The pandemic has highlighted the need to move away from touch screens. And to make matters worse, current in-store retail media networks are limited in their ability to engage shoppers proactively and do not provide rich interactive experiences.
Digital Signs Are Good Business
Since the early 2000s, digital signs, kiosks, and totems have grown in popularity from retail to healthcare to fast food. At the same time, screen, connectivity, IoT, media servers, content management, and other technologies have elevated their functionality. Arguably, it is hard to turn a blind eye to digital signs and kiosks’ business impacts. But the COVID pandemic made touchscreens in public and private enterprises “persona non gratis.”
What is Interactive Digital Signage? – A Quick History, Intuiface Blog, 2019
So What’s Next?
We are not quite ready for the holographic displays from the Minority report. Still, some folks are getting close such as Portal Hologram.
Pre-COVID, we grew accustomed to digital kiosks to check in at the doctors’ offices or touchscreens in malls and everywhere in between. COVID and the labor shortage pushed several fast-food chains to accelerate pilots for touchless voice recognition technology. However, using your voice for basic food ordering is just the beginning.
With 86% of businesses using video as a marketing tool, video marketers are being pushed to think outside the box and stay ahead of the competition. Using interactive video software to create a personalized experience allows you to stand out from the crowd while keeping your viewers engaged and driving them to your desired outcomes. The Importance of a Personal Experience in Video Marketing, Mindstamp, July 22, 2021
The Need For More Engaging Interactive Experiences
Digital natives demand more engaging and entertaining experiences, and that means video. That’s why we believe smart signs will become increasingly popular as they enable more immersive and entertaining experiences.
So, over the last two years, we have supported multiple partner-based digital sign initiatives. Besides the Vocinity Video Platform as a Service (VPaaS), our royalty-free reference design adds HD cameras, noise-canceling mics, proximity sensors, APIs for content management integration, and example code for media servers (browser or thin client). We are getting closer to the Minority Report paradigm by enabling personalized video-based journeys. (Digital sign providers interested in learning more should contact us directly).
Digital signs and kiosks enhanced with Vocinty provide immersive and entertaining personalized journeys featuring conversational virtual and live assistants. Vocinity smart sign engagements can launch using proximity sensors or custom wake words (just like “Siri” or “Alexa”).
For example, one of our partners, TROC, has Vocinity-enabled smart signs for brand roadshows and in-store assisted selling. Their virtual brand ambassador uses “Hey Valerie” as their custom wake word. After which, users can then engage with interactive conversational video assistants, live video chats, and streaming broadcasts.
Blurring The Lines Between Entertainment, Education, and Commerce
Most industries have more than one high-value use case for smart digital signage, from education and healthcare to banks and hospitality. Marketers have learned to appreciate the value of video-based experiences, and consumers are demanding them. And with smarter digital signage, you have a platform to address both. By adding the Vocinity VPaaS, you can achieve truly personalized immersive multimedia experiences that consumers will love.
No responses yet