Restaurant Digital Signage A guide from Digital Signage Today, Fast Casual and QSR Web

INSIDE: People are eating out now more than ever before, and smart restaurateurs are using digital technology to engage their customers on a deeper level.

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Contents:

Restaurant Digital Signage

Page 4

Introduction

Page 5

Chapter 1

|  An overview of the foodservice industry

Page 8

Chapter 2

|  The role of digital media in the restaurant

Page 13

Chapter 3

|  The benefit for the consumer

Page 16

Chapter 4

|  The benefit for the restaurant

Page 20

Chapter 5

|  The top five trends in menu boards

Page 29 Chapter 6 Page 39

Appendix

|  Research and results — the psychology of in-store media |  Further reading

Sponsors:

Restaurant Digital Signage

About the sponsor Digital Signage Today, operated by Louisville, Ky.-based NetWorld Alliance, is the leading online publisher of news and information on the emerging world of digital signage, dynamic messaging and cutting-edge business communication technologies. The content, which is updated every business day and read by professionals around the world, is provided free of charge to readers. Fast Casual and QSRWeb are leading information providers about the fast-casual and quick-serve restaurant industries and the trends leading their growth. Devoted to publishing fresh, informative, original news and in-depth articles centered on their respective industries, both portals are designed to keep readers in the know. Our content is updated every business day, is free to site visitors and read by industry professionals worldwide.

Published by NetWorld Alliance © 2007 www.networldalliance.com Written and edited by James Bickers, editor, Digital Signage Today Dick Good, CEO Tom Harper, president and publisher Bob Fincher, executive vice president and general manager, Technology Division Joseph Grove, vice president and associate publisher

Introduction As soon as the topic of this guide was introduced to me, I got excited. Very excited. I am a person who loves to eat, and, let me tell you, I have thoroughly enjoyed the research that writing this guide has involved. Food is, as we will discuss later, beautiful. There is an entire industry of “food stylists” whose sole job is to make things look amazing on a plate, for the purpose of being photographed. And if those plates look great on the printed page, just think how amazing they can look in highdefinition.

If those plates look great on the printed page, just think how amazing they can look in high-definition. The gustatory appeal is only one aspect of restaurant digital signage, though. Perhaps more importantly, there is the level of efficiency that a smart digital signage installation can bring to a foodservice operation. Gone are the days of paper menu boards that need to be changed out at precise intervals, in-store marketing banners and placards that get grimy and coated with ketchup, outdated prices on the lunch special menu. Digital screens can take the place of all of those paper-based forms of communication, making things better for both restaurant and customer.

And then there is that wonderful added benefit that retail enjoys from digital signage ­— “wait warping,” or the fact that people who are waiting to be served will perceive their wait time as less of a burden if they have something interesting to look at. There are hurdles to be jumped. The economics of digital signage is sometimes tricky when dealing with franchise arrangements, and the introduction of high-def screens suddenly places the onus on the marketing department to have its act, 100-percent together when it comes to media assets. And don’t discount the fact that restaurants can be untidy places; cooking oil is murder on delicate electronic components, and plans need to be made on the front end to make sure those beautiful, new screens stay clean and operable.

James Bickers, editor, Digital Signage

But as with so many other things in life, the benefits outweigh the challenges, even when those challenges seem significant. Or perhaps it is the other way around – perhaps the benefits are so great precisely because such great hurdles are being jumped. I’d like to thank ADFLOW Networks, whose kind sponsorship of this guide enables us to provide it to you at no cost.

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Chapter 1:

E

An overview of the foodservice industry

verybody eats. Most people can cook. Many people work more than they would like.

In such a dog-eat-dog arena, companies need to find as many avenues of differentiation as they can. Digital signage, which is proving its mettle in retail “The customer is standing in line, and financial services looking at the steaming, delicious on a daily basis, can act as a major source cinnamon roll on high-definition of several key types of screen — and it’s just too good differentiation —– from to resist.” customer experience to branding to product ­ —David Roscoe, ADFLOW Networks education. Put those facts together, and you have the impetus behind the growth of the restaurant industry —– the nation’s largest employer outside of government. The foodservice industry in the United States employs 12.8 million people, according to the National Restaurant Association, providing work for more than 9 percent of employed U.S. residents.

The foodservice industry may have greater potential for digital signage than any other. “The visual appeal of food and the impulse nature of the purchase make it the perfect marriage,” said David Roscoe, president of ADFLOW Networks. “The customer is standing in line, looking at the steaming, delicious cinnamon roll on high-definition screen —– and it’s just too good to resist.”

The industry has experienced phenomenal growth over the past three decades. In 1970, foodservice in the United States was a $42 billion industry. In 2007, it is projected to reach $530 billion. Americans spend a lot of money eating out. In 2005, the average person spent $1,054 on food away from home. And there are more choices for that consumer than ever —– an estimated 935,000 locations in 2007 —– making for a very competitive environment. A Guide by Digital Signage Today, Fast Casual and QSR Web | RESTAURANT Digital Signage |

The foodservice industry may have greater potential for digital signage than any other.

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Case Study:

Michel’s Baguette

This French-inspired delicatessen provides customers with a variety of specialty baked goods and other food and beverage items. Offering a fastcasual dining atmosphere, Michel’s Baguette is designed for busy customers interested in healthy, wellprepared meals that they can eat on the run. Often located in food courts and near transit centers, the café and bakery satisfies the needs of the busy worker or commuter.

LCD displays at the entrance of Michel’s Baguette capture the attention of passers-by and educate shoppers on the variety of offerings available.

Looking to expand on its current success in an industry propelled by competition, Michel’s Baguette, like many other quick-service restaurants, found itself challenged with how to drive customers into its retail footprint, increase the average sales per customer transaction and enhance

customers’ overall shopping experience and loyalty, ultimately bringing them back time and again. In lieu of static posters and signs, ADFLOW Networks provided strategically placed LCD displays at the entrance of the store, which feature an array of tempting selections, from steaming bowls of French onion soup to chocolate-encrusted croissants topped with powdered icing sugar. This initiative works two-fold: It captures the attention of passers-by and educates the shopper on the variety of offerings available at Michel’s Baguette. The flexibility digital signage offers also enables content to be changed depending on the time of day. Messages promoting coffee and breakfast items are played in the mornings, while content featuring sandwiches, wraps and soups are displayed for lunch-hour traffic. The odds of increasing product sales (through a higher conversion rate and add-ons) goes up substantially with this type of engaging medium that is timed to meet customers’ needs and desires. Michel’s Baguette has also enhanced the brand and the customer shopping experience.

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Expert opinion Do you think customers expect to see digital media when they’re dining? Has the occasional TV set in the corner of a restaurant or bar trained them to look for it? Holly Heitkamp, Wireless Ronin:

The expectation to see digital signage greatly depends on the restaurant environment and how the signage is implemented. The digital signage cannot be invasive or interrupt the dining experience. Traditional TV programming may have opened up the door for digital media, but there is a border that needs to be watched to prevent invasive use of the technology that can turn customers off by pushing sales too strongly.

Bryan Lesseraux, IDS Menus: It

really depends on the customer, and where they are dining. I don’t believe the majority of customers expect to see digital media everywhere they dine, but once they see it in a few food service establishments, they will expect to see it in others. In the future, establishments without digital media could begin to look like relics of the past. Of course, no one can say for certain when this will happen, but the signs are certainly there.

Kevin Moll, National Food Service Advisors: It depends on the concept.

If in a QSR, guests expect a highly visual experience. If in a casual or themed restaurant, highly visual experiences frequently turn guests off. Operators must be sensitive to how digital media is interpreted by the guest.

Greg Perrill, Wand Corp.: It has

trained them to expect some sort of content — usually child-related if it is near a play area, or headline news. We need to capitalize on that expectation to deliver more meaningful content.

