Advertising on DS and Kiosks

Printer-friendly version

By Martin Mengler, Polygon
 
All too often, the use of digital signage is still closely allied to the concept of classical poster / hard copy signage, leading to an underutilisation of the new medium’s core strengths and potential. Slide shows and video content are being widely used without any attempt at customer personalisation, missing out on a golden opportunity to make content more relevant to the user.

So when a major airport concession specialist looked at revamping their offerings in a German airport, they decided to make the best possible use of the new medium. A digital sign, mounted above head height for visibility, is used as a classic FID (flight information display) listing flights and air passenger information. A split screen device is used to tie-in advertising messages on the same screen, generating additional revenue. So far, so good, but you’ve probably seen all that before. An entirely new dimension has been added, however, by integrating a self-service kiosk into the existing tower, enabling the user to interact and request specific information.

The touchscreen unit can be run in conjunction with the content on the digital signage screen, or completely independently of it, offering the installer a multitude of options. In the case of the German airport terminals, the user can request additional information on their flight, view special promotions from the duty free shops, access an integrated price checker functionality and even pay for products using frequent flyer cards, which require no cash handling and therefore cut queues at the cash desk. A currency converter allows the user to shop in confidence, and the application is completely multi-lingual, as one would expect in an airport environment.
 
After a very successful three months’ trial period that Polygon and its software partner, absolut web, have been carrying out for the airport retailer, a rollout for 20 systems in five major European airports is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008.

This product is also now being employed at IBM’s Forum in-house event venue in Vienna. IBM chose a combined digital signage and kiosk solution integrating their own Anyplace kiosks with Polygon’s Advertiser module, as this combination offered flexibility, design and adaptability to the local venue all in one. The digital signage is used to display and promote recent projects, and to direct passers-by to seek additional information via the kiosk, where they can request information exactly according to their specifications. Due to its open layout, the top display can be oriented either in portrait or landscape mode, thus being adaptable to all kinds of environments and applications.
 
Saving Space

Based on the success of the Advertiser, Polygon has recently added a new digital signage solution and optional stand-alone kiosk to its product line, integrating all the functionalities of the Advertiser model. The compact solutions, called ‘s-module’ and ‘i-module’ respectively, are designed specifically for environments that do not provide enough room height to allow for the placement of above-head digital signage. Both elements can also be placed independently of each other. The kiosk is specifically designed to allow for the display of confidential information, which would obviously not be suitable for the large format display.