Digital Signage & Digital Menu Boards Explained: The 7 Things to Evaluate
What are the 7 key elements of digital signage?
Digital Displays Explained
| 1Business | 2Content | 3Design | 4Software | 5Hardware | 6Connectivity | 7Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
•Objectives •ROI / ROO •Partnering •Revenue |
•Media •Advertising •Marketing |
•Deployment •Purpose •Environment |
•Scheduling •Player •Control •Creation |
•Displays •Mounts •Players •Infrastructure |
•Wired •Wireless •Cellular |
•Installation •Network •Maintenance •Service |
1. Business
The 4 Business Fundamentals
- Objectives — A digital menu board should have a clear job: lifting average check, speeding the drive-thru, cutting print costs, or pushing promotions.
- ROI and ROO — Measure both return on investment (hard dollars) and return on objectives (softer goals like brand consistency or upsell rate).
- Partnering — Decide whether you want one accountable partner for the whole system or to assemble pieces from several vendors.
- Revenue — Screens can be a cost center or earn their keep by promoting high-margin items, or in some settings, paid advertising.
Key Questions to Ask
- What is the business objective, and how will we measure ROI and ROO?
- Am I locked into one hardware or software brand, or can the system grow and adapt?
- Who handles installation, monitoring, and support — one accountable partner, or several?
- What is the total cost over five years?
2. Content
Media
The mix of images, video, motion, and live data including pricing, wait times, and weather that can be displayed on screen. Great hardware shows weak content in high definition, so the content plan matters as much as the equipment.
Advertising
Promoting featured items, limited-time offers, and bundles at the right moment. In some settings, paid third-party advertising can offset the cost of the system entirely.
Marketing
Keeping every screen on-brand and on-message — which matters most across many locations. Central content control ensures a promotion runs correctly at every site simultaneously.
3. Design
Deployment
Keeping every screen on-brand and on-message, which matters most across many locations. Central content control ensures a promotion runs correctly at every site simultaneously.
Purpose
Environment
A menu board, promotional display, wayfinding screen, rate board, and order-confirmation display each need a different layout. Defining purpose before choosing hardware avoids buying the wrong screen for the job.
4. Software (CMS)
What the CMS controls
- Scheduling and dayparting — automatically switches between breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any time-based content.
- Player and control — content is pushed to each screen and managed centrally across the network.
- Content creation — your team should be able to build and edit layouts in a browser rather than routing every change through the vendor.
- POS integration — automatically updates item availability and pricing through direct integration with your point-of-sale system; prices and sold-out ("86") items change without any manual edits.
Licensing and Hosting Models
- Perpetual license — a one-time purchase you own outright.
- SaaS subscription — ongoing monthly or annual fee; cloud updates included.
- Cloud-hosted — proactive alerts and remote monitoring by the provider.
- Self-hosted — managed on your own servers; more control, more IT burden.
Key questions to ask
-
Does the CMS integrate with my POS so pricing and sold-out items update automatically?
- Can my team edit content ourselves, or does every change route through the vendor?
- Is the software a license I own or a subscription, and what is the total cost over five years?
5. Hardware
Components
- Displays — commercial-grade panels rated for extended or 24/7 use; indoor, high-brightness, and outdoor options.
- Mounts — right mounting and enclosures for the location, including weather-sealed housings for outdoor use.
- Media players — the compute that drives each screen; either built-in (SoC) or a separate external device.
- Infrastructure — power, cabling, and structural support behind the scenes.
Built-in vs. External Media Player
- System-on-a-chip (SoC) — player is built into the display; fewer cables, lower cost, ideal for simpler single-screen layouts.
- External media player — separate device, often more powerful, easier to service or upgrade; some players drive several screens at once, suiting menu walls and order-confirmation displays.
| Feature | Commercial Grade | Consumer Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor use | Outdoor-rated models available | Manufacturer's warranty often restricted for signage use |
| Orientation | Switches between portrait and landscape | Landscape-only on many models |
| Duty cycle | Engineered for extended / 24/7 reliability | Prolonged use accelerates wear and shortens lifespan |
| Build quality | Enhanced bezels and cooling for continuous duty | Slim bezels can compromise cooling efficiency |
| Connectivity | Multiple media ports for versatile connectivity | Fewer inputs, consumer remote-driven menus |
6. Connectivity
Wired
A hard-wired network connection is the most reliable option and is ideal for fixed installs with network access nearby. No signal variability; best for high-frequency content updates like live pricing.
Wireless
Wi-Fi is flexible where running cable is impractical, but it depends on solid coverage. Site surveys matter, dead zones and interference can cause content update failures.
Key questions to ask
A cellular connection serves as a fallback or primary path for remote sites, drive-thrus, and locations without dependable local networking. Especially useful as a redundant backup.
7. Operations
Installation
Your objectives, ROI/ROO, partnering approach, and revenue goals define why you're buying.
Network Management
Every location should be kept connected and updated from one place. Centralized monitoring prevents the "dark screen problem" where a location has been offline for days before anyone notices.
Maintenance
Proactive monitoring flags hardware issues and sends alerts before a customer notices a dark screen. Reactive support is not the same as proactive maintenance — know which one you're getting.
Service & Support
A knowledge base, training, and live phone and email help, plus clear warranty terms and a plan for out-of-warranty replacements. Ask about response SLAs before you sign, not after a screen fails.
How Digital Signage Differs by Industry
Indoor Menus & Retail
The seven elements are universal, but the right configuration shifts with where the screens live and who is looking at them.
Outdoor & Drive-Thru
Require outdoor-rated, high-brightness, weather-sealed displays and enclosures, and order-confirmation integration is a major factor.
Restaurants & QSR
Rely on large multi-screen menu boards, automatic pricing, and reliable 86ing of sold-out items.
Convenience Stores & Grocery
Run high screen counts across categories, where central control and brand consistency matter most.
Banks & Credit Unions
Use rate boards, lobby and drive-up messaging, and tight brand and compliance control.
Dispensaries
Need dense menus and frequent price and availability changes, often tied to inventory.
Vendor-Neutral Buying Checklist
- What is the business objective, and how will we measure ROI and ROO?
- Will this run reliably in my environment, indoor, sunlit window, or fully outdoor/drive-thru?
- Does the CMS integrate with my POS so pricing and sold-out items update automatically?
- Can my team edit content ourselves, or does every change route through the vendor?
- Is the software a license I own or a subscription, and what is the total cost over five years?
- How will the screens connect? Wired, wireless, or cellular, and what happens if a connection drops?
- Am I locked into one hardware or software brand, or can the system grow and adapt?
- Who handles installation, monitoring, and support, one accountable partner, or several?
Know what you need, but not which system fits? That’s the point of being software-agnostic — we’ll match the right displays, players, and CMS to your environment, your POS, and your team.
Talk to a Howard specialist