What are your general tips and guidelines for determining placement? Lesseraux: Placement for digital

signage is generally determined by customer traffic and how a company wants to funnel traffic throughout their restaurant. Generally, most foodservice facilities want to place signage where the customer is going to make a purchasing decision (cash register area) as well as in areas leading up to the point of purchase. The size and type of restaurant — quick-serve, fast casual — can influence the number of displays and where they are positioned.

Moll: Use the right size of signage — don’t be overbearing in size.

Perrill: Screens that replace menus should go above the cash registers, where consumers typically expect to see them. Point-of-purchase displays should be placed strategically near entrances and in sight lines of the queues. We review layouts and make specific recommendations based on the floor plan, store volume and budget.

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Chapter 2:

The role of digital media in the restaurant

S

trictly speaking, digital media in the restaurant environment is nothing new. For years, wall-mounted television sets have been staples in certain types of restaurants, usually tuned to a news or sports station. Sports bars in particular are known to boast about the number of screens they have, and how many satellite dishes can snag how many Sunday games.

—– needs to be reassessed from a customer experience standpoint every few years. And at this juncture, the audience is one that has grown accustomed to digital media in almost every aspect of their lives. “For a restaurateur, the question is not what customers expect, but rather what will maximize their experience,” said Thomas McFeeley of EK3. “Having a TV screen gathering dust and showing a football game or CNN will keep the attention of some customers and may or may not generate more

As digital signage evolves, this phenomenon is expanding beyond breaking news and football games. As digital media becomes a pervasive part of the cusDigital signage is being used tomer experience, it is being not only to entertain diners used not only to entertain diners but as an integral but as an integral building building block of the store block of the store design. design. “In our experience, restaurant customers appreciate the entertainment and information they get from digital signs,” said Mike Abbott, vice president of ADFLOW Networks. “When it’s done right, it’s engaging. It adds to the atmosphere. And it also convinces them to add the sour or a side salad to their order. It works for everybody.” Customer expectations are, as always, a major factor, and those change drastically over time. Any retail establishment —– be it a store, bank, restaurant or any other place where people make purchases

revenue for the time that customer has occupied that very valuable piece of real estate in the restaurant. Digital narrowcasting engages all customers with information they need and want, while they are making their purchasing decision. That allows the restaurateur to maximize the valued real estate.”

Food is beautiful Visit your neighborhood Best Buy or Circuit City this weekend, and you’ll undoubtedly see one or two families gathered around the high-definition

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Chapter 2: The role of digital media in the restaurant

Food is beautiful —– and it’s even more beautiful in high definition.

televisions, jaws open to some degree. As the quality of screens continues to improve, the ability of digital media to turn heads and capture attention grows. All of this bodes well for the foodservice industry, for one simple reason: Food is beautiful. “Our high- definition LCD panels make the food look bigger and better than life,” Abbott said. “The visual appeal is absolutely stunning. You can see the impact on customers right away. And the ability to tailor that message to different dayparts —– from breakfast to lunch to dinner —– increases the appeal exponentially.” Instead, our minds wander from one style of food to the next; the hour before lunchtime becomes a mind-maze of possibilities. When introduced to this mindset, digital media can have a powerful influence.

“I was in some Mexican place last week when I was on the road, and I spent a good five minutes staring at all the little line-items of things they had,” said Dave Haynes, vice president of Digital View Media. “One sexy video for a quesadilla or whatever and I would have been all over it.”

“I was in some Mexican place last week when I was on the road, and I spent a good five minutes staring at all the little line-items of things they had. One sexy video for a quesadilla or whatever and I would have been all over it.” — Dave Haynes, vice president of Digital View Media

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Chapter 2: The role of digital media in the restaurant Self-service ordering If a restaurant decides to make the move to digital media, it’s only a short step further to add another component, one that introduces some incredible operational efficiencies: self-service ordering. “If given the choice, people appreciate the ability to take control of their environment,” said Dean Reverman, director of business development for digital signage network provider TradePRO Network. “A key to success is engineering a solution that is user-friendly for a broad audience. If systems are intuitive and usable, the customer gets control and convenience.” Up to this point, most of the emphasis on self-service ordering in restaurants has been on the QSR space —– after all, these are the restaurants with the lowest emphasis on quality of customer service, and the highest level of emphasis on speed of transaction. But self-service ordering is slowly inching its way into other restaurant types. Located in Woodland Hills, Calif., uWink is an “interactive, social restaurant” with touchscreens on every table. Patrons control the flow of food at their desired pace, using the digital media network for entertainment purposes during wait times. Uwink’s founder is Nolan Bushnell, whose previous successes include

Tableside digital media is a strong growth area for several reasons. It puts diners in control of their meals. It gives them something to do to alleviate boredom. It creates a dynamic experience.

the Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain and the company that ostensibly gave birth to the video-game industry, Atari. Tableside digital media is a strong growth area for several reasons. It puts diners in control of their meals. It gives them something to do to alleviate boredom. It creates a dynamic experience. It allows patrons to pay at the table by swiping their own debit or credit card, cutting down on “skimming” and other types of payment-related fraud. “I personally like this idea, because it streamlines the ordering and payment process,” said Richard Trask, director of marketing for software company Scala. “If you need the assistance of the wait staff, there are typically options to alert the staff to come to your table.”

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Case Study:

Coffee shop drinkers see the big picture

One of the world’s largest multinational chains of coffee shops wanted to take advantage of the latest advances in digital signage technology. The screens would display real-time multimedia advertising. The nature of the business meant that beverages were highly prominent, so safety of work environment was of paramount importance. The client required the computer player controlling the screens to be placed in a secure on-site location away from a food environment.

the transmission of rich multimedia content in real time, as if the screen was connected directly to the player.

Minicom’s CAT5 Video Display System allowed the system integrator to locate the computer in a secure back room, some 100 meters from the screens. The screens were mounted from the ceiling, with just one CAT5 cable exiting and no equipment whatsoever on the floor. The VDS enables

customer loyalty and enhanced brand perception. Because of the success of this installation, the client decided to move ahead with installation in all 1,000 of its retail outlets.

Digital signage helps maintain the franchise’s image as one of the world’s leading coffee chains. Customers are impressed by the real-time multimedia content and the promoted products experienced an increase in sales. Turnaround time for serving the clientele their coffee has been significantly reduced, resulting in increased

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Expert opinion What experience have you had with self-service ordering in restaurants? Do you think this is a good fit for restaurants? Mike Abbott, ADFLOW Networks:

This is a tremendous growth opportunity. Why? First of all, customers love it. Tests have shown over 90 percent of users, prefer self-service. Our experience has demonstrated many benefits to the restaurant, including decreased wait times, improved inventory management and fewer order errors. It just makes sense all around. The self-service ordering industry is now where the ATM industry was 25 years ago. When it catches on, it’s going to be everywhere.

Jeff Collard, Omnivex: Effective

digital signage focuses on the individual customer experience. If the content is appropriate to the demographic, then self-service ordering offers convenience, efficiency and accuracy. Two major issues in the restaurant industry are waste and ease of substitution. A customer has a lot of choice about where they spend their dining dollars. Interactive systems allow customers to control their experience and provide the dining facility with a mechanism to increase service levels while reducing costs.

David Little, Keywest Technologies: I have used an automated

ordering system located in a high-volume downtown Denver McDonald’s and found it quite delightful. I believe these systems can effectively enhance the fast-food experience because after all, it is not about relationships at this level of dining, but about speed. Typical fast-food chains have a couple of order lines where you stand until it’s your turn. During their busiest hours, these lines can get annoyingly long. If the same busy restaurant has eight self-serve touchscreens, lines are minimized as well as ordering mistakes. Order execution is expedited and employees can be focused on getting what patrons’ want the most —– fast food.

