1. A desirable program — build it and they will come

Building a program that provides the greatest ROI for the cost is key to ongoing long-term acceptance and widespread deployment. Before committing to a partner and program, ensure that all costs are included — upfront installation costs as well as ongoing management and maintenance costs. The ROI of these upfront and ongoing investments needs to be openly discussed and understood by all participants at the outset. While we have seen many models of cost assignment and sharing, in our experience the most successful deployments have shared a common thread of eligibility for co-op funding.

2. Program management — centralize for peace of mind

Once you have a program designed to meet your needs, consider how that program will be managed. This should be as easy and seamless as deployment. Having a partner that is easy to work with is important, and central management can make this process a breeze. With centrally managed digital signage, the vendor often finds any needed repairs and begins a fix before the user can even contact them, and updating messaging is done in an instant.

3. Creative alignment and brand differentiation — leverage and multiply

Your digital signage will be most effective if it is creatively aligned with brand messaging. This brand messaging must make the brand stand out from the start. Ensuring that your content developers can integrate the two worlds of brand-compliant, corporate advertising and showcasing special and seasonal offers desired by the independents is a vital step in keeping program satisfaction ratings high. The purpose of POP is to educate consumers on the specific technologies, features and benefits of a product. Informational content creatively displayed on a digital sign in the retail environment can go a long way toward meeting this challenge

4. Display location — go where the eyeballs are

Ensuring that your monitors provide the best picture is important, and there so many choices now. Size of the monitor is another decision to be made in conjunction with the retailer and display location. The optimum height for each display is based on each location’s unique footprint and needs. Over the years we found that when it comes to influencing shopper behavior at the point of purchase, the primary location for a display is behind the sales counter. This location serves the dual function of raising brand awareness and driving sales and specials, and at the same time serves to reduce the perceived wait time for customers preparing to make a purchase. Mounting considerations, ceiling, height and other location variables will be taken into consideration by the installers.

5. Display specifications for challenging retail environments — anything is possible
Independent retailers of considered purchase products are often in locations not encountered in the standard retail environments. Automotive, motorcycle and outdoor equipment service centers, for example, can present heat, cold, dust and humidity conditions that can be challenging to some electronic equipment. Many showrooms have large glass storefronts, which present unique challenges in terms of glare on displays. Aisle layouts and viewing angles also present visibility challenges that must be overcome. The goal is selection of reliable and functional technology that operates in all conditions and presents your message effectively.

REPOSTED FROM: digitalsignagetoday.com

Franchisees who own only a few locations will still be affected if the total number of brand stores is 20 or greater. By setting one consistent national standard the National Restaurant Association says the new law will help consumers make better choices for themselves and their families. The versatility provided by digital displays justifies a solution to replace standard printed menuboards.

Caloric and nutrient information will be required on restaurant menus, menuboards, and drive-thru displays. Menuboardstogo.com, plans to be a part of the solution process. Digital Menu Boards already handle nutritional information and their dynamic content can be changed or updated instantly.

All-inclusive Plug-and Play Kits are Pre-configured, Include Customer’s Content Pre-loaded

SARATOGA, CA – August 2, 2011 – BrightSign® announced today that OSM Solutions has launched a new line of do-it-yourself digital menu board systems featuring BrightSign network-enabled HD210 digital signage players.  Available online at MenuBoardsToGo.com, the turnkey systems are shipped pre-configured and loaded with the customer’s content so there’s no software learning curve, no programming of the SDHC card, nothing to learn about networking or central servers and there are no compatibility issues.  The high-definition menu boards are ready to use as soon as they’re plugged in, which makes them a compelling menu board solution for QSRs (quick serve restaurants), cafes, coffee houses, bakeries, cafeterias or any counter-service business.  To celebrate the launch, MenuBoardsToGo is offering a 15 percent discount on all self-install kits for the month of August.

