Advertising other brands through your digital signage, for free or paid, can be a great idea! Although, it’s easy to get it wrong if you’re not aware what the end results will be. Before we get to those results and figure out how to precisely get what we want, let’s cover the basics. Advertising for another brand mainly boils down to featuring their product or service on your channel of content. Of course, this isn’t limited to products and services, but that is the most common type in this context.
There are plenty of benefits to featuring third-party offers on your digital signage, but it’s important to be mindful about the aftermath of that decision. Firstly, let’s see the main benefits. Then we’ll look into what the ideal type of content is for a third-party offer and the best businesses to partner up with.
An additional source of revenue
The first and main benefit of advertising for others on your digital signage channel is the added stream of revenue. You achieve it by including third-party ads on a predetermined schedule in your digital signage campaigns. Ideally, display them at key moments throughout the day, when traffic is high. As a result, the ads will be more effective and the advertiser who is paying you to display them will likely continue doing so, as long as they’re effective.
With digital signage software, it’s quite easy to track the time and location where each ad was displayed. Having this sort of data is essential when looking to display third-party ads on your digital signage. Furthermore, deliver a clear picture of the reach your displays have and what benefits an advertiser would get if they partnered with you. Read more tips on selling your ad space!
Building business relationships
By featuring third-party ads on your digital signage, you open up the road to many possibilities. One of these is establishing connections with other businesses who may promote your business in return!
However, carefully select which businesses you build relationships with in this way. It’s great to be featured by someone else, but if the audience of that business isn’t receptive to the services you offer, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Lattes go well with pastries. Bookshops mix well with coffee shops. Shoppers who buy electronics will want to find accessories for those electronics. It’s customary to feature ads from third-parties who are not competitors. These are the basics of running a business well. So a business which produces complementary goods to yours would be perfect to feature on your digital displays and build a relationship with.
Building customer loyalty
By promoting the sort of product, service, or anything external that your audience is interested in, you build their trust and show you care. Advertising other brands on your digital signage may be frowned upon when it’s clear the ad exists solely for the purpose of profit. Meanwhile, when your third-party ad is something your customers genuinely care about, they react differently. Don’t neglect the value of a genuine recommendation! Consumers will listen to a salesperson who recommends something from a complementary business. This sort of genuine approach has always been a great way of building customer loyalty. And now you can also incorporate it into your digital signage.
If a bookshop features a nearby coffee shop which is cozy and just perfect for a good afternoon read, the every-day bookworm will surely appreciate the suggestion! Likewise, shoe shoppers will appreciate a pointer to the best shoe care supplies and accessories. Throwing a discount into the mix is even better.
In some cases, you’ll find that you may benefit from advertising third-party content even if you don’t get paid for it. When it comes to building customer loyalty, ads don’t have to refer to a product or for-profit business. It can also be about raising awareness about a public issue, an organization, or a local charity. A bakery near a bus stop will surely get plenty of commuters to stop by. A display which announces the bus schedule for this bus stop would be a great asset to have.
What is the perfect third-party ad?
The main question is what do you want to achieve? Clearly, there are two main motivations behind displaying third-party ads on your digital signage. It’s either direct profit, or enhancing the customer experience.
If your digital signage reaches a lot of people—if you own a display in the main street of the city, you’ll benefit from selling ad space to the highest bidder. Such a location has high foot traffic, and the potential for third-party advertisements may be too great to ignore. Here, dedicating the display entirely to third-party ads might be the best option.
On the other hand, indoor areas, lounges, or displays in a lobby are different. In these cases, you’d get a better outcome by wisely selecting the types of third-party ads you feature, as well as how much time you dedicate to them within your digital signage schedule. Yes, you could maybe get more profit now by displaying third party ads non-stop, but the customer experience—and, in turn, customer loyalty—will suffer in the long run.
Handle your content properly
Advertising third-party brands on your digital signage is just one part of the equation. You need to have a fairly strong handle on your content schedule and be aware of every detail before you even think of incorporating third-party ads.
Scheduling content is an easy task with a digital signage software. When you need to, simply assign the content to your displays days, weeks, or months in advance, and you sorted the matter in a single setup. If there are issues along the way, your software will inform you. Once the promotion time ends, you’ll have all relevant data neatly organized in the form of a report. Deliver this to current and future partners as proof of success.
With a digital signage software such as OnSign TV, you can even assign a small portion of the screen to continuously display the third-party ads. It goes without saying to be mindful of how you use this to achieve maximum success. If you aren’t using digital signage software yet, this is the perfect time to give it a try, for free, by the way!
