Archives des All markets - Page 9 of 12 - ITESMEDIA Dynamic Digital Signage

Power of Digital Signage for Smart Transit Experience

The same arrivals and destinations information we’re conditioned to seeing in airports is steadily coming available for light rail and transit systems – only these ones will tend to be smarter and better.

With mass transport and transit digital signage, it’s now possible using smart cities technology like sensors, mobile networks and cloud-based software to tell bus and train riders when their ride will arrive and leave, and much more.

Many transit systems equip their passenger vehicles with connected devices that can report their GPS coordinates and speed, and match that against local traffic conditions, to tell riders, in real-time, whether the #97 to Bayshore is on-time, or three minutes late.

Maybe three minutes more at a bus stop doesn’t matter that much most days, but it can to riders on cold or rainy days. If riders know there are extra minutes to wait, they can find shelter.

That kind of information is shown on digital signage displays inside central and regional terminals, and outside on ruggedized, daylight-readable displays on platforms and at major stops on busy routes.

The hidden power of all of these displays is that they can serve multiple purposes. With a touch overlay, smart city transit displays can help passengers find the best route to a destination, and get schedules. With peripheral devices like a card readers, they can step riders through the process of calculating fares and paying for tickets and passes on the spot, or enable the recharging of smart fare cards.

Located in the right positions, smart city screens operating on networks are also ideal for making riders aware of service changes, new programs and community activities. Because network screens “talk” steadily to central servers, they’re also a powerful broadcast platform for mission-critical messaging like Amber Alerts.

If data is reported from a device and made available to a messaging system, really smart systems can make the transit system more enjoyable, by providing need-to-know information.

Think about it. If data from cameras, or payment systems, make it evident the 5:17 bus is jammed to the rafters, but the 5:24 is 40% full, the riders who see that on a screen can make an informed decision. Wedge their way into the 5:17, or wait seven minutes and get a seat.

With smart signage, they’d at least know there were options!

Improving how things work: Smart City Communication

Suppose the street signs in a city’s busy core district weren’t just painted metal on posts, but instead were digital, connected and smart enough to make that area work better and more livable, by getting cars off the streets and parked a little more easily.

That was the driver behind the city government in Montreal, Quebec funding a smart cities project that put 200 LED information signs around the main central tourist and business districts. Fixed at the same height as intersection lights, the signs direct motorists to the nearest parking garages where spots are available – even updating, minute-by-minute, how many stalls are free.

The system is connected to the parking systems at the main garages in the immediate area of the signs, and the operator systems “talk” steadily to the central sign management system.

This dynamic parking guidance delivers on several objectives for the city of Montreal:

Gets cars off the roads faster, as they stop the “hunt” for parking;
Warns motorists of accidents or slow-downs;
Warns of planned disruptions like paving or snow clearing;
Relays instant public messaging, like Amber Alerts.

It’s a powerful example of how networked digital signage addresses the big aspirations and challenges of making cities smarter – which is all about improving how things work, and what that means to the quality of life.

The concept of smart cities has been around for many years, but the rise of cloud computing, ubiquitous connectivity and open data have opened a huge range of possibilities. Instead of printed or even painted informational signs that take people, planning and time to change, the right content management system when paired with real-time data can ensure people in cars or on sidewalks have access to information that’s relevant to the time and specific location.

It’s not just one-way visual communications. Smart city digital signage initiatives include things like interactive, touch-driven directory kiosks – inside and even outside public spaces.

Smartphones may offer users everything from maps to directories, but they’re on tiny screens only one person can see, and the information often spread across multiples. Big indoor and outdoor directory kiosks offer searchable information about the city, and specific area, easily viewed by couples and groups. Because these smart kiosks are IOT-connected, the data is updated as soon as it changes elsewhere, and in many cases, what users find on the big screens can then be sent to their phones.

The possibilities for digital signage and smart cities are endless, and people interested in their impact need only take a look on the streets of beautiful Montreal to see smart city screens in action.

