Top 6 Factors to Consider when Designing Displays for Outdoor Use
Outdoor digital displays can significantly boost your advertising ROI by allowing you to promote key brand messaging effectively, efficiently, and across a broad marketing spectrum. In order for your digital display advertising campaigns to be successful however, you need to be careful when selecting the right monitors and display configurations for the job. There are a number of different factors including the industry you work in, the regional locations of your ads, as well as the target demographic you’re trying to reach that should be taken into consideration.
When shopping around for state-of-the-art digital technology, you need to also think about the type of brand messaging that your organization is trying to convey. Whether you’re on the cutting edge of advanced digital technology or you’re in a completely unrelated field, you need to make sure that your brand messaging is on point and comes across as clearly as possible to your target audiences.
With that in mind, here are six factors to consider when purchasing or designing custom digital displays for your business.
Weather Conditions Across Different Regional Locations
Since we’re talking about outdoor digital displays, one of the top features you need to think about is whether they’re durable enough to withstand a wide range of weather and climate conditions. Consider the areas in which your digital displays will be installed.
Are they going to be installed in tropical climates or cold, snowy areas? Weather and climate conditions play a huge role in determining the types of features your custom digital display will require. These include:
- Sunlight readability
- Dustproof
- Waterproof
- Heat protection
- Freeze protection
Keep in mind that the placement of the displays also matters. For instance, if the display is meant to advertise your brand overlooking a highway overpass, you want to make sure that it’s angled in such a way where every motorist passing by can safely read the advertisement without distracting from their driving. In some cases, outdoor displays can be impeded by weather conditions like fog, heavy rain, or snow if they’re not properly angled or equipped with the appropriate features.
Ask about Warranty Limits
These days, even the most state-of-the-art technological displays are only made to last a certain number of years before part replacements and repairs start adding up to the point where it makes more sense to simply replace the entire display. Display technology is a massive undertaking and investment for your business. As such, it’s important to inquire about warranty terms and conditions.
The first question you should ask is, how long is the warranty? The second question is, what exactly is included in the warranty limits? Gaining a clear understanding of your warranty limits can help you determine the types of display features you need and it also helps you outline a more accurate and useful digital display budget for your business.
Does It Have a Touch Sensor?
Touch sensors are practically a necessity for every modern day outdoor digital display. Capacitive touch sensor technology allows you to install a multitude of digital displays in various types of climates without worrying about damaging the internal mechanisms of the displays themselves.
Also, these types of digital displays can easily be manually or remotely operated regardless of exposure to the elements including wind, rain, snow, ice, and sleet. All of the electronic components and mechanisms are safeguarded by the thick cover-glass that’s strongly secured in place to by optical bonding to prevent leaks while still allowing for touch operations.
Interactive displays, which are growing in popularity by the day, are captivating and have the capacity to compel any and all passersby to engage and immerse themselves in your clever marketing campaign.
Cover Glass Finish
Since these digital displays are made to be used by the public, one of the most important features you should be looking for is the cover-glass finish. Cover-glass is intended to protect the internal mechanisms of the display by preventing external damages like cracking. Outdoor digital displays should be built to withstand harsh weather conditions as well as rough usage equally.
After all, you can’t control the manner in which your target audience or the general public actually interacts with your displays. And you certainly don’t want to be responsible for having to repair or replace them more frequently than absolutely necessary. A strong cover-glass finish should be able to withstand almost anything and everything that’s thrown at it including inclement weather, vandalism, and mishandling.
Optical Bonding Technology
State-of-the-art outdoor digital displays are composed of many different layers, all of which play an important role in presenting viewers with content. These layers include:
- Polarizers
- Touch sensors
- Display cells
- Cover-glass
Some of these layers can be bonded together by a clear binding agent that also leaves small gaps of air between each layer. The purpose of these gaps and this bonding is to allow the distribution of external light from the sun or other sources to be reflected rather than absorbed so that the display contrast will be better controlled and reduced.
Modern optical bonding involves applying an adhesive with a refractive index that matches that of the glass onto the surface that’s going to be bonded. Once the layer of glass is placed onto the surface, the adhesive is automatically activated by a combination of UV light, heating, and some pressure.
What Technological Enhancements Are Available?
Innovative technological enhancements are constantly being developed and released to the point that you might purchase a custom-designed display and a new one might already be in development by the time you receive and install your order. When it comes to purchasing new digital technology or displays the key is to understand what features are currently available and how those features are essential to helping you reach your business and marketing objectives.
If you need help determining which technological features are absolutely necessary and worthwhile investments for your business, then you should consult a manufacturer directly.
Considered one of North America’s leading designers, developers, and manufacturers of high-end digital displays, Nauticomp Inc. provides businesses within all industries custom displays that consist of the exact features they’re looking for. Contact us today to learn more or to place an order.
