Dynamic and interactive displays: What you need to know to serve your clients effectively!

We’re all targets!

If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you watch or re-watch the movie Minority Report with Tom Cruise, directed by Steven Spielberg. In this futuristic film, in which criminals are arrested before committing their crimes, John, the main character, lives in an urban environment full of cameras, some linked to dynamic and interactive displays that recognize and respond to every individual passing by. It’s impossible to escape, as cameras are everywhere. They can facially recognize a person from their eyes, and the nearest screen displays content adapted for each targeted individual.

Minority Report (2002)

And now, it’s a reality! This technology exists and the equipment is available, including motion, facial and voice recognition, AI software, etc. Fortunately, the cost and the regulations serve as safeguards so as not to fall into the issues depicted in this film.

Isn’t it every entrepreneurial merchant’s dream to be able to target their customers visually and accurately? Don’t all retailers want to strike a chord with their clientele in order to maximize spending levels at each point of sale? Dynamic displays increase cross-selling and upselling opportunities. Indeed, they offer an elevated marketing and customer experience.

Without going to the extremes portrayed in the Minority Report, here are some points that will help you be more effective selling and using dynamic displays.

Dynamic and interactive displays: Know your customer’s strategy

There’s a variety of dynamic equipment on the market, ranging from a tablet on a counter to an LED poster hanging in the window (See the LED Pro Poster Nummax here).
It’s therefore important to determine if your client’s dynamic display project is intended to inform/educate their customers (displaying opening hours, providing health measure instructions, product information, an orientation plan, a current promotion, etc.), help the sales process (a sales application, a system for collecting information about customers, displaying advertisements, etc.), test prospects’ interest (surveys at points of sale), create an ambiance (immersive content in large displays), or entertain (through interactive games, broadcasting sporting events, etc.) to keep users at the point of sale as long as possible and to extend consumption.

The question is, do they only need to share or interact with customers?

You can suggest certain equipment over others, depending on your clients’ needs. The following is a summary list of needs and the solutions that can address them.

Choose equipment suitable for sales areas

This will help you in your choice depending on whether your client has a large point of sale with many departments or a few hundred square feet.

At a small convenience store, a TV screen, a counter tablet , or an LED poster effective for the small window display.
In a department store, we can diversify the strategies with interactive or self-service kiosks, video walls or outdoor LED displays. And the windows will enable you to think big with large displays that will capture the attention of passersby.

For businesses and offices, an LED display wall in the entrance will have a major impact. A TV, or interactive terminal in a waiting area will also serve as a branding strategy for the company.

Choose and use spaces sparingly.

Opt for fewer and more targeted dynamic displays rather than too much equipment with diverse objectives.

Some pitfalls to avoid in sales areas:

• Having several interactive terminals with different functions, too close to each other.
• Having too many scattered screens visible from everywhere. You must create visual niches to support the customer according to the chosen strategy.
• Using dynamic displays with content that appears or scrolls by too quickly. If your customer experiences a certain level of stress, they’ll abandon your point of sale.
• Display dimensions that are not properly proportioned to the content being broadcast or the physical space available.
• Displaying content produced by non-professionals that includes bad contrasts, poor font choices, bad messaging, poor image quality or an application with errors. Equipment is judged by the content it displays, which is unfortunate because the quality of a product has nothing to do with the file you’re running on it.

In short, do the reverse of this list and you’ll be on the right track!

Provide the right technology to your customers

It’s difficult in a single article to cover the different technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, but when choosing your equipment, you must consider the technological potential and the associated cost.

For TVs, you will find LCD (liquid crystal display) or LED/QLED/OLED/MicroLED (light-emitting diodes).

For displays with LED tiles, the technology will be SMD (surface mounted diode) or COB (chip on board).

The resolution and brightness of each of these technologies should be considered depending on the project. Don’t put a Walmart TV with 500 nits of brightness in a window display. Don’t use anything below 1800 nits. Choosing LED will provide you with the benefit of having a lower cost, higher brightness and better viewability by passersby at a distance.

For interactive kiosks, the tactile aspect is very important and not all technologies are equal when it comes to cost and performance.

Among these are analog resistive systems (remember the first tactile GameBoy), capacitive (high-end tablets and cellphones), infrared (indoor interactive kiosks), induction (have you ever used a Wacom tablet with its stylus?), optical, NFI (Near Field Imaging) and projected capacitive.

Some of these technologies require direct contact with the skin while others do not, which may meet health constraints.

With regards to interactive kiosks, the capacitive touch screen system is a very efficient but expensive solution (the materials used in its manufacture are rare) and screen dimensions are limited.
Infrared technology is a versatile solution for indoor kiosks and allows contact with gloves or with an object. Depending on the required application, multiple contact is possible. This is why this technology is found in many kiosk configurations.

Things to consider before buying dynamic displays

It’s your responsibility to make the best decisions to serve your clients and to be backed by your supplier.

To help you in your decision, I will share with you a series of considerations that I’ve seen being important during my years in the sign business, dynamic displays, and customer solutions.

• Proven and scalable technology
• Documentation that is available in your language, or at least in English, such as an installation guide, a user manual, a software guide, a support guide, and a product sheet
• A manufacturer’s warranty (its duration and method of application must be clear). See the Nummax warranty here
• The equipment should come with easily programmable content software, be able to stream a web, Windows, or Android application, and in the best-case scenario, come with a free version (albeit limited) to use the equipment. One more thing, if the software can provide a report of the number of impressions made, your clients will like it as it will put them into a position to be able to charge their partners for sharing their content and accelerate their ROI.
• Compliance with the applicable standards in the target market
• Support service provided in your language and in your time zone that can provide you with replacement equipment or parts in an extremely short time

There are dynamic displays everywhere you look!

At some point you’ve surely traveled into a big city or have been overwhelmed by the large size outdoor displays in places like Dundas Square in Toronto, Times Square in New York, or in any other European or Asian megalopolis.

For me, it was in Madrid, Spain where my jaw fell. I haven’t been there since 1986 and I have to say that every small shopkeeper seems to have adopted the concept of using LED displays in shop windows as a standard.

Something tells me that when the costs come down and the technology has been proven, the next Minority Report could very well be shot in Madrid. Who knows?

Get a quote for your dynamic display project

Phil Portugal | VP Marketing at Nummax | LinkedIn

Phil has worked in the sign industry since 1994. First in Europe and then in Canada where he was able to broaden his skills and technical knowledge, his creative force and marketing approach. Always concerned with offering the best solutions to users and customers, he is constantly involved in R&D, production and sales.