Dean Reverman, TradePRO Network: Digital signs and interactive

technology play well into the recent trends of customer choice. As restaurants respond by offering more choices (such as make-your-own combo deals), digital signs and interactive technology offer a continuation of this control.

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Chapter 3:

The benefit for the consumer

T

he business case for digital media in restaurants is powerful —– it not only impacts profit on a number of levels, it also introduces operational efficiencies that make life and work better for everyone in the enterprise.

a good deal being offered to them. For quick-serve restaurants, this has traditionally come in the form of a combo meal; for sit-down establishments, daily specials are the norm. In either case, dynamic signage can be used to tell customers what is The discounting of products works — available, withpeople respond favorably to what out them having to look it up on a they perceive is a good deal being menu or day-ofoffered to them. the-week placard. The ease of rotation of content also makes it We’ll get to all that in the next chapter, possible for restaurants to offer many but first we must step back and look more specials than they normally at the most important person in the might, with only a whole business: the customer. If the minimal amount of customer isn’t happy with a restaurant effort. for virtually any reason, fair or not he will go somewhere else. Inform customers of preparation “Digital signage is an effective way to techniques. Cusinform and entertain in any venue,” tomers want to know said John Remmler, vice president of that their food is ChyTV. “In restaurants, such signage clean, and is being can be used to inform customers of prepared in a clean specials and preparation techniques, and safe environgeneral branding information about The dynamic updating of ment. One trend the restaurant, as well as providing menu and pricing content in recent years has been the open has powerful benefits for entertaining distractions that can rekitchen, allowing diners to watch their both the restaurant and duce perceived waiting time.” the customer. meals being prepared, plated or both. While this isn’t always logistically posLet’s take a look at each of those sible, informative videos can accombenefits individually. plish largely the same goal, by giving Inform customers of specials. customers a peek into the kitchen to Simply put, the discounting of reassure them that their food is being products works —– people respond handled with the utmost care, in a favorably to what they perceive is professional and clean facility. A Guide by Digital Signage Today, Fast Casual and QSR Web | RESTAURANT Digital Signage |

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Chapter 3: The benefit for the consumer Branding. Few things are more important to a foodservice company thant its brand assets — when dealing with visual representations of food, it is essential that the feeling conveyed is overwhelmingly positive. Then there is the lifestyle aspect of branding — smiling faces, happy families, dancing children — that triggers just as many emotions as the food itself. Smart restaurants already understand how crucial this is; in many ways, it is more important than the food. Digital media takes branding to a whole new level, increasing both the quality and potential quantity of brand messaging. Entertainment and “wait warping.” Customers who are entertained while waiting are less likely to be bothered

Customers who are entertained while waiting are less likely to be bothered by the wait. by the wait. This is sometimes called “wait warping,” and it is an established retail fact — and the reason lurid magazines are placed within eyeshot of check-out lanes. Digital signage gives customers something to look at; tableside interactive signage gives them something to do. In either case, the perceived wait time is shortened, and the customer remains happy to be where he is.

The benefits of digital signage for the diner and the restaurant Richard Oh of Mediox Inc. said digital signage brings different benefits to the people using it and the people deploying it. Here are his Top 4 of each: Benefits for the consumer: 1. Increased understanding of the items offered by the restaurant 2. Improved order efficiency to reduce the burdens that long lines place on the consumer 3. An enhancement or introduction of entertainment in the dining experience 4. Improved communications between client and service provider, leading to greater customer satisfaction Benefits for the restaurant: 1.

As customers improve their understanding and the client/service provider relationship improves as a result of better communication, the business is more likely to experience an increase in the number of return customers

2. Reduction in the number of staff required and a significant decrease in the associated costs (such as staff training)

3. Higher sales resulting from the improved order efficiency

4. A positive perception of the actual dining environment

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Case Study:

Alice Fazooli’s!

SIR (Service Inspired Restaurants) Corp., a privately held Canadian corporation, owns and operates more than 40 restaurant chains across Canada. SIR Corp’s mandate is to provide best-in-class offerings for each of its restaurant brands, which includes having a great and distinct atmosphere at each of its locations. To accommodate this, Alice Fazooli’s!, one of SIR’s leading establishments, was looking to expand on its efforts toward providing an exciting, dynamic guest experience at its upscale, lively Italian and Mediterranean-inspired eatery. The strategy for Alice Fazooli’s was to incorporate a series of large LCD screens in the bar area that would provide captivating and unique content to entertain not only the patrons seated in the bar area, but also be visible to customers throughout the restaurant. ADFLOW Networks provided a full turn-key digital signage solution for Alice Fazooli’s. Highlighted by an array of a dozen 42-inch digital signage displays, end-to-end across the length of the bar area, the system is controlled by the ADFLOW Networks Dynamic Messaging System. Utilizing video splitting technology, Alice Fazooli’s is able to showcase several live television feeds simultaneously, together with customized “atmospheric” content.

Digital signage can play a big part in creating a dynamic, entertaining and memorable dining experience.

The company wanted to provide a unique dining experience for all of its patrons —– not just sports fans —– and as a result decided to create customized content that spans across all 12 screens. One example is an underwater scene, in which a shark swims seamlessly across each of the screens —– effectively one giant screen, at a mind-boggling 192:9 aspect ratio.

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Chapter 4: A

The benefit for the restaurant

lthough customers will come to know and love the digital media that entertains and serves them in their favorite restaurant, the real benefit comes to the deployer. Digital signage offers some amazing benefits to restaurateurs, from both a revenue and an operational standpoint.

David Roscoe, president of ADFLOW Networks, knows first-hand how big a difference digital media can make in the food service industry. “The customer experience comes first, but you have to prove you’ll get a positive return on investment right away,” he said. “I grew up working in my family’s restaurant. I know the margins the industry works in. Every restaurant penny counts.”

The reputation of a is enhanced by the presence of properly executed digital media “Generally speaking, anything that enhances communication, streamlines systems and eliminates waste is a good thing for the restaurant business,” said Kevin Moll, president of National Food Service Advisors Inc. First and foremost, the reputation of the restaurant is enhanced by the presence of properly executed digital media. Screens that show worthwhile and emotionally pleasing content not only create a positive feeling in the mind of the customer, they convey the message that the company is up-to-date, modern and attentive to its patrons.

Digital signage is also a powerful tool for extracting additional revenue from customers already coming into the restaurant. One of the more powerful applications for this is the digital menu board, which can use dynamic and eye-catching content to gently nudge customers into increasing their ticket size.

Digital menu boards are particularly effective at increasing the average ticket.

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Chapter 4: The benefit for the restaurant “Digital menu boards, if presented correctly and integrated into the marketing strategy of the restaurant, are very effective in providing the customer the impetus to add additional items to his purchase,” said Richard Trask, director of marketing for Scala. “This is true for Burger King in Germany, where they experience as much as 13 to 15 percent upsell at the counter.” On the back end, digital signage reduces both cost and work, specifically when it comes to in-store POP materials. Gone is the need for a stockroom filled with posters, tabletop placards and menu signs. Gone too is the very real likelihood that at any given time, one or more locations will have the incorrect signage posted. A digital media network ensures that the correct messages appear on all screens at all times, regardless of what is being done in the store. “Digital signage allows store operators to manage many locations centrally,” said Bryan Lesseraux, vice president of marketing for IDS Menus. “As a result, they no longer have to rely on print companies or store management when it comes time to change their menus. They can also tie their digital signage and POS systems together, so that menu items and prices update automatically.” That’s a powerful benefit for marketing and brand managers, who are now able to oversee all of the content

being used across the enterprise — remotely, at their desks.