Five Types of Messages You Can Broadcast to Improve Internal Communications

Are you satisfied with your company’s internal communications? What measures have you taken to make them better? Few companies have bragging rights when it comes to internal communications, which can be a real challenge and keep your business from running smoothly.

According to the State of the Sector 2018 report, an employee engagement and internal communications survey conducted annually by Gatehouse, face-to-face communications are the most effective way to communicate within an organization. Digital channels, such as digital signage and email, follow close behind in effectiveness, but are often easier and cheaper to use.

Dynamic digital signage is gradually proving its worth to companies and is being used more and more to broadcast messages. According to the same Gatehouse survey, 64% of companies in the North America now use digital displays to conduct internal communications.

Email and other digital channels such as an intranet and instant messaging are very popular methods for companies to share information. However, since many employees, especially in a factory or warehouse setting, do not have regular access to a computer, these digital channels can be rendered next to useless. Digital signage, on the other hand, can reach employees no matter where they are working and have a significant impact. Read on to learn more about five types of messages you can broadcast on digital displays to improve your internal communications.

ARCELORMITTAL CASE STUDY WATCH FULL VIDEO NOW

1. Share Performance Indicators

Most businesses have databases that provide numerous real-time performance indicators. Sharing these kinds of data can be an effective way to increase employee engagement and motivation. A digital display network can be used to automatically broadcast these indicators company-wide. For example, manufacturing companies can share production goals and real-time production numbers with workers on the factory floor, while a real estate brokerage can display how many closings their agents have made.

4 KPIs your Employees Need to Know

In the example below, the chart data in the main zone and the number of days without accidents in the secondary zone are updated automatically by interfacing with the customer’s databases. In addition, events, such as upcoming trainings, can be broadcast automatically by integrating a calendar.

2. Highlight Employee Achievements

We know the value of positive reinforcement, but until now, we’ve lacked an appropriate means to display employee news and achievements in a way that has a positive effect on the entire organization. Digital signage is the perfect medium for showcasing employee successes. Has an employee recently pushed her limits during a sporting event? Has another exceeded all expectations on a special project? Has a colleague set himself apart by receiving a special certification? These are just a few examples of special accomplishments that deserve to be displayed on your screen network. Motivating employees by highlighting their achievements will have a significant positive impact on productivity, performance, and retention.

3. Play Educational Content

An interesting benefit of installing digital displays is the ability to add educational and prevention content into the display lineup. It’s an easy way to share how a new machine works, introduce new safety procedures, broadcast EHS reminders, and conduct dynamic training using a medium that can be viewed at any time of day. Using digital displays increases the chances that all your employees will see the information needed to keep operations running smoothly. Since the screens catch viewers’ attention and the content is played on a loop throughout the day, you maximize the likelihood that the information will be transmitted.

5 Ways to Improve OHS with Digital Signage

4. Broadcast Administrative and HR Messages

Instead of sharing administrative information by sending a mass email, why not display it on a screen? Screens can be used to notify employees about upcoming meetings, holidays, or policy changes. Management can also use them to wish employees a happy birthday or invite them to a social event.

5. Instill Company Culture

Publishing messages about the company’s values and mission can help improve the atmosphere in the workplace and ensure that employees are all on the same page. It can also instill customer confidence and loyalty in a company or organization.

Dynamic digital signage can be used in a variety of ways to improve your company’s internal communications. Use digital displays to:

Broadcast customized messages to a specific place and audience,
Provide employees with educational and training materials,
Recognize the accomplishments of engaged employees, and
Promote the company’s important values.

Are your current internal communications methods up to snuff? In the new era of smartphones, tablets, and smart watches, companies that avoid going digital will be left in the dust. How does your company effectively use internal communications tools? We want to know! If you would like to learn more about how ITESMEDIA can help you implement a digital signage solution, please get in touch.

