Are you looking to invest in an interactive digital signage solution? We want to help you be aware of everything you need to know when making this investment.
You might be interested in a…
- Custom Interactive Wall in your club >
- Classroom of the Future >
- Gamified In-store Experience >
- Interactive Retail Station >
- Self-Ordering Kiosk >
- Wayfinding Kiosk >
- Digital Product Catalogue >
Our first piece of advice, is to engage a full-service interactive digital signage agency. One with experience in end-to-end solutions within the vertical your business lies. Ensuring you have a full-service expert will make the process much easier for you, as they will be able to advise across all elements: strategy, content, interactive development, hardware, installation, support…it all comes together seamlessly with a professional who understands how the tech works with the content.
The below steps cover how we develop interactive projects here at Prendi; here’s hoping you can take something from our experience.
01. Discover
We first start by determining the type of interactive experience you want to create. We cover off on areas such as your target market, your needs & objectives, timeline and, most importantly, your budget. We open your eyes to the possibilities of how far we can push the content, interactive development and technology, and narrow it down to the perfect solution for you.
Key questions that we would ask you during this stage, are:
- What is the initial purpose of the solution; What do you want to get out of it? It is to captivate and entertain, to draw people in, to upsell, etc.
- What is your budget?
- What is your space / floorplan? Where do you intend to install this solution? Any photos of your space always help.
- Do you have assets available? (images, video, 3D models, etc.) Depending on what the interactive solution is, having hi-resolution assets available can significantly cut costs in content creation.
- Who is your internal champion? Who will be driving the solution? This might be a team, however we highly recommend ensuring you have one staff member to champion the solution. To project manage, and then ensure it is used, ensure your audience is trained if needed, follow-up with ongoing updates and optimisation. An internal champion is key to the ongoing success of any major interactive solution.
- What is your long term strategy? Is this a once-off solution, or will it be able to change, grow and adapt? Do you have allocated funds for updating the application and content post deployment? Determining your long-term strategy will ensure your solution remains relevant and engaging for years to come.
02. Design
With our technological and creative expertise, we prepare a thorough proposal outlining the right in-store digital solution for you. We prepare 2D/3D concepts and storyboards, or a prototype version of your solution, so you know exactly what is possible. We provide a cost estimate outlining our recommendations and options to get the most out of your solution.
Quick Note: It isn’t uncommon to be invoiced to cover this concepts phase. We generally use this as a deposit, which is taken out of the overall cost of your end-solution. Each supplier will be different in how they handle this.
03. Deploy
We seamlessly handle deployment of your solution; from content creation and interactive development, through to hardware procurement, professional installation and management services.
Quick Note: With large-scale interactive deployments, we will give you regular updates and mock-ups of each milestone / get your approvals along the way for different design elements. It is a partnership throughout the entire project, rather than just accepting something at handover.
04. Optimise
Once the project is complete, we keep in touch to ensure you continue to get the most out of your solution. The number one failure of most interactive digital solutions is the lack of content updates post installation. Our ongoing retainers are proven to ensure the ongoing success of any solution.
Quick Note: Optimisation is key to the success of your solution. Once deployed, you need to track the success of your solution, get feedback from users, and continually develop your solution to meet the ever-growing expectations of your audience. This is where the internal champion can be of vital importance.
To help with the optimisation side of things, interactive applications can easily have analytics built-in to help track usage. Though it is then up to you, with help from your digital signage agency, to do something with this data.
Training: Once deployed, you should take the time to train any relevant staff on how to use your solution. For instance, at Harbord Diggers in NSW, after deploying their Interactive Wall they ensured Management was trained in how the solution worked. This helps for customer engagement and usability, if at any stage someone has a question or would like to learn more about your solution.
Training your staff is of even more importance if your solution is an in-store selling tool, like the Inspiration Station at Choices Flooring. Without their staff trained in how to use the solution, it becomes irrelevant and they simply wouldn’t see a return on their investment.
Determine your budget.
Be sure to define your budget as early as possible. An interactive application could be anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000+. Knowing your budget will help ensure you have a working solution with the highest level of detail & functionality possible, and avoid any dissapointment.
It is usually a good idea to split your project into phases to ensure new functionality is added post-launch; to keep your audience engaged, and to assist with cash-flow.
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