One of the biggest challenges restaurants struggle with is ensuring a consistent, quality customer experience. Training staff from Miami to Montana on weekly specials and new products can be an overwhelming task. With a digital signage network, it’s easy and effective. An added benefit: Internal communication While the primary benefits of digital signage come from its relationship with the customer, the screens bring an added appeal to store management: Outside of normal business hours, the screens can be used for employee communication and training. One of the biggest challenges restaurants struggle with is ensuring a consistent, quality customer experience. Training staff from Miami to Montana on weekly specials and new products can be an overwhelming task. With a digital signage network, it’s easy and effective.

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Chapter 4: The benefit for the restaurant “With a minimal additional investment, the network can be leveraged for all corporate communications and training,” Roscoe said. “You not only save money, but you get more out of it. People remember what they see on a digital sign much more than what they read. Your message comes across loud and clear.” “Staff morale is key to building a respected brand,” Lesseraux said. “But as foodservice operations grow, it can be difficult to keep employees in the loop with regard to new developments and initiatives. With digital signage, companies can host both live and pre-recorded training sessions before or after store hours, CEOs can speak directly to front-line employees, and regional managers can host remote manager meetings.”

from the corporate grapevine.”

Getting franchisees on board One of the barriers to adoption of restaurant digital signage and selfservice technology up to this point has been the franchise relationship; specifically, in most cases, individual franchisees and their organizations would be required to cover the costs of installing such technology. Convincing them that the purchase is worth the money can be tough; in the case of small organizations or oneoffs, being able to afford the technology at all can be an issue.

The result is an in-house communication network —– the restaurant’s own “TV channel.” It can be analogous to a corporate intranet, but more farreaching and valuable. “This kind of channel could have far-reaching implications for communicating corporate goals, culture and internal marketing messages,” said David Little, director of marketing for Keywest Technologies. “A corporate intranet is suitable for some of this communication, but multimedia is preferable when dealing with employees who are less dedicated to the company or are at a greater distance

Getting franchises to get behind digital signage involves educating them about the potential benefits they can reap.

Restaurant chains that franchise their concepts need to approach digital signage as they would any other instore messaging —– they need to set the standards for what will be used, how it will be installed and what content it will deliver. In the same sense

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Chapter 4: The benefit for the restaurant that a franchisor makes available several choices when it comes to ovens and cash registers and furniture, that organization needs to also do all the “dirty work” of selecting technology, software, content and partners so that each franchise in the network gets consistent results.

spending on static signage and other marketing materials, or offer to subsidize some portion of the digital signage system,” said Bill Gerba, president of WireSpring Technologies.

“If a franchisee desired to have static promotion signage, they need only select which promotions to run,” said Dean Reverman, director of business development for TradePRO Network. “All the creative, copy, printing and logistics are taken care of as a part of the process. Organizations need to offer similar levels of support over time, considering the likely initial negative franchisee response relative to cost.” And what about cost —– who should be footing the bill for all this? Again, the model is already established —– franchisees typically cover the cost of improvements to their store, often with assistance from the parent organization. Smart franchisors, though, will capitalize on this opportunity to help their franchisees make the jump. And as with anything else, constant education of the benefits is essential. “Aside from demonstrating that stronger sales will result from the deployment, franchise organizations could also reduce the amount of required

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Chapter 5:

The top five trends in menu boards

I

t wasn’t so long ago that chalkboards were the only type of menu boards found in restaurants. They were easy to maintain, easy to change and they were relatively inexpensive. They were also very bland and synonymous. As the idea of quick and inexpensive meals gained national appeal, more quick-serve restaurants came on the scene. The result was a battle for attention in the fast-food sector.

Most menu boards that evolved from the movement were large, plastic boards that were placed on walls in group of three or four, called panels. They were covered in plastic tracks where employees could insert plastic slides with the food information on them. From there, electronic backlit signs were introduced and fluorescent bulbs were placed behind the sign to draw more attention to the board.

Menu boards needed a change when restaurant owners and parent companies began to focus more on the atmosphere and décor of their establishments. Atmosphere became a selling point for distinguishing one burger joint from another. With the menu board being the immediate center of attention in most fast-food restaurants, it wasn’t long until the design of the board became just as important as the type of carpet on the floor or pictures on the wall. At the time, menu boards also assumed a double functionality role as both an informational guide and a marketing tool. Because a menu board is almost guaranteed to be looked at by all patrons in the restaurant, advertising space on the board is a commodity. Beverage companies often brand the menu boards of fastfood restaurants, placing their name and logo prominently as part of a marketing agreement.

In the past decade, fast-food restaurants have become more aware that visual appeal results in more sales and have included many more pictures on their menu boards. For many restaurants, the increase in pictures meant a decrease in space for other items. So fast-food restaurants addressed the problem, offering limited-time specials that needed a large space on the board for marketing reasons.

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards In the 1990s, combos became a standard way of ordering meals, with restaurants offering discounts on items purchased together. For menu board manufacturers, this also required more space for combo meal menus and pictures of the combo meals. Menu board manufacturers responded by offering sturdier backlit boards that could withstand constant changes of strips and pictures, which are changed sometimes daily.

Significance “The menu board is the most important part of the restaurant,” said Doug Watson, regional vice president of Mainstreet Menu Systems. Restaurateurs may argue differently, claiming you can’t serve food without a grill or oven, or that a good team of employees is most essential. But a customer’s experience relies greatly on his or her interaction with the menu board.

beginning to pay more attention to the drive-thru,” Watson said. He is referring to the redesign efforts of some restaurants to keep up with the modernization of new franchises. According to Watson, customers visit fast-food restaurant for two main qualities: convenience and speed. Particularly from the drive-thru, the menu board system plays a huge part in the quickness and convenience of a restaurant’s operation. Watson said he is seeing more investments in technology to make drive-thrus quicker, such as contactless credit card readers to speed up payments. Another trend has been the installation of LED time counters that track customer wait times at the

To support this, both indoor and outdoor (drive-thru) boards must be taken into consideration. According to Watson, more than 50 percent of all transactions at fast-food restaurants occur through the drive-thru menu board. In some cases, the drive-thru hosts up to 70 percent of transactions. “After years of concentrating on the inside of restaurants, people are

The menu board plays a huge part in the quickness and convenience of a restaurant’s operation.

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards drive-thru. Menu-board experts agree that the industry is seeing many new trends moving menu boards away from standardization. Here are five trends that are affecting the design and deployment of new menu board projects.

Dayparting Dayparting is the ability for restaurant personnel to convert the menu board to different displays depending on the meal that is to be featured. Restaurants such as McDonald’s have begun using dayparting menu boards in the past two decades as their options for breakfast and regular meals have continued to grow. “For the customer, it is distracting to have to search through items that aren’t being served at the time,” said Paul Steinbrenner, vice president of development for Mainstreet Menus. “It’s not necessary to show all of the menu items all the time.” The simple manual system for day parting comes in two forms, one being the slide and track method, which requires employees to change plastic slides containing price digits, names, or pictures of food. For restaurants that daypart, it can be cumbersome for employees to have to change these slides several times a day. An easier solution became the use of a mechanical board that rotates or scrolls two or three panel displays.

Identified as a mechanical menu board, it is often powered by a crank that the employee can turn. As dayparting becomes more popular, menu board companies are seeing

Six reasons digital menu boards are a good idea David Little, director of marketing for Keywest Technologies, offers six reasons why restaurants should strongly consider digital menu boards. They can: 1 Provide timely announcements such as “today’s special”; 2 Daypart menu items showing only the relevant ones; 3 Entice purchase of new or otherwise little-known products; 4 Effectively show what items look like in real time; 5 Show the effects (i.e., smiling people, slim people) of happy patrons; 6

Offer useful community information and real-time quotes from customers via text-messaging (SMS), which could be both amusing and informative for patrons.