Brokers, Boost Your Internal Communications with Digital Signage

We are living in an age of instant wireless communications. Customers, agents, and brokerages can be more interconnected today than ever before. The internet and cellular technologies have allowed agents greater flexibility in the way they work, and many agents are eschewing the office in favor of more flexible work schedules and locations. However, some brokerage owners may have found that these technological advances have been made at the expense of agent engagement and a cohesive office culture. A new tool being used by tech-forward brokerages to combat this phenomenon is dynamic digital signage.

Dynamic Digital Signage, You Say?

That’s right! Dynamic digital signage is so much more than just scrolling banners or slide shows on a television monitor. While many are aware that digital signage is an effective tool for communicating with customers, it is an equally effective way to communicate with agents and office staff. Today, digital signage is an integrated communications solution that can push customized content to any screen you choose, whether it be a tablet, mobile device, desktop screensaver, high-resolution office window display, weatherproof outdoor screen, or remote interactive kiosk. Digital signage helps your employees receive office communications as though they were in the office when instead they might be meeting with a client at a property or catching up on emails between closings off site.

Improved internal communications can have a host of benefits for your brokerage. Read on to learn about just a few of them.

Increased Engagement

Agents and staff want to be informed of what’s going on. Making sure people are up to date is a best practice for all businesses across markets and industries. Louis-Philippe Péloquin, Director of Communications at ArcelorMittal, said that since installing digital signage, he “no longer hears employees say, ‘I didn’t know.’” Is everyone at your brokerage always in the know? If they are, they’re likelier to be engaged. According to the Harvard Business Review, engaged employees miss work less often, turn over less frequently, produce higher quality work, and are healthier[1]. Furthermore, engaged employees are 87% less likely to quit their jobs, according to the Hay Group. Read more about increasing employee engagement with digital signage here. Prioritizing engagement is a proven strategy for not only recruiting the best agents, but retaining them as well.

More Motivation

Motivated employees are more productive. Digital signage solutions are a seamless and real-time means for motivating your agents. Brokers can connect their databases and sales trackers to digital signage software that displays metrics like sales volume, number of closings, and number of active listings per agent. Top agents are recognized and praised for their hard work, inspiring friendly competition among colleagues.

Higher Satisfaction

According to BCG, employees who feel appreciated, who feel like valued members of a team, and who identify with their company’s values are much happier at work[2]. Dynamic digital displays are a very public way to easily recognize agents for the quality of their work, wish them a happy birthday, celebrate their growing families or personal milestones, or announce promotions. Investing in digital displays is a way to show your agents that you care—both about them and about the longevity of your business.

Internal communications are as important as customer communications, if not more. The benefits of effective internal communication cannot be understated. Add dynamic digital signage to your internal communications strategy today. To learn more about how one real estate brokerage owner, Claude Allard, radically changed his business with digital signage solutions, read our full case study.

[1]Employee Engagement Does More than Boost Productivity, John Baldoni, HBR, accessed Feb. 16., 2018, https://hbr.org/2013/07/employee-engagement-does-more

[2]Decoding Global Talent, Rainer Strack et al, BCG, accessed Feb. 16, 2018, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2014/people-organization-human-resources-decoding-global-talent.aspx

4 KPIs your Employees Need to Know

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are essential metrics companies use to measure how they’re doing. KPIs help decision makers ensure their choices are informed. Most companies have invested in complex and extremely costly databases with KPI dashboards to keep tabs on their performance. These KPIs are frequently only available to decision makers and the management team. Couldn’t sharing them with employees and customers also be beneficial? Read on to learn about which types of KPIs are best shared for maximum benefit.

5 types of messages you should communicate now to improve your internal communications

4 KPIs your Employees Need to Know

Indicator #1: Production Indicators

KPIs are often used to monitor production and can be useful for motivating employees. These KPIs include quantity produced, reject ratio, production targets, and downtime, among others.

