Commercial Integrator April 2021 - 28

Digital Signage & Video Walls

era digital media assets like we had in the
NBA bubble? I think there may be this new
seating bowl mentality where there's a lot
more on-camera digital signage and the
seats are higher up to make up for revenues, " he says.
The rise in digital signage and video
walls is even expanding to public spaces.
" As a general rule in terms of people
going out I'm seeing more demand from
the concept-side for exterior, big building
experiences in cities and larger townships, "
says Mascatello. " Things like LED screens
on real estate venues, parks and public
squares becoming gathering points with
digital signage and digital media.
" I think we're going to make that leap
and see an acceleration into more digital
media in the public space than we might
have seen without COVID, " he says.

COVID allowed
organizations to fully
utilize the capabilities
of digital signage,
and that won't stop as
businesses again open.
Driving Customers Forward
In many ways it will be integrators themselves that will decide how digital signage
and video walls are utilized in the coming
years. Integration firms have long been
aware of the capabilities of digital signage
systems, but for various reasons customers
have been hesitant to adopt much outside
of advertising and informational content.
" I don't think it's something that an integrator should wait for, " says Dudis. " Now is
a decent time to start having conversations.
Education of the customer is going to be
critical. People are seeing for themselves
throughout these last couple of months the
changes happening in digital signage.
" We're going to see a number of companies that have never had digital displays
before, " he says. " It's really important that
we start to educate on the capabilities of
digital displays and the benefits they can
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APRIL 2021

offer. Integrators play a critical role in that
education.
" Reach out and show what we're seeing
in the industry. It's a new world for a lot of
companies and they need that education, "
says Dudis.
Educating customers starts with enabling
your sales team to provide that education.
" It does rely on the sales department
to do that, " says Dudis. " From the sales
standpoint it's making sure that they're
educated on the technologies, but also
understanding the economic environments
of the companies they're working with.
" Not everyone is going to have the cash
at this very moment to go out and do a
big project. So it might be cultivating the
education now that might turn into a sale
down the road when the cash starts flowing
again, " he says.
Digital signage systems are now touching the network. Projects that don't involve
some capacity for remote monitoring
and management of systems will become
increasing rare and may even fade into
extinction over the next few years.
This offers integrators an opportunity to
stay onboard not only for the lifecycle of the
project but well beyond.
" That's been ANC's business model from
day one when we were a rotational signage
company in the sports world. We've built
our digital integration around that same
concept, " says Mascatello. " We help almost all of our clients with content to some
degree. We also have the ability to take on
the scheduling and day-to-day programming of those displays.
" You want to make sure there's brand unity across streaming, web, live engagement,
and digital media. But there's definitely a
role to play for the integrator to help guide
that process and streamline communication
between the various parties, " he says.
Certainly, the future of digital signage
and video wall technology is bright. The
past year has brought new responsibilities to these systems, and integrators are
poised to drive reliance on digital signage
further than ever before.
Best of all, digital signage is a staple of the
integration industry. For integrators looking
to get a seat at the table to help drive digital

transformation for their customers, digital
signage could be an entry point that leads
to a louder voice, and less headaches down
the line when customers ask for systems that
should have been specified earlier.

SNA Displays
LED display technology allows for customized digital displays for any space.
Designers can incorporate corners
and curves as custom content creates
stunning visuals.
Strong visual content on a digital
canvas can revolutionize shared
space¬s, turning cold corporate environments into serene, warm spaces
while well-curated digital art or corporate branding creates meaningful
impressions on employees and guests.
Additionally, companies can enjoy
flexibility in their environments. For
example, high-energy content may
welcome employees in the morning,
while calming digital art sets the
mood after a long workday.
While some hospitality venues
still use LCDs to share information,
forward-thinking properties have
evolved entryways, lobbies, and
reception areas with branded content
or digital art that enhances the guest
experience.
This has been especially good for
destination entertainment venues,
which reinforce thematic messaging
starting when guests arrive and continuing throughout their stay.
LED offers flexibility and visual quality LCDs and projectors cannot. With
the right content management, LED
display technology allows for multiple
data inputs and simultaneous display
of varying content that reaches
everyone in the room, creating more
collaborative environments.
Cutting-edge LED technology can
provide beautiful video performance
in most environments for more than a
decade.
Download The Digital Canvas eBrief
for more: sna.fyi/DigitalCanvas

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Commercial Integrator April 2021

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