7Pic Courtesy: Aiddition TechnologiesKumaraswamy K, CMO & CO-Founder
Aiddition TechnologiesRajesh Bhattacharjee, Co-Founder
Pickcel Digital Signage Indiaadded technology, can also interact with
them and offer customised information,
thus taking the brand experience to a
whole new level.
The ROI might actually work: In business,
for any question starting with a ‘why’, there
is only one correct answer and that’s an
assurance of returns on the investments.
In the case of digital signage, although the
initial cost of setting it up may be high, it
is one time and the benefits are long time.
Besides the price of the technology is
coming down. Says Rajesh Bhattacharjee,
Co-Founder, Pickcel Digital Signage India,
a leading Bangalore based company that
provides digital signage software solutions,
“Today it is not an expensive proposition
at all; prices of displays are coming down.
The prices of associated hardwares, the
digital signage devices, which used to be
expensive, are also coming down. Also
bandwidth is no longer a challenge today.The software is of course very inexpensive,
and besides open source is also available.
In our own case, we charge only Rs 720 per
month per display and the potential for
ad revenues is huge. Further, to get more
returns from it, there are technologies
available by which you can study thedemographics and also make it interactive.
So there are many ways of arriving at the
ROI, if somebody is really serious about this
media. Bu you have to be a little innovative
and use the right technology.”Kumaraswamy K, CMO & CO-Founder,
Aiddition Technologies, a Bangalore based
OEM company in the digital signage space,
agrees and explains the ROI angle further by
citing an example, “If, say a cosmetics shop
wants to promote its weekend offers, there
is a cost involved for printing the posters
and other collaterals, especially for multiple
locations. But in digital signage, it is much
more easily managed and it is one time cost
only. Also, the promos can be changed easily
from anywhere. So the long-term cost is less.
Plus it is engaging and eco-friendly too.”Scalable and flexible: The other
big advantage of digital signage, as
Kumaraswamy and others point out, is its
flexibility and scalability. Says Bhattacharjee
of Pickcel in this context, “Right now we
offer a plain vanilla solution, but scalability
is possible, with features like customer
interactivity using the mobile phone. With
QR code, the display can be mirrored on the
user’s mobile screens and he or she can click
on it to know more.”That precious thing called data: The
thing with digital signage is that it serves
many purposes. While on one hand
it communicates, informs or engages,
simultaneously supported by the right
technology, on the other hand, it can also
gather data and use it for personalised
communication. As Kumarasway points out,
“Data analytics tool is evolving and getting
more intelligent. While in online retail, data
is automatically available, in physical retail
it is more complicated to get data.” And
this is where an effective digital displays
comes in handy, making it both interactive
and analytical. For instance, supported by
sensors or cameras, it is possible to capture
the profile/data on customers responding
to the display or communication. As a recent
webinar on the topic, ‘The evolving intellect
of digital signage’ conducted by Retail
Wire highlighted, digital signage when
use intelligently for data analytics can give
actionable insights, which in effect, means
you can “engage, extend (offering value
added information) and excite (customised
communications and promos).”Market and industry challenges
But companies in the digital space feel
there is still a long way to go before digitalJuly 2019