and estimates the viewership for an Ad. Footfall information is collected for normal hours & peak hours for each weekday for every location on the network. And the Online Digital Signage Platform automatically calculates the ratio of a single Ad campaign against the rest of the Ad campaigns displayed on a digital signage at any given time. Using the footfall information & the Ad ratio, Kiosk Mint applies its algorithm to match the footfall and the Ad ratio during normal & peak business hours at a location and calculates the viewership.

For example: if a location has 1000 footfall on a day, which is distributed as approximately 30% during first peak business hours & 35% during the second peak business hours and during first peak business hours 200 Ad impression happened, out of which 50 impressions were of Ad ‘A’, then the viewership of Ad ‘A’ during the first peak hours is calculated as (Ratio of Ad ‘A’) X (footfall during the first peak business hours) i.e.

Ratio of Ad ‘A’ is 50/200 X 100 = 25%

Footfall during first peak business hours is 30% of 1000 = 300

Estimated Viewership of Ad ‘A’ during first peak business hours is = 25% X 300 = 75

Likewise the estimated viewership is calculated for second peak business hours & also the normal hours, based on the number of footfall & the Ad ratio during those hours. The collective estimated viewership for a campaign across all the kiosks at various locations where the Ad was displayed, in a day, is presented as the effective viewership for that day.

While conventional network operators, due to resistance to changing digital signage industry trends, continue to present footfall as a direct measure of an Ad’s viewership, Kiosk Mint, using the collected & calculated information and by applying its ‘Audience Measurement’ algorithm calculates the viewership of an Ad per day. Kiosk Mint presents the information to Advertisers in the form of reports, giving them an understanding of their Ad-Campaign performance.

Regular Vs Engineered Displays in Digital Signage

Most Digital Signage Networks conveniently use regular LCD TVs for displaying Ads. However they tend to ignore the fact that regular LCD TVs are not designed for digital signage i.e. displaying of Ads at public places. They are good when they are placed indoors at premises with modest floor area. But regular LCD & plasma displays are not a good option for large premises such as shopping Malls, even if they are placed indoors.

Here’s why... The viewing angle of an LCD is narrower than a CRT or Plasma Display therefore the number of people who can conveniently view is limited. Which means it is very important that an LCD is placed effectively for its viewers to get a clear picture of what’s being shown on the screen. Most LCDs at large premises are usually placed at a height of about 10 feet or above from ground level so as the patrons get closer the visibility is compromised.

Another core issue with LCDs is reflection & glare. Although most LCDs have matte plastic screens, which usually reflect less light, when under a direct light source the glare is pretty evident. And if the LCD is placed outside under direct sun light or someplace with abundant sun light, such as the lobby entrance at a mall, the picture brightness is reduced, the clarity & sharpness is lost and the picture has a “dull” effect. With Plasmas the reflection and glare is even more prevalent as they use glass screens that reflect lots of light. Regardless of these issues conventional networks continue to use regular LCDs & plasmas for digital signage, ignoring the affect it has on causing the advertisers to loose their confidence in the media.

To maintain the advertisers’ confidence in digital signage and to provide a convenient viewing experience to the patrons, Kiosk Mint uses specially engineered displays at large premises with huge floor area and a high footfall. These displays have greater viewing angle than regular displays and the patrons can easily view the image on such screens even from a sharp angle.

The displays have specially designed anti-glare & anti-reflection screens that are so effective that the clarity of the visuals remain intact, even when under direct focus of a 1000 watt halogen bulb. The displays can be placed outdoors directly under the sun light and still the brightness, clarity & the original quality of the visuals remain as is. Furthermore these engineered displays have faster response time that overcomes issues such as “ghosting” and “mixing”, caused due to retained pixel charge, when the visuals change rapidly.

Most importantly these displays have a unique appeal on its audience, who are essentially urban crowd. While conventional networks use normal LCDs & Plasmas, which are actually normal televisions that do not have an aesthetic appeal as a signage device on its viewers, Kiosk Mint uses engineered displays with equalized border frame. This sleek design lets the audience differentiate between a regular TV & digital signage that advertises their favorite brands.

For More Information : http://www.kioskmint.com

Network for convenience v/s real-time network..

Today we are hearing a lot about “online networks” in the Digital Signage Industry. Are these so called “Online” Digital Signage networks really online? Some claim that they are! To know the answer we need to ask ourselves what is an “online network” in the digital signage industry? Is it just a signage network where the displays are attached with CPUs & connected to the Internet & are remotely managed? It certainly is not!

Then, what is an online digital signage network?
How does an Advertiser benefit from an online network?
What benefits does a premises owner showcasing the display get from an online digital signage network?

An Online Digital Signage Network isn’t just a network of digital displays with CPUs, connected over the internet, that are just remotely managed. It is a network that extends its Advertisers the benefit of complete online, real-time campaign management. Where Advertisers could logon to the service provider’s website and create their Ad campaigns & own the control of their Ad campaigns with the liberty to change their active running campaigns according to changing market trends. An Online Network should be able to track every Ad that is being displayed on each screen on its network. And as each Ad impression is accounted for, the advertiser would only be required to pay for confirmed impression (not assumed impression). Unless an online network does that, it would not be able to give 100% broadcast guarantee to the Advertiser.

Online networks should have the ability to support dynamic content. Latest information that an Advertiser would like to broadcast, such as the current market index, current Bank offering rates, stock status etc should be retrieved on a real time basis from various sources and broadcasted across the network, as desired by the Advertiser. Also the reporting system should be comprehensive, not only giving reports providing the campaign expenditure details but also other information such as Impression density reports & Impression Maps (impressions super imposed on a GPS based map) etc, indicating the locations / business areas where Ads were displayed for a particular campaign.