Sharing the quantity produced in the above example with the product 2 team may motivate them to continue their good work. Highlighting good performance is obviously important. Plus, sharing this information might also motivate the product 4 team to work harder to achieve better results or determine what occurred in January to cause a slump in production.

Indicator #2: Quality Control Indicators

Quality control indicators are also information that is worth displaying and communicating to a company’s various departments. These metrics are very diverse and range from cost of quality to percentage of compliant products and number of defects.

Displaying this data promotes transparency between management and employees. Providing easy access to information often has a beneficial effect on employees. To perform at a high level, workers needs to feel like they are part of the team. Displaying data that was formerly reserved for managers is an effective way to promote engagement and better performance.

Indicator #3: Project Progress Indicators

All departments in a company can benefit from knowing the progress of ongoing projects. This allows all employees, whether on the production floor or in the offices, to have a common vision of the work done. This overview is motivating since it reflects globally the situation according to the tasks performed by the different departments.

Indicator #4: Shipment Indicators

A diverse array of companies deal with shipping. Many employees would likely be interested in knowing how many products have shipped, the number of on-time and complete shipments, etc. during a given month compared to previous months and during the same month the previous year. The ultimate goal of displaying these KPIs is to show employees how their work translates into measurable results.

Production, quality control, project progress, and shipments are four KPI categories all of your employees should know. Want to go a step further? Keep reading to learn about a few bonus points you can think about!

Keep Your Customers Informed

Why not share some of your best data with your customers, too? Your customers would probably be interested in hearing that your shipments increased over the past few months, indicating that your business is doing well, or that you have a particularly low defect rate. You can share this information with customers and suppliers in your waiting or conference rooms.

Dynamic Digital Signage for Communicating KPIs

Email is the most commonly used method for communicating with employees and is increasingly common for communicating with customers.

That said, some employees do not have regular access to email throughout the work day, particularly in fields like manufacturing where most workers are on the floor and not looking at email. Thankfully, there is a cutting-edge solution to help communicate KPIs to all of your employees: dynamic digital signage.

For manufacturing companies, dynamic digital signage is an interesting solution for communicating effectively with employees on the floor. A screen placed in a strategic location, for example, can be used to broadcast KPIs that are specific to a department or task.

In addition to KPIs, dynamic digital displays can be used to show several other types of messages. Want to learn more? Check out our article on 5 types of messages you need to share with your employees.

To find out even more, check out 5 good reasons why you should use digital signage in a factory.

Dynamic Digital Signage: A Veritable Swiss Army Knife for Real Estate

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the words digital signage? Probably a screen with images and text on it, right? It’s true that most people associate digital signage with signs that provide instruction or information. But depending on how you use it, digital signage can serve as a variety of different tools to help you perform a whole list of tasks, just like a Swiss army knife.

Dynamic digital signage is a combination of durable, high-quality hardware—like screens and tablets—and the powerful functionality of customized cloud-based software. The software makes it possible to display content where and when you want across a network of screens and devices. But don’t limit yourself to just thinking about digital signage as a network of software-powered screens displaying listings in your windows. It can also serve as one or several of the following tools for your business:

Compelling Communications Tool

Digital signage is a powerful communications tool that helps you reach your agents and provide them with useful and essential information, whether they are on or off site. Use digital signage to schedule and notify your team of a meeting, inform them of office announcements, provide information that instills the values of the organization and office culture, and share important industry news.

Advantageous Administrative Tool

Digital signage is also a useful administrative tool. Rather than having an office assistant figure out who is in the office when, use digital signage to track and display office attendance as well as available conference rooms in real time. Agents can easily tap themselves in and out as they enter or leave the brokerage without time-consuming logins or interruptions.