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards an influx of customers who want to add these capabilities to their existing menu boards. It is always easier to deploy a day parting system into a restaurant as its being built, but as fast- food chains add more options to their menus and sometimes an entire meal such as breakfast, they are demanding installation of dayparting capabilities on their existing menu boards. A menu board panel that supports dayparting is called a module. In today’s dayparting systems, modules often have rotating mechanisms that allow different menu screens to be scrolled through at different times of the day. The rotating mechanisms fit inside the panels, or “doors” of backlit menu boards. Adding rotating modules to the existing doors of a menu board is difficult, but not impossible. Normally new cuts and welds have to be made to the existing board. Also, the menu board has to be rewired for the lights and the mechanical parts. Often, the steel frames of backlit boards prohibit the installation of rotating doors. McDonald’s is an example of a restaurant that frequently dayparts due to the popularity of its breakfast menu. In the past, McDonalds typically used backlit menu boards with rotating modules housed inside each panel. The company ran into prob-

lems with scrolling large parts of the board such as pictures and other large plastic sections. McDonald’s now features a manual flip board in its newer restaurants that the employees can manually flip after breakfast.

Movement toward digital menu boards Digital signage is the newest wave of technology that has an impact on all customer-related industries. A digital sign is any flat-panel monitor that is hooked up to a content network. For the fast-food industry, menu boards are the biggest opportunity to incorporate digital signage into restaurants. The benefits of having digital menu boards are they solve the problems standard backlit boards faced with space and item changes. Digital menu boards essentially have an infinite amount of space because the presentation can change multiple times while the customer is making his or her food selections. Digital menu boards can also be connected to a network that can be remotely operated. Remote connectivity eliminates the need for employees to manually change the signs on site. As fast-food restaurants further integrate digital signs into their systems, the on-site employees won’t have to deal with menu content at all, as it will all be controlled digitally from a central location.

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards So why doesn’t every restaurant have these new boards already? One factor outweighs the others: cost. Most menu boards are made up of five or six panels. Some operators expect to use the same amount of flat-screen monitors, which can be very expensive. Hybrid, or a combination of fixed and digital panels, is a more affordable, practical and effective solution. Although consumer flat screens run in the neighborhood of $1,500, commercial-grade screens are quite a bit more. They are made from heavier-

grade materials and have to have more hours to their life, as sometimes they are left on all day long. Couple that number with installation, mounting, content development and integration prices and it is understandable why the local McDonald’s doesn’t have an integrated digital signage network … yet. Mainstreet Menu Systems, like many other menu and digital signage companies, is expanding to include digital menu board capabilities. Mainstreet offers a digital menu board solution called VisionQuest. The board can be controlled through a PC where menu templates and information are uploaded from a network connection, Internet connection or manually from a compact flashcard. The system allows for content management (scheduling and dayparting) from a remote location. Nextep Systems, a software design company out of Troy, Mich., also offers a dynamic digital menu board solution called the Enterprise.

Why doesn’t every restaurant have digital signage already? One factor outweighs the others: cost.

Like most digital menu board networks, the Enterprise is connected to the Internet through a DSL line, which gives restaurant owners the power to schedule dayparts, change menu items and prices and control the menu board remotely from any PC. Mainstreet Menus and Nextep both understand that, with the cost of flat

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards screens and Internet service, not all restaurants can afford to go digital right away. “Most small chains don’t have DSL and don’t want to pay an extra $500 for the service just to support their digital menu board,” said Tommy Woycik, president of Nextep Systems. “Some large chains change menu options all the time and some change once a year. Not everyone needs a full-blown digital menu board network.” Mainstreet offers entry-level versions of digital menu boards that don’t require a network connection to operate. Both systems also have the processor built inside the casing for the flat screen, so no external PC is needed to control the menu board content. The price for the boards-in-abox is competitive with that of a new custom stagnant menu board. Doug Watson, regional vice president for Mainstreet Menu Systems, said the best and most effective digital menu boards are hybrid systems where one or two of the panels are digital and the rest are fixed. “On these boards, the digital panels serve as advertising, while the others remain informational,” Watson said. “This way, the customer isn’t overwhelmed with five moving digital signs and gets confused on where to look.”

Protecting the investment Restaurants can be hostile environments for technology —– oil and grease can do major damage to screens and computers. While some of the components of a digital signage network can be tucked safely away from the fryers, it is still crucial to purchase hardware and mounting tools that will stand up to the rigors of the foodservice environment. “Restaurants are held to very strict standards with regards to cleanliness, but in general they’re full of substances that don’t get along particularly well with expensive electronic equipment,” said Bill Gerba, president of WireSpring Technologies. “My No. 1 piece of advice would be to keep the computers as far away from any prep or serving areas as possible. If there’s an existing phone room or manager’s office that has computers in it, place your media players there and run the video signal out to the screens in the main areas. If that’s not an option, get the heaviest-duty equipment you can buy. Sealed, fanless enclosures make a lot of sense here.” It’s not just the computers and media players that need protecting, but the screens themselves. Restaurants should strongly consider rugged, highend mounting brackets and enclosures. Trying to save a few pennies at this stage will result in many dollars lost down the road.

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards Going green with electrical packages More restaurants are using environmentally friendly materials and menu ingredients. Starbucks uses recycled paper to make its cups, for example, and more recycled napkins are being seen in quick-serve restaurants. Menu boards are following suit, with companies using more energy-efficient lamp packages for backlit boards and drive-thrus. This green initiative isn’t as visible to customers, but it is still beneficial for energy conservation and can act as a good selling point for menu boards. Mainstreet Menu Systems is one such company that has implemented energy-saving light packages into its menu boards. “Normally, companies use T-12 fluorescent lamps for their backlit menu boards, usually 1.5 inches in diameter,” said Doug Watson of Mainstreet Menus. “We are now using T-8 lamps that last longer and are more environmentally friendly.” Mainstreet Menus has been testing lamp and ballast technology for the past six months, looking to develop greener fluorescent lamps. “Ninety percent of lamps referenced in the industry are fluorescent,” said Paul Steinbrenner, vice president of development for Mainstreet Menus.

Steinbrenner explained that the ballasts or transformers on the ends of the tubes are becoming more energy efficient. Mercury, which causes the gas reaction in the tubes causing light, is being reduced so that the bulbs are safe to throw in the trash. Watson and Steinbrenner see this as an emerging trend, one that will become more popular in the future, especially in large city areas where power consumption is sometimes regulated.

Tacking on more space With restaurants adding more food options and locations, the real estate on menu boards is becoming a hot commodity. Restaurants have to keep their basic offerings in clear sight, but also need plenty of space to advertise promotional meals. Combo meals have also become some of the most popular customer selections, leaving the menu-board industry to develop new ideas for adding menu board real estate. Adding wings and toppers is an idea that emerged at the same time that combo meals became popular. Restaurants were looking for a way to add and highlight their numbered selections onto existing menu boards. Adding non-electrical additions to the tops and sides of the menu boards proved to be one of the cheapest and most effective options for increasing

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards space.

menu boards to set their stores apart.

“You can add 25 percent more space to the menu board just by adding a topper or wings,” Watson said. “They are also very useful for dayparting.”

Mainstreet Menus also offers a line of magnetic menu boards. Magnetic boards allow the client to add as many magnetic strips as it needs anywhere on the menu board. The client can also replace names and price digits with pictures of the menu items.

Menu board space can also be consumed by sponsors, which are usually beverage companies. Although the individual deals may differ, companies such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi will have their logos on the menu boards or have their products appear larger, constituting the need for more space. A more recent trend has been the addition of promotional panels or preview boards to restaurant drive-thrus. Another popular choice for highlighting combo meals, these boards and panels are placed two to three car-lengths before the first drive-thru menu board, giving customers time to choose their meals before they reach the ordering station. These have proven effective for marketing promotions because they are the first items customers see.

