Positioning your Outdoor Advertising Screen

While plenty of challenges are involved in taking a screen outdoors, such as protecting the device from the weather, controlling the temperature and securing the screen against vandalism and theft, there are plenty of benefits too.

Outdoor screens used for advertising are able to connect with far higher audiences than indoor digital signage screens, and for retailers, an outdoor screen can help generate custom by attracting people to offers that can help drive them through the doors.

Outdoor information screens also provide advantages. Often used in transport hubs and by service sectors, keeping people informed of the latest news, schedules and information helps generate good customer relations. For institutions such as schools and colleges, providing outdoor information on a digital signage display is also an effective means of communication.

Standalone outdoor digital signage, ideal for frontages and entrances

Screens placed outdoors are also used for entertainment, often by pubs and bars who wish to entertain customers outdoors due to smoking bans. But with all these applications for outdoor screens, where is the best place to position them.

A screen needs to be visible, but more than that, an outdoor screen used for advertising has literally to draw the eye, far more so than a TV or information screen. While information screens and TVs are often suspended from ceilings, this is not ideal for an advertising screen. Information screens and TVs offer customers something, namely information or entertainment, so customers are more likely to look for the screen; however, few people will seek out an advertising screen.

Outdoor screens used for advertising need maximum visibility. Often, people will just ignored a screen displaying commercial content hanging from a ceiling or positioned above a door and walk under it.

Often retailers place screens in shop windows but this too has disadvantages, namely taking up valuable sale space where actual products could be displayed rather than promotional information. Furthermore, unless somebody is window shopping, there is high probability the screen will go unnoticed and if somebody is window shopping, then the retailer is losing valuable sales space with having a screen in their window.

A solution becoming more common is using floor standing outdoor digital signage positioned in the foyers and entrances to stores. While perhaps not suitable for small retailers, those stores with large frontages have the space to install these totem style screens, which provide a bold and prominent in which to display content. Not only do these screens attract the attention of those entering the store, but positioned right they can draw the eye of passersby. Placing a screen so near to entrance does require weather protection for the screens as wind-blow rain and dust could disable an indoor display positioned so close to the entrance.