Effective Engagement Tool

In addition to helping with communications and administrative tasks, digital signage is also a way to increase agent engagement. Digital screens can be customized according to where they are displayed, so internal information is reserved for agents’ eyes only. You can use digital screens in your back office to inform your agents that the brokerage has hit a revenue milestone or sold an important listing. It can also be used to display office statistics, performance indicators, and make important announcements. Agents can also be recognized for meeting goals and celebrating birthdays, making them feel appreciated and therefore more engaged in their work.

Multifaceted Marketing Tool

The best benefits of dynamic digital signage might be how it can be used in a marketing context. The most obvious benefit is the real-time updating of listings. Long gone are the days of paper listings and updating every listing by hand. New listings, including photos, videos, specs, price, and the listing agent’s name and contact information are automatically pulled from your internal software and displayed for clients to see. These listings can be displayed both inside and outside your brokerage as dynamic window displays or waiting room screens, or even remotely at an off-site location. The listings can be customized based on the location of the brokerage and the target clientele.

Digital signage is not a one-trick pony. Its benefits extend much further than the sleek hardware on your walls, in your hands, or on your desks. Brokers can revolutionize their communications strategies, simplify administrative tasks, increase employee engagement, and transform their marketing by implementing customized digital signage tools that fit their needs. Get in touch with us today to discuss what you need. To learn more about how digital signage is being used across an array of industries, check out these additional resources:

Location, Location, Location: It Matters for Brokerages, Too!

Three things matter more in real estate than anything else: location, location, location. When it comes to buying and selling property, location has a greater effect than nearly any other factor. The same can largely be said of brokerages themselves: when they are in more desirable locations, their chances of success increase.

With the economic downturn in 2008, many brokerages downsized their offices and moved to less expensive locations. These locations wound up being farther from city centers and sought-after neighborhoods. Many broker/owners also had to put updating their offices on the back burner to weather the drastic slowdown in business. Today, things are looking up, but better economic times have been paired with technological advances that allow agents to work when and where they want, reducing the importance of brick-and-mortar locations.

For many years now, brokers have had to make smart choices about what they invest their hard-earned money in. With the rebalancing of the North American real estate market, many are deciding that it is time for some much-needed upgrades. What better time, then, to invest in a technology like dynamic digital signage?

Why Would My Brokerage Want Digital Signage?

Dynamic digital signage is so more than scrolling banners and slide shows on a monitor. It is an integrated communications tool that can push customized content to any screen you choose, whether it be a tablet, mobile device, desktop screensaver, or 50-foot-tall outdoor screen. What’s more, it is also a way to demonstrate to your current and prospective clients that you are up on trends and keeping with the latest technological advances. Since the technology as it exists today is still relatively new, it can be a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Some Unexpected Benefits of Digital Signage

Elevate your brand perception. Digital signage is sleek, contemporary, and appealing. Using new technology to improve your business shows your clients and employees that you care about how your brand is perceived and the quality of your image. The top-of-the-line tools provided by digital signage are perfect for demonstrating that you care and are willing to invest in yourself.

Project value. Digital signage is an investment, but as Claude Allard mentions in our case study about how RE/MAX uses digital signage, it can do the work of a full-time administrative assistant and be automatically updated 24 hours a day. Therefore, over the long term, the advantages provided by digital signage will more than pay for themselves while providing value-added services to your clients and employees.

Make your agents’ jobs easier. Digital signage is more than just listings on a screen. It facilitates internal and external communication, administrative tasks, and marketing. Agents can tap in and out of the office, deliver better listings presentations, and be up to date on the inventory, transactions, and performance of the brokerage. When you have the right software powering your digital signage, all the data your office keeps can be automatically transferred to a display to tell the story of the day, showcasing the brokerage itself, its customer service, and its culture to agents and clients alike. Learn more about the varied ways digital signage can be used in real estate.

Still Not Convinced? Let Us Paint You a Picture.

