Digital buzz

The use of digital signage has taken off in retail – Charles Ansley tells FST how financial services could also use this technology to enhance their customer offer.

FST. Digital signage is becoming the buzzword in the financial services advertising market. Where do you see the future of retail advertising in this market?
CA. I foresee digital signage being used for cross selling at the drive up window, and particularly for those individuals who actually use walk-in teller services; digital displays that up sell customers waiting for a teller. Strategically placed signage can get the attention of your customers as soon as they walk into the facility. You can inform them of new incentives, interest rates, even local news. This makes the banking experience an opportunity to sell, entertain and show your commitment to the local community showcasing community events such as bank support for the local high school football team. The use of digital signage reduces perceived wait times and can increase customer satisfaction (increase sales, lower the cost of sales), by offering information prior to the customer reaching the teller position.

Symon has been in the digital signage market since 1980 when we introduced our first generation of LED wallboards. These displays were basic digital signage used in network control centers, 911 centers, contact and help desk centers, and were soon being used in the financial sector displaying real time data in the form of stock tickers and other pertinent financial and line of business information.

With Symon’s acquisition of TargetVision it really began to focus on digital advertising for the financial as well as retail sectors. We introduced our own content management software called Symon Design Studio that is used to create, schedule, import all types of content and media types and offer proof-of-play reporting and site management – all through the same software package.

Symon is one of only a few vendors that offer a turnkey digital signage solution. Another area where we really excel is in point of sale integration and our software’s capabilities to link into back office systems in real-time to collect data and information, which allows our software to change screens dynamically based on thresholds and data triggers.

A good example of this in the financial sector is interest rate information, stock quotes, and home equity loans. As rates or incentives change to a pre-set threshold, the software automatically triggers the screen to switch to a new campaign or advertisement. After all, it would probably not be in the company’s best interest to advertise high interest rates with the volatility of the current mortgage market, for example.

FST. What is the relevance of this trend to the Financial Services industry?
CA. We see major growth in the need for distributing wealth management content, consumer loan content, tele-banking services content and other financial services instruments and product to consumers. Combining our expertise with a major US university’s business school, and a key international telecommunications company, we are in the process of developing a unique financial services initiative. This collaborative effort is targeted to address an issue concerning the financial services industry’s ability to increase sales productivity at the branch level. We have devised a remarkable solution in which centralized financial transactions resident at the main bank can be used in conjunction with digital signage and delivered to branch locations to improve the branch’s ability to create ‘sales uplift’.

FST. What are some of the considerations that should be taken into account when deciding on a proper course of action?
CA. When making decisions on adopting this technology, financial institutions must take into account various factors including IT infrastructure, relational database integration, video distribution, content creation, system management, and customer requirements. Decision makers must be aware of the pitfalls in the early adoption phase before deploying these solutions; their challenge is our opportunity to help.

Through our investment in research and development, our 27-year track record of profitability, and our acquisition of companies involved in digital signage and advertising, Symon is well positioned to assist financial institutions with a need to improve their overall advertising and business revenues utilizing digital signage. My best advice is to think through and plan a phased entry into digital signage to make sure your long-term goals can be provided for by your selected suppliers.