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QSR digital signage dollar-savers

A limited budget doesn't have to limit the impact of your QSR's digital signage. Follow these guides to save big bucks on your signage, even as you amp up its overall impact.

Image via Istock.com.

May 28, 2019

By Mark Hare/ScreenScape Networks Inc. digital marketing specialist,

While there are plenty of costs to consider when building a digital signage network, one area worth highlighting is that of creative services, which refers to the people and processes that write, design and ultimately produce the onscreen messaging shared across your network.

The effectiveness of your network is going to depend, in no small part, on the timeliness and effectiveness of your content, so it's an area where you really don't want to cut corners. At the same time graphic designers tend to be expensive and you don't want to create a situation where every idea, every opportunity to message your audience, is taxed with heavy professional fees.

So how do you execute beautiful, targeted, high-quality messaging that is tailored to each screen in your network on a limited budget? And what are some tips and techniques you can use to deliver effective content without breaking the bank on expensive creative services?

Use your team

If you have people on your team that have creative skills, consider employing them in the creative process to some extent. Unless you have a massive operational budget, outsourcing the creative process isn't a very attractive solution.

Outsourcing creates a costly dependency between you and your provider. It wasn't that long ago that a digital signage project, by definition, meant spending millions of dollars on a dedicated creative team either one inside your organization or one you've tapped through outsourcing.

The good news is that the old systems of the past, which were never designed to be used by everyday business professionals, are slowly giving way to newer, more modern systems that can deliver the same level of user friendliness you’ve come to expect in through the social media platforms your staff is already posting online.

Even if your organization is small you may have a staff member or two with a designer’s eye. With just a little help and encouragement you could also have them posting on your digital signage network for fun and for profit. Bear in mind also that a local manager is likely to have in-depth knowledge of the local audience, while sharing a fuller context of what’s happening at the screen level. This makes them great candidates for adding value to your onscreen messaging.

Learn from mistakes, use existing resources

Digital signage isn't the first new marketing opportunity your business has faced. Over the past 30 years you've seen trends in technology give rise to a whole range of new digital channels. You’ve probably already solved problems similar to those you'll face with your digital signage.

For instance, think back to the way your organization adopted things like desktop publishing, email marketing or social media and you'll see what I mean. These lessons from digital transformations of the past are instructive when it comes to new challenges. What's more is the digital artifacts they've produced throughout your organization can be very helpful when it comes to digital signage, including things like that logo you designed for your company newsletter, the promotion you shared via email or the video you posted on social media. While they may need some special formatting for the TV screen, they are just the kind of digital assets you’ll need to create for your digital signage.

Choose the platform YOU can manage

If you have millions to spend on capital equipment and ongoing management costs and don't mind creating a major dependency on a new vendor, you may want to consider working with a full service marketing agency. On the other hand, if you're like most companies and you are more budget-conscious, you may want to take charge of the project yourself.

The good news is that new digital signage software is now available on the market that allows you to unlock the full benefits of professional digital signage with less cost and complexity. But, you still must shop around for the right digital signage platform to meet your needs.

Overall, you'll need a software solution that produces great-looking content out of the box. It must be one your organization can easily adopt and use daily without incurring massive professional services fees. Here are some features to move toward:

Beautiful aesthetics out of the box: Brilliant playback experience with no transitions, well-designed templates, an array of screen layouts and aesthetic themes.
Rich built-in media editor: Choose a flexible media editor that allow image, text and video placement at the precise point of your choice that also allows you to style every aspect of your creations.
Built-in data source support: Choose an option that supports data sources like Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook and Instagram.
User interface simplicity: In short, if you need a manual to understand the interface, it's too complicated.
Easy setup: If setup requires additional assistance you're not saving money.
Automation: Just by way of example, if your system permits your to pre-schedule or auto-publish 80% of your content, you can focus on ensuring the remaining 20% is timely and perfectly on message.
Easy to adjust to scale: When your network is running full-scale, you still need a system that is uncluttered and easy to operate, while allowing you to publish content across all screens in a targeted and powerful manner.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article appeared on sister site, Digital Signage Today.

Photo: iStock