Digital Signage in Outdoor Locations

The success or failing of any digital signage campaign hinges on the number of people that can see the content. One area where the potential audience is always of a high volume is in the implementation of digital signage in outdoor locations.

The advantages of outdoor digital signage are obvious – far more passers-by will see the outdoor digital signage compared to a comparable indoor system. But the advantages of outdoor digital signage are often outweighed by the disadvantages of placing a sensitive electronic LCD or plasma display outside.

Outdoor digital signage systems have to be waterproof at the very least. Any outdoor LCD screen will be vulnerable to rain, snow, sleet and other weather systems not-to-mention temperature extremes that can be both excessively hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter.

Protecting outdoor LCD digital signage systems is straightforward with an outdoor or waterproof LCD enclosure. These devices offer waterproof protection to IP65 (NEMA 4) but also contain air flow and heating systems to ensure the optimum operating temperature within the enclosure at all times.

However, there are other drawbacks to using outdoor digital signage. Just because the foot falls in outdoor locations is higher and therefore the potential audience for the signage is greater it can be a lot harder to get the audience interested in the content.

Often in outdoor locations, if the weather is bad or its rush hour, passers-by are too interested in getting home or out of the rain than pay any attention to a TV screen. However, to make the most of outdoor locations there are areas that will generate more interest than others.

Think about places where people have no alternative but to stop. Bus stops, cash machine queues and food vending stalls make great locations for outdoor digital signage as the potential audience is not only ‘captured’ but will also be actively looking for something to keep their mind busy while they wait.