Digital Signs are Visual – That’s Why They Work

Humans are primarily visual creatures – 90% of the information sent to the brain is visual, and we process visually-presented data 60,000 times faster than just text. This is why videos and infographics are so popular, and why you should consider incorporating both of these into your digital signage messages.

Digital video in public spaces actually reaches more people than on the internet. An Arbitron study says that 70% of Americans report seeing a video display “in the past month”, versus 43% on the internet and 41% on Facebook. Of those who said they remembered seeing a digital video display, 47% said it was an ad, and could recount what the ad was for. For those that had seen a digital billboard, that number rose to 55%.

Part of the appeal is movement. Another study prepared for Intel by RSG used analytics to log the number of people who had an “impression” (meaning they noticed and paid attention) for both static and digital signs. While the number of impressions for static signs peaked on the first day of the study and then tapered off, the digital signs got nearly the same high impression numbers every day. Another part of the study involved a call-to-action: static and digital signs in three locations (one with static, two with digital) prompted passers-by to go to the help desk for a free tote bag. The static sign location got only six people, but the two locations with digital signs handed out 610 tote bags. That’s over 100 times more.

Companies are starting to get it. Over a quarter of US companies place a high priority on digital signage, and 25% of organizations say “multichannel campaign management” is one of their top priorities. Half of communications professionals surveyed use digital signage as a channel in their organization, and they said digital signage has a 47.7% effectiveness for brand awareness. 63% of people surveyed by FriendMedia say digital signage captures their attention.

Digital signage has truly come into its own, and there are clear stats as to why every organization should be using it. Statistics compiled from multiple sources show that digital displays get 400% more views than static displays, digital signage has an 83% recall rate and 59% of people who see something on digital displays want to learn more about the topic. Digital signage also reduces workplace injuries by 20%, and in many organizations, generates an estimated return of $4-6 for every dollar invested in the digital signage system.

So, the real question is why only 25% of US businesses see digital signage as a high priority. Study after study has shown that information shown on digital displays creates more interest, gets people to do what you want them to, is easier to remember, makes the workplace safer and actually generates income. With even a basic digital signage system, your organization and audience can start reaping the benefits immediately.