A prospective client arrives at your brokerage. While waiting, she sees how many sales you’ve made in the last 30 days and pictures of the beautiful properties that have been sold on a screen in your waiting room. Your administrative assistant pulls up a screen that shows which agents are available and their areas of expertise. The right agent is called up to the front desk, fast! The client engages with the agent and joins him in a free conference room to discuss her needs. The agent can review listings on a beautiful large screen display with the client before seamlessly transitioning to a laptop or tablet at any point during the meeting. The agent and client can speak at ease, build rapport, and browse listing, pictures, video, specs, locations, and more. The client swipes through and chooses her favorites. The agent pulls up his schedule to find a time to show the properties to the client, who is impressed with how professional, prepared, and organized the agent is. And… since the same attendance feature that was used initially shows that the agent is busy and that the conference room is occupied, the agent conducts the meeting undisturbed. As the client leaves the brokerage, she sees that during her meeting, the brokerage closed another major sale and the closing agent is featured on the same screen in the waiting room.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not! Get in touch with us today to discuss how we can turn this picture into a reality. Rather than investing in art for your walls or new curtains for your windows this year, why not invest in something that will pay you back and improve your business instead?

5 Ways to Improve OHS with Digital Signage

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a major issue that can cost businesses a lot of money. According to the IRSST, which studies occupational health and safety, OHS costs businesses around $3.2 billion[1] a year in Quebec alone. The IRSST also calculated that the average cost for an occupational injury is $34,869.[2] This includes:

Medical expenses: medical care and rehabilitation fees, training time for other employees, medical exams
Funeral expenses: the cost of a funeral in the event of a fatality
Salary expenses: hours not worked or that weren’t productive but were paid as salaries and employee benefits by the employer on the day of the accident
Lost productivity: the value of the work that is not done by the injured worker
Administrative expenses: the cost of turnover (recruiting, training, etc.)
Human costs: loss in quality of life for the worker and his or her family, friends, and other members of the community; potential years of life lost (fatality)

Businesses must also consider the potential increase in their insurance premiums following a fatality or serious injury.

Knowing how expensive they are, businesses must take the necessary steps to prevent occupational injuries. A prevention plan that informs workers of the risks associated with their work and training to give them the skills and knowledge required to safely carry it out are essential. To that end, dynamic digital signage is a solution that allows companies to:

Inform employees of risks and dangers
Share OHS best practices
Ask employees to be vigilant
Share statistics on accidents that have occurred
Display messages numerous times

5 types of messages you should communicate now to improve your internal communications

4 KPIs your Employees Need to Know

1. Informing Employees of Risks and Dangers

A major way to improve OHS is to inform employees of risks and dangers in the workplace. For example, if a factory’s ambient noise levels are high, they can permanently damage hearing if those exposed do not wear proper protection. The image below is a concrete example of what could be displayed on a screen to inform employees about potential consequences if necessary precautions aren’t taken.

2. Sharing OHS Best Practices

It is important for employees to be informed, but companies should also tell them, or rather remind them, about good OHS practices. For example, employees should wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times.

Take a look at a concrete example of what could be displayed on a screen to remind employees of OHS best practices.

3. Asking Employees to Be Vigilant

One of the advantages of digital signage is the ability to change a message quickly, making it possible to quickly draw attention to a near accident and ensure employees remain vigilant. It is also possible to inform employees of temporary dangerous conditions. For example, Caution, the building entrance is icy!

4. Sharing Statistics

Digital displays are an effective way to share statistics about accidents that have occurred at work. For example:

Number of days without minor/major incidents
Months with the most accidents
Number of heat strokes in August

The following screenshot represents a concrete example of what the screen at your company could look like when sharing statistics.

5. Repeating Information

We tend to forget things quickly, which is why we often benefit from repeated exposure. Digital signage is an efficient communication tool that can repeat the important OHS information described above. Moreover, an important advantage of this tool is the ability to automate safety messages according to the time of day, work shift, or the location of the screen. This ensures that the right message is delivered to the right audience.