Apart form offering benefits to Advertisers, an Online Network should also provide value added services to the premises owners. It is time for the Digital Signage Networks (regardless of whether online or not) to realize the importance of the role played by the premises showcasing the screens in the Digital Signage business, where, the premises owners deserve more revenue share than meager rentals or fixed income or share on “assumed” revenue. Value Added services such as online reports, utility messages / social messages (messages defined by the premises owners that are played at their premises during the business hours) and SOS Messages (that are displayed during emergencies) should be extended to the premises owners. Such services are only possible on a true online network.

Moreover Digital Signage networks are service provides and not product sellers. They need to share a higher percentage of the Ad revenue with the premises owners and be transparent about the revenue sharing system. Only a proper online network would have the capability to have transparent revenue system where each Ad is accounted for & the premises owners are clear as how much revenue they are earning for each Ad that is displayed on the screens located at their premises.

Just connecting of the displays over the internet for remote management doesn’t make a Digital Signage network an online network. It is just “networking for the convenience” of the Digital Signage network, not for the benefit of the Advertiser or the premises owner. A true online network would offer a complete online based Ad campaign system to the advertiser & technology driven value added services to the premises owners, like what Kiosk Mint does.

Who owns digital signage business?

It is a common belief that the digital signage business is owned by the companies operating the digital signage networks. However a core business analysis would make it evident that it is not the operators who own the business, but it is the Premises Owners, who showcase the digital signages at their premises, who are the true owners of the digital signage business. Not only do the Premises Owners own the business but they are the most significant contributors to the digital signage business.

Here’s how… The very essence of advertising is to bring a product closer to the customers. For any advertising media it is the customers, i.e. ‘the viewers’, who are the most crucial entity of the business. In case of Digital Signage the viewers are the patrons at a premise, such as a café, a mall, a movie plaza, a restaurant, a shopping store or any other location where digital signages are installed. And what brings the patrons to these locations is the goods & services the premises owners have to offer them. Eventually it is the Premises owners who are the key players in the digital signage business as they are the ones who attract patrons, ‘the viewers’, to their premises and enable digital signage to expose various brands, products and services to these patrons.

Typically the network operators have been benefiting from the efforts & investments of the Premises Owners. Premises Owners invest on real estate and spend handsomely on the aesthetics of their premises to attract the patrons and to make their patrons’ overall experience more enjoyable. The operators install Digital Signages at these premises and they earn generously while paying nominal rental to the premises owners. As the premises business grows and has a higher number of patrons, the ads displayed on the signages at such locations would be sold at a premium cost and the benefits go directly to the operator. While the Premises Owners continue to receive the same nominal rent for the signages.

Digital Signage is the Premises Owners’ business, the digital signages are installed at their premises and the viewers of the medium are their patrons. It is the Premises Owners who own the business and they should be most benefited by this medium. As the premise has a higher footfall and the Ads on the signages at such premise are sold at a premium, the premises owners should earn higher revenue. The network operators should only facilitate the effective operation of the digital signages and should acknowledge the significance of the premises owners in the digital signage business.

Kiosk Mint understands the importance of the Premises Owners and their contribution to the digital signage medium. Kiosk Mint offers only to facilitate the digital signage business and operates on a business model that allows the Premises Owners to own the business and to take the maximum benefit from this unique medium with high revenue potential

Kiosk Mint - Advertisers

Digital Signage, which is outdoor advertising through eye catching dynamic digital displays (LCD Screens), has emerged as the next generation mass-communication tool. “Kiosk Mint” is an innovative Digital Signage Business Network that provides precise exposure to advertisers at competitive costs besides several other benefits.

Kiosk-Mint provides its Advertisers expansive coverage at in-expensive costs. Our system is automated with minimum human interference and is designed to benefit Advertisers to successfully campaign with lesser investment and lager exposure. Click here to know more about our technology.

Payment only for confirmed Impression - Advertiser is charged only on a successful Impression on any screen and is charged as per the tariff sheet given to them during the contract. Besides this, Kiosk Mint provides proof of broadcast of Ads, in the form of online reports on a real-time basis.

Precise targeting of audience - Advertisers can choose the Geography (cities & towns) and the Channels (target audience) on which their Ad needs to be broadcasted, including the maximum impressions per day, based on their Ad campaign requirements. Further they can choose to increase the impressions during business hours & also peak hours.

Focused Visibility - Our Displays are strategically placed and they demand attention. The Kiosks are owned by the premises owners and are well maintained & not subject to neglect. Our field administrators conduct a thorough inspection of the store premises and the location of the Display before it is approved and authorised to display ads. These inspections are done at random to ensure compliance to our benchmark.

Kiosk Mint - Digital Sinage Network

Digital Signage is the most promising & fast expanding Advertising concept where Ads are screened on electronic displays installed at public places.

Digital Signage is fast becoming the preferred Ad broadcasting means for the Advertisers as it exposes their brands to consumer when they are outdoors for shopping or for leisure. Potential Customers instantly get drawn to these displays as these are unique, interesting, informative and less annoying compared to the Ads on other advertising media.

Kiosk Mint is new age Digital Signage Network designed to benefit not only the Advertisers but also the retail establishments that showcase the electronic displays. Kiosk Mint partners with commercial enterprises, premises owners and shares the Ad revenue, allowing them to monetize the footfall (viewership) at their premises.

Partners are premises owners who showcase the electronic displays that exhibit our Ads. Our Partners get an active share in the Ad revenue and not a nominal fixed rent for their Kiosks. They get paid for every ad that is displayed on each Kiosk they own, this allows the Kiosk Owners to earn maximum returns on their investment and allows them to monetize the increasing footfalls at their premises.