4 Key Areas Where Digital Advertising Really Scores Over Print

Our truDigital team, based here in Sandy, Utah, have noticed recently that increasing numbers of businesses who operate in a variety of retail environments are turning to digital signage, rather than print advertising, to deliver the footfall they need. Advertising Hall of Famer Morris L Hite once said that: ‘Advertising moves people toward goods; merchandising moves goods toward people’. This was a generation before digital, but the first part certainly applies to the instancy and flexibility of this form of promotion.

There are four key reasons why HD digital signage is now so popular for retail businesses…

1. Gaining flexibility

This is certainly a key advantage digital has over print. Using an agile, cloud-based content management system, the information can always be up-to-date and relevant, either for a local market or nationwide. This compares favorably to unchangeable print ads that can’t respond to variables such as levels of stock availability, sudden new product deliveries (or cancellations), or relevant weather conditions. Even more set-in-stone print products, such as posters that also require pre-shipping, might not arrive in time or simply be out-of-date as circumstances change. Incidentally, imagine discovering a typo after a magazine or newsletter print run is completed and even published. Typos do happen; digitally they can be corrected in the time it takes to read this sentence!

2. Avoiding long deadlines and recurring print costs

When you are looking for long-term ROI on marketing dollars spent, you’ll know how recurring print costs, whether in-house or through outside print shops, constantly take a hefty whack of your available budget. They also take time to produce and distribute, taking you further away from having that vital in-the-moment promotional capability. The initial set-up of digital signage can be a key outlay, but maintenance and running costs are low.

3. Delivering true audience engagement

Remember those kids' books where, if you ruffle through the top corner of each page quickly, the image seems to move? Print can’t even offer that to retail advertisers! Digital signage turns such static messages into vibrant and richly colored promotions. Products can be demonstrated, clothes can be modeled in real-life situations, key benefits can be shown in just a few seconds. Menus can become truly mouth-watering, purchase-points brought to life, or upcoming demonstrations signposted. In-store maps can be provided, and special offers changed regularly throughout a single day.

All these actions, and many more using the cloud, can deliver a level of advertising agility unthinkable just a few years ago.

4. Making advertising messages more personal

Imagine a member of the public looking at one of your digital signage screens. In-built software could then use facial recognition to analyze their individual demographics. Quickly, it could deliver the customized brand, product or service advertising that person is most likely to respond to. This will see a future where your promotional activities can gain a real-time and at-location response, surely improving ROI as well as customer involvement.

Digital signage in retail environments will be instantly sought out and looked to in ways that print ads, or for that matter, other advertising forms such as direct mail, TV, radio or cinema can simply not deliver.

Ready to retail through digital signage?

If you would like to talk through the possibilities for your retail business, our truDigital signage team is ready to offer obligation-free advice. To start this conversation, simply call 1-801-852-9898 or use the Live Chat box on this page…