The new digital menu board kits are complete, all-in-one solutions that include the industry’s most reliable, professional-grade equipment: a BrightSign solid-state HD210 Networked Media Player, an LG Commercial LCD Monitor with a choice of screen sizes ranging from 42” to 65”, an LCD Mounting Bracket, an HDMI Cable and an SDHC Card.  With the August 15 percent discount, a $1,599 kit that includes a 42” monitor will only cost $1,359—a savings of nearly $240.

BrightSign solid-state controllers are priced significantly lower than PC-based solutions and play a key role in keeping the cost of the MenuBoardsToGo systems very affordable.  Because they don’t need a PC to deliver crystal-clear content, there are no moving parts to fail. As a result, they provide higher reliability and use substantially less power.  Offering display flexibility, the HD210 media player delivers dedicated looping playback of multimedia content as well as multi-zone screen layouts, synchronization of multiple displays using Ethernet connections and full HD resolutions.  The networked player also includes the tools users need to make delivering remote content to one or one-hundred units fast and easy.

Marc Rosenberg, owner of MenuBoardsToGo.com and a skilled digital menu board designer, explained why he only uses BrightSign media players for the digital menu board kits.   “I originally chose the BrightSign players because the units are compact, solid, and provide very good support for H.264 video at 1080p.  In addition to remote content updates, they also offer scalability and longevity, so they provide our clients with good value,” Rosenberg noted. “The BrightSign platform enables us to provide menu board systems to customers with the confidence that when they turn the menu board on for the first time, it’s going to be plug-n-play and look absolutely stellar.”

Rosenberg uses BrightSign’s BrightAuthor Software, a PC-based application included with BrightSign players, to create and publish content; and BrightSign Network, a subscription-based hosted networking service, to monitor deployed menu boards remotely.  “BrightAuthor simplifies scheduling and day-parting,” said Rosenberg. “With dayparting, a restaurant’s breakfast, lunch and dinner digital menu boards can be changed automatically throughout each day when service for that meal begins.”
“We’re especially pleased that MenuBoardToGo.com selected BrightSign HD210 controllers as the exclusive player for its unique plug-and-play menu board systems,” said Jeff Hastings, BrightSign CEO. “Clearly, this ready-to-use out-of-the-box approach is an idea whose time has come. It will appeal to the growing number of people in the food service industry who want to display eye-catching messages that are both timely and informative but, until now, have considered the deployment and management of digital menu boards as too technical and too costly.”

Availability, Pricing

All-in-one Digital Menu Board Kits featuring BrightSign HD210 players are available now from www.MenuBoardsToGo.com with a choice of screen sizes ranging from 42” to 65”.  Kit prices start at $1,599 for a system with a 42” monitor.  MenuBoardsToGo.com also offers content design, remote menu board management/monitoring and full-service installation as added services.

About OSM Solutions and MenuBoardsToGo.com

Headquartered in Austin, TX, OSM Solutions delivers hi-def signage solutions for food service, retail, banking and info space installations.  The company specializes in creating solutions that are scalable, smart, and sophisticated, whether it’s a digital menu board for a restaurant in a single location or a multi-location networked solution. For more information on OSM, visit www.osmsolutions.com or call 512-591-8881.  Leveraging its expertise in the digital signage industry, OSM recently launched  MenuBoardsToGo.com, a web site offering  one-stop shopping for turnkey digital menu boards. For more information on MenuBoardsToGo.com ’s  systems and services, visit www.menuboardstogo.com

About BrightSign

BrightSign, LLC, based in Saratoga, California, develops products and software for digital signage. BrightSign solid-state digital sign controllers set new standards for both stand-alone and networked digital signage applications with their superior video quality, reliability, affordability, ease of use and interactivity. Online information about BrightSign units is available at www.brightsign.biz. For sales inquiries, please contact sales@brightsign.biz or call 408-852-9263 in the USA and +44-1223-911842 internationally.

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