News

BK UK jumps on digital menu boards

November 29, 2010

More than 700 Burger King restaurants throughout the United Kingdom now feature sharper, more modern digital menu boards. The boards replace traditional light-box display menus and were deployed by Scala to outlets operated by SSP.

SSP’s new digital menu board system was first unveiled at London’s Victoria Train Station and the Birmingham Airport. The train station’s system features two 46-inch Samsung LCD screens, and the airport site has six 32-inch Samsung LCD screens. Each uses an embedded computer for content management and run on Scala5 software.

The new systems feature high-definition graphics and texts that are able to target specific demographics. A team of editors from SDM creates and remotely manages customized content for the screens at all of the sites.

“We found Signature Digital Menus to be a better solution because they offer more than just the hardware. They offer a content solution,” said Ian Hetherington, brand manager of SSP. “They can analyze things like demographics, dayparting and site trends — all of those things that we really need in our business.”

The rollout was implemented by SSP, with help from Signature Digital Menus Ltd., to increase sales, lower costs for signage and improve management or prices, dayparts and promotions.

Since its first digital menu board was installed in 2009, SSP has yielded as much as a 63-percent sales increase for some Burger King items.

Digital menu boards are increasingly being rolled out in the United States, as well. A Chicago-area Burger King franchisee first installed a Daktronics Inc.'s Visiconn Internet-based digital signage management solution in July. Also, more and more quick-service chains are beginning to implement the technology at the drive-thru.