Top opportunities & obstacles for digital signage in corporate communication

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The first Digital Signage for Corporate Communication was a big success (in my opinion of course) because for an entire day we had communication experts focused on how to best use the technology internally. The day-long event also included a tour of Eli Lilly & Company's network, in addition to content presentations from David Trounstine and Steve Crescenzo.

Digital Signage Today was kind enough to publish the list of top opportunities and obstacles facing digital signage used for employee communication. The challenges faced by these networks are often quite different from those that are public facing.

Please check out the full detail on Digital Signage Today but here's a sampling of what the group cited:

The Top Opportunities (in no particular order)
 
Flexibility – Forget cluttered bulletin boards and printing flyers. Recognition messages, HR updates and daily notices can be changed instantly and often through digital signage software.  Also, you can play a variety of content, including static images and video.
 
Gives content depth & context – Through the use of images and/or video, digital signage templates, messages from screens can resonate better with workforces than flyers, whiteboard messages or company memos.
 
Interactivity – The network's messages will resonate better with an engaged user of digital signage. Interactive screens on the user level can also be used to access the company website or perform HR tasks, such as requesting days off or checking 401k statuses.
 
Break news to a non-wired workforce – Believe it or not, there are still members of the workforce not on e-mail all day. These groups can still be informed via update messages through digital signage.
 
Passive channel - E-mail can be very intrusive to an employee’s work day. Digital signage places key messages in the environment and lets employees digest the communication at their pace.
 
Reinforce & redirect – Digital signage can provide basic info and redirect employees to communication channels better suited to deliver the full message.
 
 
The Top Obstacles (in no particular order)

 
Money – We are still feeling the effects of a recession, and the initial non-reoccurring cost (capital expenditure) of a network is not something companies are eager to be shelling out.
 
Executive buy-in – This is along the same lines as the money example. CEOs have to have the final signoff on the network and are generally concerned about the bottom line. Executives have to be presented with a detailed cost/benefit comparison in order to get them on board. It’s best to do this early in the planning process.
 
IT – Successful digital signage is a collaboration between IT and marketing departments. Often times, IT staffs are strapped as it is without the responsibility of managing operations of a digital signage network.
 
Risk & security – Because operation of the digital signage network often lies on the company’s LAN infrastructure, proper IT security measures need to be put in place to ensure there is no misuse of the network.
 
I have been asked by many for details on the next event. All I can say at this point is stay tuned. I'm determined to make sure that each event is worth the time and expense it takes to attend events like these.

Comments for Top opportunities & obstacles for digital signage in corporate communication

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 by Chris Bias:
Let's do another one... and soon. Good times, good information, good learnings!
Friday, October 29, 2010 by Camila Ron:
Awesome and Informative post.