An alternative to tracks and slides In addition to digital menu boards, magnetic and raised icon boards will also claim a significant stake in the future. The fast-casual sector is expanding faster than any other foodservice division and those restaurateurs are looking for non-traditional

“A new trend is to do more with pictures and less with words,” said Doug Watson of Mainstreet Menus. Watson said Mainstreet Menu Systems sometimes has customers that request picture-only boards.

Tips and best practices Doug Watson of Mainstreet Menus suggests taking a spin through your own drive-thru to test the effectiveness of your outdoor menu board, and also get the perspective of your customer with regard to customer service, timeliness and order accuracy. “Seventy percent of business goes through the drive-thru,” Watson said. “Check it to make sure that nothing has fallen down or that there are no bulbs out.” Lesseraut emphasizes the design of the menu board, making sure that it isn’t an afterthought of the deployment. “Look for a company that lets you communicate directly with their design team,” he said.

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Chapter 5: The top five trends in menu boards Most of all, industry experts stress the importance of planning ahead before the installation of a new menu board. Small restaurants need to consider their amount of growth in the future to determine how much flexibility should be built into their menu board. If the restaurant plans to expand their menu over the next few years, a magnetic board or digital board may prove to be more worthwhile than a back-lit system. It is just as important to choose a menu board manufacturer that not only will provide the right design resources, but also has experience in servicing the boards after the sale has gone through.

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Chapter 6:

Research and results: The psychology of in-store media

Editor’s note: This chapter is excerpted from “Digital Signage Networks: Theory, Psychology and Strategy” by Pixel Inspiration and reprinted by kind permission

Part 1: Perception When information is presented on a display, the most basic level at which psychological factors will come into play is at the level of perception. If the information cannot be seen or heard, then it will have no chance whatsoever to influence behavior. Thus, as a gatekeeper of sorts, the human perceptual systems will filter out certain bits of information and highlight others. Within the area of visual perception, some of the most relevant aspects of a visual display are color, form and motion.

Color While much is known about the physics of color and light, it was not until the middle of the 20th century that great advances were made in our understanding of color perception. We now know that there is a vast array of color receptors (cones) lining the back of the eye (the retina). Each cone is sensitive to a relatively limited range of wavelengths of light. In most humans, there are three primary sensitivity ranges — one “red” range, one “green” range and one “blue” range. Because of issues around photo receptor spacing (density), sensitivity and placement, signs that use a great deal of blue tend to be harder to read,

particularly if the blue is on a black background or if it is viewed at night. Beyond these basic issues of visibility, relatively little has been done in the proper scientific literature about the psychological impact of colors. Early studies found broad generalities such as: Men prefer yellow and blue colors (St. George, 1938) or women prefer red and green (McInnis & Shearer, 1964). The following lists are based on a compilation from several sources. The first of these summarizes the broad psychological effects or connotations of different colors: Blue: trust, loyalty, water, relaxing, power, dignity, calmness, serenity Yellow: energy, joy, light, hope, cheerfulness, warmth, novelty Pink: calming, feminine Green: life, growth, money, jealousy, nature, fertility, freshness, youth Purple: richness, power, love, sophistication Brown: credibility, stability White: purity, cleanliness, innocence Red: heat, passion, danger, power (most attention-grabbing) Bright colors: positive emotional associations Dark colors: negative emotional associations

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media In addition to these psychological connotations, several generalities and recommendations regarding colors are presented in the following summary: • Blue is the most widely preferred color among all European age groups • Men prefer deep shades of color, while women tend to prefer lighter tints • Women respond more positively to bright colors and more negatively to dark ones • Children prefer bright shades and tints (particularly reds and yellows) •

Older people have difficulty distinguishing colors that differ primarily in terms of their bluecontent (e.g., red/purple, turquoise/green, blue/gray, blue/white)



Older people tend to see all colors more dimly – thus, many colors will be seen as “dull” (for example, a dim yellow may appear brownish)

Regarding readability: • Avoid pure blues on black background • Avoid pure colors on top of other colors which have the same brightness (luminance)



Bright backgrounds (e.g., white or yellow) with dark letters (black or blue) make a sign optimally readable.

Form Information presented on a digital display device will often consist of shapes, texts and other “forms” (more generally put). Thus, an understanding of these issues is relevant for digital signage content creation. Within the scientific literature, most research about form has been aimed at understanding such issues as form perception and grouping. Within the non-academic literature, numerous observational data have been presented. The findings most relevant for digital sign networks are presented below.

Font issues Although much of the research has been informal and not truly scientific, the advance of the Internet and human computer interface (HCI) work has led to a great deal of informal recommendations around fonts. The following tables, drawn from numerous sources online and offline, summarize some of the relevant findings.

Psychological impact of the fonts themselves: • Thin fonts: spirituality, simplicity, honor

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media • Thick fonts: materialism, self-confidence, strong-willed, dominant • Even spacing: reliability, toughness • Rounded fonts: sensual, playful, effervescent • Compressed fonts: exclusiveness, reserved, intense • Large fonts: friendliness, fun, friendly

Psychological impact of slants in lines of text: • Upward slant: exuberance, enthusiasm, innovation, ambition • Downward slant: melancholy, intense, sadness, worry • Backward slant: reticence, cold, hesitant, careful • Forward slant: ambition, speed, emotional extremes • Right slants: generosity, self-sacrifice, nervousness • Multiple slants: tension, conflict, moodiness, unreliability Shape issues. Unlike font research — which has progressed rapidly via experimentation and trial-and-error (e.g., on the Internet), an understanding of the psychological impact of

different shapes is still almost entirely ad hoc in nature. The list of generalities (presented below) might serve to offer some broad guidance. Psychological impact of the shapes: • Circles: community, connections, movement, safety, wholeness

• Rectangles: solid, secure, whole

• Triangle: exciting, powerful, aggressive

Motion Motion perception is one of the most basic features of any visual system. For example, while it is possible to find creatures with visual systems lacking color perception or depth perception, to date no visual system lacks motion perception. This is likely because of the valuable information buried in motion perception. Motion can alert us to dangers in our environment, can help distinguish a figure from its background (camouflage) and can help perceive depth. Because of its evolutionary value, motion also has the ability to capture attention. Intuitively, it seems that a moving target serves to capture attention. However, recent research (Abrams and Christ, 2003) has suggested that motion per se does not capture attention — instead, it is the onset or appearance of motion that actually captures attention. For example, these authors

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media found that moving items were no more attended that static ones. But, items that recently started to move captured attention. This suggests that content creators should be less concerned with motion per se and instead spend time considering how to have a great deal of motion onsets. In fact, this suggests that too much motion can actually be a bad thing (in terms of attention capture).

Part 2: Attention Although everyone knows (intuitively) what attention is, after 50 years of intense research its definition and properties still remain much of a mystery. Several of the most relevant aspects of attention are presented below.

Capture of attention As discussed above, the appearance of motion can capture one’s attention. Surprisingly, recent research (Franconeri, Hollingworth and Simons, 2005) has suggested that the appearance of a new object is not sufficient to capture attention. Other work (e.g. Nakayama & Mackeben, 1989; Kristjansson, Mackeben & Nakayama, 2001) shows that flashing/flickering images are not successful at capturing attention for extended periods — and that such flicker can be relatively well filtered out. Dozens of other studies have revealed other aspects of attentional capture. The following table summarizes the aspects of attentional capture most relevant for digital signage.

