The Howard Company's Blog

Gary Kurtz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, is kicking off a series of vlogs regarding digital signage. This is the first in an eight-part series.

If you have any questions you would like Gary to answer in a future vlog, please submit them in the comments box below.

Investing in digital signage is a great tactic to upgrade the method you communicate with your customers, and it is important to think of it that way - as an investment. When considering electronic displays for outdoor applications - like digital drive-thrus - you must understand the unique features that will protect the asset and generate a better return.

Something that we see all too often at The Howard Company is restaurants using digital signage to display static images. Imagine going out to eat and the digital menu board displays the exact same products, prices, and images day after day and week after week, without moving or changing. This, to put it bluntly, is a tremendous waste.

When The Howard Company works with new customers on digital signage solutions, the lines of functional responsibility are often blurred. Does the procurement of digital menu boards fall under operations, IT or marketing? How about installation, operation and upkeep of the company’s digital displays? In large organizations all three functions will likely need to provide input, and they all have very different perspectives. Although all three groups may agree on the necessity to invest in digital menu boards, the marketing and operations teams may not even think to ask the questions that the IT department needs to have answered.

Editors note: This post was originally published on November 9, 2015 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.