Digital Signage 2018: What to expect?

Industry-wide organizations and the public have embraced in the digitalization of practically everything – and they still want more!

2017 saw a lot of innovations in the world of electronic signs but 2018 promises to have much more.

LED displays get ‘cooler’

By ‘cooler’, we are obviously not referring to the literal meaning. In 2018, LED screens are going to become wider and slimmer than ever before. In advanced terms, we are talking about technology for reflective displays. Instead of emitting light, these ultra-thin, flexible e-paper displays will reflect light – just like real paper.

UHD standard is the resolution that LED screens will adapt to in 2018. There will be an additional range of colors that can be displayed – even greater than what a human eye can perceive!

We will see video walls becoming more commonplace with displays in unique shapes and sizes that are non-rectangular and have ultra-thin bezels. Throughout the year, there will be an exponential increase in the number of video walls.

Responsive content

The personalization and interactivity trends we saw in 2017 will continue throughout this year. Although there are still a few challenges in providing an exceptionally individualized experience on an LED screen, there will definitely be some advances in this field due to improvements in data flows that influence points of customer contact.

Responsive and automated content will become more widely used in 2018. Display sensors and data feeds will adjust content based on real-world conditions. For example, if the weather looks gloomy, umbrella ads and indoor activities will be promoted. During sunny weather, LED displays will decide to show ads for water parks and outdoor festivals. The playlist for scheduling content will not need to be in the hands of people – computers will make the choices based on external data.

Smart gets smarter

AI and smart programs are entering the market and this makes way for unique scaling of data analysis and integration. Data feeds will themselves transform into messages; no outside intervention will be necessary. LED signs can target messages to specific screens based on the kind of data being received and analyzed.

As a result, integration and linked promotions will be easier. Each system will act like a team member – analyzing through huge amounts of information and deciding which content should be displayed on which LED screen and at what time. With this, the possibilities are endless – cross promotion on a new scale, layered and integration campaigns with people’s smart phones, and so on.

Physical and digital blur

2018 will also continue a major trend known as: the blurring of lines between the digital and physical world.

AR and VR will become more popular and digital signage will be integrated into real world events. The scale of outdoor digital signage will dramatically increase – from huge LED screens to small interactive kiosks: those that can also interact with smartphones and tablets (with the help of beacons and geofencing). The whole digital experience will move towards a single, multi-channel experience, eliminating the separation of organizational and personal experiences.

Narratives make more impact

2018 will see more of a preference for long-tail narrative style campaigns as opposed to one-shot messages. Long-term communications will be used to put across huge amounts of information to people. In fact research shows that millennials prefer indirect approaches to marketing so the narrative approach will definitely be beneficial.

LED sign vendors are also adopting to this approach of offering a wide range of solutions such as content creation, interactive designs, consulting, etc rather than simply sticking to a few widgets to sell.

Basically, 2018 wants MORE, BETTER and FASTER. Things are getting comprehensive, smarter, better looking and much faster!