Digital Signage and Commuters

Advertising is not always welcome. Nobody enjoys interruptions to their favorite movie, sporting event or TV show by commercials, and pop-up advertising on internet sites can be a frustration. However, there is one form of advertising that research has shown people do want to see—outdoor digital signage.

Outdoor digital signage and screens on transport systems provide commuters with a stimulus, and something to do, on what can otherwise be a dull and repetitive journey. And this provides advertisers with an opportunity other forms of marketing lack—an audience that actually wants to see their content.

However, taking advantage of such an opportunity is not always easy, and just providing boring static imagery is not making the most of what the medium can offer, according to research, as customers want to see something engaging and entertaining, so content creators have to find clever ways of coming up with such content.

Several areas for using screens to advertise, inform and entertain commuters exist, and they have different audience potentials:

Aboard Transport

Many buses and train now have screens onboard providing advertising, information and entertainment to passengers. These have an added advantage in that the audience is captive, and other than staring out the window, or looking down at their newspaper or book, the content will be viewed and/or hear by most passengers.

Around bus stops and platforms

Another area that appeals to commuters is at the bus stops, stations, platforms , depots and transport hubs. Again, not only is there a captive audience to provide content to, but also passers-by can view the content too, providing a higher audience potential.

Around the High Street

Many commuters travelling around town are often looking out of the window, particularly on buses. So outdoor screens, aimed at advertising to people walking around the high street need to cater for this audience too, ensuring the screen is both visible from the pavement and to commuters on the road.

Retail Shops Can Get Involved Too

And you don’t have to be a large transport company of big name advertising organization to provide content to commuters. An outdoor screen placed at the front of a high street store can be often be visible to both passersby and commuters, and are often not as expensive as people think. A simple commercial grade screen placed in an outdoor LCD enclosure can provide a simple and inexpensive outdoor digital sign. Although providing the content is another challenge …