Attention can be capture by:

• Motion onset



• Luminance/brightness changes



• Color changes (only if dramatic)

• Faces – particularly emotional, famous or relevant ones • Unique things (e.g., a red thing on a field of green things) • “Task-relevant” things (e.g., if looking for a teapot, silver items will capture attention) • “Resonant” items (emotionally, task-wise, etc.) When creating content for digital signage, one should first decide whether he wishes to capture attention. In some cases, for example when creating ambiance, it might be desirable to remain “un-attended.” If attentional capture is desired, the specific goal of that capture should also be considered. For example, if the goal is to warn the viewers, then any “trick” might suffice to capture attention. However, if the goal is to perform a gentle soft-sell (or provide a reminder), then a subtle attentional capture might be more appropriate. Of course, the overall artistic/creative nature of the content must also constrain or indeed develop from the choice of technique.

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media Time perception and attention Recent research has shown that attention and time-perception are intimately linked (Tse, Rivest, Intrilligator and Cavanagh, 2004). For example, if an event (e.g., an image on a display screen) captures one’s attention, then that event will seem to last longer. At the same time that the visual event “slows down,” the rest of one’s surroundings will seem to “speed up.” This is likely related to the finding that digital signage networks decrease perceived wait time: the on-screen activity makes screen-time slow down while world-time speeds up.

Part 3: Memory Whether a digital signage network is used to advertise, brand, create moods, build loyalty or merely inform, the ability to get information into the memory of people who see a display device — and have information “pulled” from memory — is critical for success. If digital signage content cannot create memories (or cause memories to come to the surface), then the content will be merely wasted energy. Memory is one area of psychological research where literally thousands of studies have been done. This massive body of literature is difficult to synthesize and present. In addition, translating the findings into terms that make them relevant to digital signage presents another

challenge. To organize some of this information and present it in a way that can guide digital signage content creation, we have decided to make the primary “cut” of this space along the lines of different types of memories.

Types of memory Hundreds of experiments over the past 40 years have confirmed that there are different forms of memory. In fact, not only are these different forms subjectively different, much research has shown that they even rely on different brain areas.

There are several ways to classify the different forms of memory. Implicit vs. explicit. Some memories are “explicit” in the sense that the content of the memory is readily accessible to conscious awareness. Other memories are “implicit” meaning that, although they clearly have some influence on behaviors and beliefs, they are not really accessible to consciousness. This implicit/explicit division is actually found in many areas of cognition and emotion. For example, psychologists talk about “implicit and explicit motives,” “implicit and explicit attitudes” and “implicit and explicit desires.” When crafting digital signage content, it is important to consider all these different implicit/ explicit factors.

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media Episodic vs. semantic. Some memories are retained in a more imagelike format and others are retained in a more fact-like format. The image-like memories are called “episodic” memories, because they are like watching an episode take place. Fact-like memories are called “semantic” memories, because they are often thought to be word-like. Within the context of digital signage strategy, it is often important to consider the memory-type of interest. Whether the goal is to create a memory (for later use) or retrieve a memory (e.g., to help change behaviors now), the specific type is very important. In general, the presentation of information in the same format as the memory format of interest is the best strategy to create/elicit memories. In other words, if an episodic memory is of interest, presentation of visual information is more appropriate. On the other hand, if semantic memories are of interest, verbal information is likely to be more effective. For example, if a digital signage network is advertising a holiday package, clearly the memory/image most relevant will be episodic in nature, whereas information aimed at a public service message or Web site advertisement may aim for a semantic memory. Long-term, short-term, working. Different memory systems have different time-courses based on their overall purpose. Broadly speaking,

Memorable information is: Relevant Emotional Multi-sensory Varied Attention-grabbing Credible Timely Repeated Engaging

memory that lasts more than a few seconds is considered long-term memory. Memories of childhood, your shopping list, things you desire, your favorite bands, what you need to make a cake and much more sit within long-term memory. It is this long-term memory that most digital signage content is aimed at in one way or another. In some cases, the content is intended to place something into long-term memory (“Tesco is value”). In others, it is meant to modify something already within

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media memory (“BT Broadband — now more reliable than ever”). And in others, it is intended to help the observer pull something out of memory. The “stuff” that gets into long-term memory will originate in a short-term or working memory system. This working memory system likely originated as a type of blackboard system where information required to meet one’s immediate needs was temporarily retained.

memory. Of course, one goal of digital signage is to make information more memorable. Given this, those crafting digital signage content are well-advised to understand the role of emotion in memory formation. Additionally, some is known about automatic emotion generation and creation. We first turn our attention to these automatic effects and subsequently look at the interaction between emotion/mood and memory.

The actual way that something moves from working memory into long-term memory remains a mystery. However, it is clear that certain types of information have a far greater chance of making it into the long-term memory system. The box on the previous page presents a list of these specific features. In the context of digital signage media, it is important to try and “hit” as many of these aspects as possible. Importantly, these should be kept in mind whether one is trying to create new memories or (as is often the goal) call up already existing memories (for example, to modify them, use them to create new memories, draw attention to something or change behavior).

Mere exposure effect

Part 4: Emotion, preference and liking It is well established in the psychological literature that events that trigger emotional response are encoded more easily and more deeply within

“Mere exposure effect” refers to the phenomenon that mere exposure to an image produces increased liking, even when one is not consciously aware of that exposure. Zajonc and colleagues (Zajonc, 1968) demonstrated this phenomenon in numerous experiments. In such an experiment, the testers would repeatedly expose people to a random word or image. But the exposure was entirely passive and was so brief (less than 25 milliseconds) that it never reached conscious awareness — in other words, it was subliminal. After such exposures, the testers would typically find an unexpected preference for the previously presented items. Currently, there are two popular explanations for this phenomenon. First, it might be due to a form of associative learning, whereby things that are experienced without any concurrent negative consequences become

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media more liked. A more likely explanation is that prior perceptual experience allows an automatic “fluency” in neural processing — when the object is subsequently encountered, it is more easily processed and thus perceived (perhaps subconsciously again) as somehow familiar. Such familiarity is then associated with liking. Although this phenomenon is well established, a series of recent studies reveals a possible “dark side” to the mere exposure effect — namely, in many cases, a “mere exposure” can actually lead to a dislike of an object. We discuss this next.

Distracter devaluation effect In the classic mere-exposure literature, little mention was ever made of attention or task-demands. This is likely because in most early studies there was no talk whatsoever — that is, the exposure was passive. However, it turns out that having a task at hand adds a new wrinkle to the mere exposure effect. Specifically, if the task is such that the “merely exposed” item actually interferes with the performance of the task, then that term will subsequently become devalued (i.e., disliked). Hence the name — distracter devaluation effect.

Peak-end effects An additional phenomenon worth mentioning is the peak-end effect. When one is experiencing an event,

it turns out that your retrospective assessment of that event will be weighed particularly heavily by the peak emotion experienced and the end emotion experienced. Similar effects are likely true for other aspects of cognition as well — for example, such phenomena as memory for events, affiliations with objects and overall preferences will be heavily weighed by the peak and end effects. Thus, in the context of digital signage, these results suggest that it might be sensible to have a digital screen near the exit — visible as the last (“end”) experience in the venue. Such a screen could, for example, be used to create a warm parting experience.

Emotion and memory In general, psychologists have used several different approaches to study the emotional impact of events on memory. One has been to ask respondents to recall what happened to them on emotionally charged days (e.g., the day Kennedy was assassinated or 9/11). A second approach has been to show people short videos (usually of crimes) and to ask them later to report events as they occurred in the video. Experiments using such approaches have generated abundant evidence showing that emotional states at encoding appear to enhance memory. Studies clearly show that emotional memories (at both encoding and

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Chapter 6: Research and results: The psychology of in-store media retrieval) are indeed special: They are associated with distinct brain areas and processing routes not obviously used when information is non-emotional. Thus, in the context of digital signage, creating emotionally compelling content is one way to improve memory and increase motivation.