Digital signage is a tool that can be used to take your OHS prevention strategy to the next level and help your company avoid the consequences of an unfortunate accident. To learn more about how digital signage can be implemented at your company, check out the following articles:

[1] Rapport R-922 de l’IRSST

[2] Rapport R-922 de l’IRSST

Everything You Wanted to Know About Digital Signage but Didn’t Think to Ask

Keeping up to date with the newest marketing tech can be a struggle for any business owner. The space changes so quickly, so how can you know if the latest cutting-edge solution is right for you? Dynamic digital signage is one such solution. Understanding the ins and outs will help you make the most informed decision about whether it’s a product that works for your business. Below, we address some of the general aspects of dynamic digital signage to help point you in the right direction.

What is a digital signage content strategy and why make one?

What Can Dynamic Digital Signage Be Used For?

Digital signage has a variety of uses that can be broken down into three main categories:

Communicating with Employees

“Since we’ve started using digital signage, we no longer hear our employees say, ‘I didn’t know.'”

Workplace communication can be tough. To help facilitate communication, companies can use digital displays and screensavers to broadcast important information to their employees, such as company messages, performance indicators, safety reminders, and more. These messages can serve a variety of purposes: they can be informative, educational, motivational, or simply entertaining. Some companies even broadcast information to help prevent workplace accidents. Louis-Philippe Péloquin, Director of Communications at ArcelorMittal, said that since installing digital signage, they “no longer hear [their] employees say, ‘I didn’t know.'” Improved communications can lead to increased motivation, higher productivity, and improved safety.

Communicating with Customers

“McDonald’s restaurants now display their menus digitally, but they still sell the same Big Mac.”

Businesses large and small are communicating with their customers in new ways. Many companies are seeking solutions to reach their customers differently. Digital displays paired with dynamic content management software are an innovative way to increase awareness about a product or service and can be updated in real time. Digital signage is also four times as likely to attract a customer’s attention than a traditional display. For example, large multinationals like McDonald’s use digital signage to display and update their menus. Some RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, and Century 21 real estate brokerages, on the other hand, use it to promote the properties they have for sale, both in displays outside their offices and within their offices themselves. Digital displays are sleek and tech forward, and brokerages can use them to elevate the perception of their brand among both customers and employees by sharing office data: sales figures, active listings, properties in escrow, testimonials, and more. Learn more about how one real estate agency owner, Claude Allard, radically changed his business with digital signage solutions in our full case study.

Communicating with Users

These days, engagement is the buzzword on every marketer’s lips. Users expect to be engaged, whether they are waiting for the bus, navigating an unfamiliar city, or visiting the doctor. Digital signage is a means for connecting and engaging with users in a meaningful way. For example, the City of Montréal makes driving easier by using digital signage to let drivers know about road work and available parking spaces throughout the city. McGill University Health Centre uses digital screens and terminals to help visitors find their way around the hospital. And several municipalities use digital signage to inform public transportation users about delays, schedule or route changes, and general information like the weather and news.

The Most Popular Industries Using Digital Signage

The Digital Signage Ecosystem

While relatively simple, dynamic digital signage requires specific hardware and software components to work properly. The diagram above shows how all these components communicate with each other. Let’s take a closer look at the basic digital signage components.

Software is the heart of the digital signage ecosystem. You might not be able to touch it, but it’s what controls and sends content where you want, when you want it.

Digital Signage Software

In the digital signage ecosystem, software is the core. It may be intangible, but it’s what controls and sends content to the desired screens according to a predetermined schedule. For the past several years, this software has often been Cloud-based and accessible from any internet-connected platform. It has undeniable advantages, but when it comes to the important elements of reliability and security, some software comes up short. Buyers should make sure that their providers use a solid and secure infrastructure, such as Microsoft Azure. If you’re unsure of how to choose the best software for you, check out our article about buying the right software.

At ITESMEDIA, we’ve developed our own proprietary digital signage software called ITESLIVE. It allows for automated communications management and even allows you to connect directly to your own databases to update information like KPIs or projections seamlessly and dynamically. Allow us to convince you: schedule a free online demo today.

