As another month passes, thankfully we still only have good news to report. In fact, apart from what is good news in 2020, we even have positive expectations for 2021. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and instead start off with recent discoveries relevant to the situation we’re in. First, a new coating additive claims to be able to kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, within 2 hours. Then, we see Out-of-Home users who opted to invest in outdoor advertising during COVID-19 restrictions getting positive results. We also have news and recommendations for the upcoming holidays, especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday. To finish, take a look at the eye-catching digital signage that’s recently emerged.
A new coating solution kills COVID-19 in 2 hours
Corning, a leading innovator in materials science, has recently announced an intriguing new solution, Guardiant, that’s likely to be valued by any display user. Guardiant is a new coatings technology which claims to be a solid defense against coronavirus. It is an additive that can be dosed into paints and coatings. Guardiant contains copper, which has antimicrobial properties. Overall, tests claim that Guardiant antimicrobial particles kill over 99% of bacteria and viruses within the timeframe of two hours, including SARS-CoV-2, responsible for COVID-19.
Of course, keep in mind that within two hours, a public display is surely to be used more than once. Thus, this solution doesn’t promise to prevent the spread of COVID-19 entirely. While it may not be an instant security measure which kills coronavirus on contact, Guardiant emerges as a component to make safety a more attainable goal.
Positive results with OOH during COVID-19 restrictions
As the global pandemic began warping everyday life earlier this year and again now, many investors in Out-of-Home technology were unsure how to respond. While some thought it best to shut their OOH down until a better time, others kept on pushing new content. And it seems the latter option may have been the better of the two, according to research by JCDecaux and several other big names.
We have already seen how people seem to appreciate OOH more along the global pandemic. Furthermore, JCDecaux related research data implies a 51% increase in ad recall and 16% increase in purchase intent, among other stats. Studies focused on footfall numbers showed over twice the audience visiting a particular store (in a test/control environment). This confirms that OOH can still be a powerful tool, even when global traffic experiences a sharp drop.
Digital signage to influence Black Friday/Cyber Monday shoppers
The 2020 holiday season will surely be different than any in recent years. Still, it doesn’t take a genius to know that Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be met with high demand. On a more important note, nearly half of shoppers for these major events say they anticipate signage which promotes special deals. This is reason enough to put extra effort into your digital signage campaigns since consumers will be looking to them more in the coming weeks. Your digital signage campaigns will play a big role in bringing in additional revenue at this critical time.
Be sure to keep other holidays in mind. With the indent COVID-19 has made in many pockets, people will likely spend less on gifts this year. At the very least they’ll be more mindful and divide their spending across the entire holiday season. We’ve talked a bit about using digital signage during the holidays, but be on the lookout for a 2020 update!
2021 expects to see positive revenue numbers
On a recent OAAA webinar PJ Solomon investment banker Mark Boidman cited estimates made by eMarketer, Magna and Wall Street Research regarding OOH revenues.
According to those estimates, OOH revenues will grow by up to 16% in 2021. Some revenue officers didn’t want to pinpoint a specific number, but they are expecting growth. Of course, these estimates rely on a relatively linear development of events and the expectation that COVID-19 won’t cause any more major groundbreaking changes in the coming months.
Apart from growth in revenue, 2021 will likely see other positive developments such as the return of trade shows, and a further rise in programmatic outdoor advertising.
The visual power of digital signage
We wrap up this month’s set of digital signage news with digital signage eye candy. Take a look at these recent eye-catching and jaw-dropping uses of digital signage. First is the new “All in One” flagship Caixa Bank branches using digital technology to take their establishments to a new level. This includes roughly 300 sq. meters of LEDs, and a stellar ATM lobby.
Meanwhile, a shopping mall in Guangzhou, China, offers a view of an LED waterfall in the central atrium. It’s accompanied by LED ribbon displays. It truly is a sight to behold, as you can see in this video preview.
And just like that, November has flown by as we prepare to enter the final lap of the 2020 race. And what a race it has been so far. It will be interesting to see how the regular holiday end-of-the-year plans play out and how consumers and traffic change in comparison to previous years. A final reminder: be on the lookout for upcoming content for tips to make clever use of digital signage during the coming holidays!
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