The role of digital signage in the Covid-19 era

How digital signage was used during the pandemic lockdown

While the world is adjusting to social distancing, and hospitals are fighting coronavirus, digital signage has done its job in ‘informing’ when the world needed it the most. Because it was an essential tool during lockdown months and is still indispensable to move on with the ‘new normal’, there is no longer any doubt of the value of an LED digital signage investment.

Every single industry affirms that digital signage is critical in this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. As a result of Covid-19, many companies were forced to close down, grocery stores were required to implement social distancing measures and hospitals were overflowing with coronavirus patients. During this phase, high resolution outdoor digital signage has been thoroughly used to ‘inform’. All essentials business outlets that remained open had to communicate security and prevention measures. By sharing health and safety information with real-time updates on digital screens was an important way to ensure employees and customers are safe.

The audiovisual medium of eye catching LED displays also helped non-essential businesses that were closed by redirecting passersby to their websites with information on how the business will continue online until their front doors reopen again.

Digital signage content strategies for businesses in the ‘new normal’

While the pandemic still haunts us, digital signage can help businesses in protecting the staff, community, and the future economy. Businesses, schools universities, churches, and all other institutions can use indoor and outdoor digital signs for the following purposes:

Communication

• Communicating security and prevention measures
• Communicating hygiene and social distancing measures
• Continuously broadcasting real-time health and safety information to help people fight against their fear.
• Reminding employees to regularly wash their hands and not touch their faces can be helpful as these things can be easily forgotten when preoccupied in the working environment.

Queue management

Queue management tools can be integrated into LED digital signage platforms to

• control and optimize customer flows
• avoid people piling up in long queues
• remind people to stand one meter behind the last person in the queue.

Such applications can also indicate an estimated waiting time when a customer picks up a turn ticket so that they can move about inside or outside the organization and come closer to the front desk only when it is time for their turn.

Purchase limits

When high resolution digital displays are integrated with the POS at stores, establishments can advertise the availability of products while also informing the customer of purchase quantity limits imposed on essentials such as water bottles, hand sanitizers, and toilet paper. This will reduce the inflow of customers and avoid frustration and disappointment at the POS.

Using the power of audiovisual medium

Now that people are trying to return to normalcy, the medium of touchless digital display offers more value. Cost effective digital signage will be at the forefront once again with its power of audiovisual medium to transmit information on how to resume life in the ‘new normal’ era.

Touchless digital signage kiosks will be essential to facilitate check-ins at medical institutes, restaurants, hotels, and so on.

Smart signage solutions

With the integration of quality components of the AI systems, smart display technology can now

• count people within a facility to ensure capacity management
• calculate heat signatures and identify abnormal temperatures with the power of infrared temperature sensors and advanced algorithms
• point out individuals who are not wearing a mask or not maintaining social distancing with the use of biometric systems for facial recognition.

How digital signage is changing working spaces

In the offices

• Voice recognition technology in digital signs can reduce points of contact on interactive led displays in a range of settings.
• Employees can make use of voice-activated LCD displays to schedule meetings and conferences rather than using the touch display.

Employees will be encouraged to work in the office rather than at home when touchless mediums of work such as these are provided.

In the warehouse and manufacturing plants

Warehouses and manufacturing plants, being forced to reduce headcount and implement social distancing was never anticipated. LED signage and touchless displays will be highly necessary for these environments. After already suffering months of losses, companies want to be as productive as possible to soften the blow. Indoor signage has always been used in these settings to display productivity metrics, and with the added pressure of being productive, the importance of these metrics is even more now.

These environments can also use high brightness displays to post updates on Covid testing within the facility.

In the healthcare facilities

It is essential to ensure healthcare workers on the frontlines are kept safe. Touchless display technology and voice-activated displays help accomplish safety for them. Workers and patients can interact with the display messages without having to touch the screen. Also, there is scope for electronic paper signs to take form outside hospital rooms to display patient information. Other classic uses of LED digital signage such as wayfinding, creative content for social distancing reminders, donor boards, and so on are more beneficial in this situation.