Digital Displays: Not Your Ordinary TV

Displays are where your content is dynamically shown. Displays look like televisions but have features that make them suitable for commercial use, such as extended service lives, waterproofing, and increased brightness. Digital displays can be used on their own or can be put together to create video walls of any size. The screensaver of a computer can also be used to display content. Finally, digital LED panels, like those that show the number of available parking spaces in a given location, are yet another example of a type of digital display.

Interactive Displays

Interactive displays take it up a notch: like digital displays, they are screens that display content but also integrate an advanced tactile interface to provide users with a dynamic, interactive experience. They can be used anywhere, from shopping centers to help visitors locate a particular store, to real estate offices to show potential buyers the features of various properties. Even tablets, which have become increasingly popular in the past few years, can use used to deliver and display interactive digital content.

Media Player

The media player is the link between the digital signage software and your screens. It is what allows you to display the content created in your content manager on your entire network of screens. It’s generally quite small and has the same basic functionality as a computer. It can connect to the internet via an Ethernet cable, Wi-Fi, or even a cellular LTE network and plugs into your screens using an HDMI cable.

Another alternative technology that has been developed recently and that is being used more frequently is called SoC, which stands for system on chip. This system is less expensive than an external media player but doesn’t always offer the right level of performance. It can also be more expensive to perform maintenance on the signage if there’s an issue. We can help you determine whether a media player or SoC technology is right for you.

How Patrick Morin improved communication with his employees

Project description

The renovation center Patrick Morin, which currently has a network of 21 branches throughout Quebec, was having difficulty communicating with its many employees. According to the company’s human resources manager, Jean-Philippe Lavoie, it is quite the challenge to communicate effectively with 21 branches. Following several discussions and a research period, the communications team of Groupe Patrick Morin decided to implement a digital signage network in the rest areas dedicated to employees in order to share and display various messages.

Project objectives

To communicate clearly and effectively important messages in a standardized way;
To display prevention reminders on occupational safety and health;
To customize messages for each branch.

Sujet: Jean-François Lavoie, Human ressources director and Marie-Ève Rousseau, Health, safety and human ressources advisor at Patrick Morin

Video transcription

[Patrick Morin] counts 21 branches throughout Québec. You can easily imagine the communication challenge we face.

The development of the project was quite simple; you don’t need an IT or communication training.

It was clear and concise.

ITESMEDIA was more than a simple supplier in this project.

They were like partners and supported us from the beginning of the project and still today.

I first met Richard Fortin; he explained to me how the platform works.

Then, Richard sent me a platform to work on my content strategy.

The platform was very detailed: what content to use, how to display it on the screen, who should be the person in charge and how frequently we should update the content.

After entering the data on the platform, everything started working very fast and we didn’t have to manage anything.

There are 3 advantages to digital signage.

The first is uniformity. We are able to standardize our messages for all 21 branches.

The second advantage is customization. We need to be able to send customized message to each branch.

All branches will not necessarily receive the same messages.

The last one is spontaneity.

We need to be able to send messages very quickly according to our needs or the urgency of the situation.

ITESLIVE is so easy to work with.

First, we create mailing lists and with these, I create all the messages I need.

It’s easy to create and we can quickly visualize our display.

When satisfied with the result, just click on “save” and it goes live.

The response from the management and colleagues was excellent.

They noticed that we were going to have a much more effective communication with our stores.

Writing a long release can take over 30 minutes, not counting getting it approved.

With the platform, we only need to write a few lines and display it in an attractive way.

Now, a 30-minute task can be done in just 5 minutes.

We have to adapt to the various and more modern ways to communicate with our in-store customers.

Digital signage is a pretty nice tool. We knew we had to explore that avenue.

I do not hesitate to recommend ITESMEDIA for all your digital communications solutions.