Congruency effects

creating content for digital signs. For example, if the place or product is related to a particular mood, then this mood should be echoed in the content. Similarly, if one hopes to remind a customer of a need or desire, then the content should promote recall of this fact — for example, by depicting scenes that can trigger this memory or emotional state.

Although emotion improves memory, the story is slightly more complicated. Psychologists have found that information congruent with (related to or supportive of) a person’s current emotional state is encoded and retrieved better than incongruent information. For example, when a person is in a negative mood, he is more likely to encode negative information and events. Similarly, current mood affects how we recall past events. Thus, people have a bias toward recollecting facts and events that are congruent with the way they feel at the time of recall. Such congruency effects are also found in other aspects of experience. For example, a great deal of research has shown that learning and memory in general are also subject to strong congruency effects. Performance on an academic test will tend to be better if study took place within an environment similar to that of testing. One must take all forms of congruency effects into consideration when

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Appendix:

Further reading

Romancing the brand with digital signage This story originally appeared on Digital Signage Today in January 2006 Picture the sun warming your face as you listen to waves lapping on the beach. You look out at the water and you’re amped because you see a righteous wave coming in that you can’t wait to ride — even if it probably means you’ll end with a wipeout that sends you back to the beach. Just as you’re about to grab your board you hear, “How may I help you?” and you realize you’re not at the beach but standing in line at Malibu Subs, the newest dining venue at the University of Southern California (USC). “I like to call it ‘eater-taining,’” said creator and director Michael Gratz of the award-winning Hospitality Services Division at USC. Malibu Subs, a risk that Gratz took and has spent the last two years preparing for, is the 34th dining venue on the University Park campus at USC. The sub shop uses a surf theme to reach students, while adding a healthy new twist on the traditional submarine sandwich. “Our students requested fresh and healthy, made-to-order sub sandwiches,” said Donald Ranasinghe, director of operations at USC.

Bringing Malibu to life The surfer theme, which was developed by Gratz and his team at USC, is true to the lifestyle of the region and makes students feel at home, thus creating a connection with Malibu. But it wasn’t until the company began working with Epicure Digital Systems that its brand came to life, both visually and emotionally, through high-tech digital marketing — marketing that helped drive the brand of Malibu Subs in terms of building relationships and convincing customers they were buying a high- quality product. “I was intrigued with the customization that could be done with digital signage,” said Gratz, who said they bought the signage and marketing from Epicure even before committing funds to the project, knowing that they wanted to do something with digital menu boards. “We looked at avenues on how to help bring this brand to life,” Gratz said. “We looked at the successful sub brands out there and realized they were lacking in terms of building a customer connection. We looked at digital signage as a way to bond with the people at USC.”

Matching brand to clientele Epicure’s brand identity system involves every area from menu development and design to digital signage,

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Appendix: Further reading motion graphics and promotion, to name a few.

McDonald’s serves up digital signage

“The digital menu board makes an immediate connection with the customer,” Gratz said. “The initial draw is the signage, which gives the atmosphere the feeling of being a happening place.

This story originally appeared on Digital Signage Today in October 2006

”Digital menu boards give operators the ability to change menu items instantly, which is costly with traditional static boards. For example, Gratz said that they’ll look into adding hot sandwiches in the winter and possibly new vegetable selections in the spring, all of which will be easy to manipulate digitally. At Malibu, there are four digital display screens, two of which display the menu and have moving marketing messages with revenue-producing promotions such as “double meat,” as well as educational promotions that highlight healthy items such as guacamole. The other two screens have surfing videos from around the world. Gratz’s dream is to have a live Web cam on those screens where customers can watch live surfers — a way to bring Malibu to downtown Los Angeles in a real way. “It’s about romancing the brand,” Gratz said, “visually stimulating with the screen and creating a unique sandwich.”

In Chicago, a newly rebuilt McDonald’s incorporates content-managed digital signs. If successful, the installation could take digital signs from novelty to common-place status in McDonald’s stores. Operations manager Wayne Adamczyk has managed McDonald’s stores for more than 30 years. In this blue-collar, south-side neighborhood where realtors still advertise in Polish, Adamczyk pays close attention to his customers, many of whom he knows by first name. He has no doubt the signs already have been successful. “It’s very difficult for me to measure return on investment,” Adamczyk said. “But it’s very easy for me to go to five stores within 10 minutes of here, and customers there talk about this. I want people to say ‘This is my kind of McDonald’s.’ It’s all about personalizing the location.” Adamczyk said he wanted to give the signs a Las Vegas feel, with lots of color and motion. He said traditional in-store signs can’t compete, because they are lost in the surroundings too easily. “I can ask a manager what’s on the (traditional) signs out here and they

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Appendix: Further reading can’t tell me, because after two days it’s wallpaper,” Adamczyk said. TAP TV built the deployment in three different parts running on the same system. Eight 15-inch LCD flat screens set side-to-side on the face of a ceiling over-hang above the registers greet customers. The screens show synchronized marketing content continuously. For example, a McDonald’s logo flashes onto a screen on the far right and zooms to the screen on the far left. Similar cross-screen effects are done with promotions on premium coffee and breakfast dishes. Forty-two-inch screens in the dining areas run action sports videos and McDonald’s ads. The screens are divided into sections. The videos play in the largest portion of the screen. Along the left side, scrolling full-motion video previews invite customers to text short codes from their mobile phone to change the video. “Think of this like a video jukebox,” TAP TV chief operations officer Tim Dorgan said. Dorgan said the phone numbers collected when customers text in short codes were not being used for marketing, other than a “thank-you” message broadcast back to each user. But collecting the numbers could let the company later send more promotional messages to users.

The third part of the deployment, inside the Playland, consists of another big screen with a camera and, across the room, a 3-foot-tall, Grimacepurple kiosk. The touchscreen plays cartoons and marketing content. Kids can use the kiosk to choose which cartoons will run. For birthday parties and special occasions, a manager code can stop the video and turn on the camera, allowing children to see themselves on TV. The nerve center is the store’s tiny office, which looks like a server room, including the several CPUs the digital signs require, and the many other computers required to run a modern McDonald’s. TAP TV chief executive John Malec said the Linux-based computer systems use 2.2ghz AMD processors, Invidia graphic cards and 250 gigabytes of storage per computer —– which gives many of its clients more than 1 terabyte of content storage. He said TAP TV had almost completed a user-friendly GUI toolkit that would enable clients to develop their own in-store television advertising on-site. “We already have the toolkit built,” Malec said. “We just don’t have the ‘user-friendly.’ That will be rolled out in two to four weeks.” The very technical behind-the-scenes technology couldn’t look simpler from

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Appendix: Further reading the front end. Throughout the store, logos and commercials in bright, friendly McDonald’s colors continually bounce around. Early on a recent Thursday morning, customers stared at the flashing images while they ate breakfast. Robin Basilitis said it was her first visit back to the location since the store was rebuilt.

a work-in-progress. They’re baby steps.”

“The old one didn’t have monitors,” she said. “They look nice. Nice coloring.” Maria Escoto ate her breakfast sandwich in Playland, with her 2-year-old daughter, and had picked up a birthday party info card. They watched the plasma TV together. “I’m watching Scooby Doo,” Escoto said. Adamczyk is pleased with his new method of reaching customers, and the only question he still harbors about the system after seeing his customer’s reactions was how to expand it. His answer: An $80,000 outdoor digital sign hung under the store’s traditional golden arches. The Optec sign, which is actually two 6-foot-by-12-foot digital signs hung back-to-back on the sign post (where the old clear-plastic-letter signs are usually placed) would play the same TAP TV content visible in-store. “You’re going to see the same thing out here that you can in there,” Adamczyk said. “(His digital signs are)

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