Making Digital Signage Truly Digital

The challenge to create, implement and operate a digital signage communication network throughout the Wendy’s system.

By Nick DeCarlo

In 2010 when the Wendy’s Company began its journey to implement digital menu boards in our restaurants, we developed a list of success criteria, with the Number 1 criterion being this: “Ensure the correct content and pricing — unique to each location — is being displayed at each location 100% of the time.”

The challenge to create, implement and operate a digital signage communication network throughout our system seemed easy enough: simply replicate our existing static signage solution in a digital format. But little did we know the complexities involved in the uphill battle in front of us.

Digital signage is a multi-layered solution consisting of many parts: hardware, software, network and security elements. It is a cross-functional effort, where members from different departments including Marketing, IT, Operations, Engineering and Training must be involved to implement an optimal solution. Our team has fine-tuned the initial offering over the past 5 years to ensure that customers experience a consistent platform across our brand and one that has a strong cost-benefit value to our franchisees. In the face of constantly changing technology options and shifts in the marketplace itself, we are constantly evaluating all components to ensure that we are delivering an optimal solution, and maximizing our efforts.

Having met the initial success criteria, and delivered a highly efficient solution that is both scalable and supportable, now we need to determine “what’s next?” How do we continue to evolve the solution to improve the customer experience in a way that takes better advantage of our organization’s existing investment in:

• Implemented Hardware

• Developed Assets

• Software Capabilities

• The Existing Digital Signage Communication Network

Assessing emerging technologies is also part of the ongoing challenge of keeping the system up-to-date in a way that does not compromise what is already in place, enhances the customer experience, is cost-effective across all restaurant locations, and minimizes the need for any costly overhaul.

The ever-growing desire to engage with the customer once they have been drawn into the restaurant is critical. The notion of 1-to-1 marketing at the point of sale level is the ultimate desire, and we concentrate on various ways we can meet this objective with the core solution we have put in place.

One of the things I believe sets us apart is our operating philosophy and ongoing approach to improving our network. We believe that a digital signage communications network is an ongoing process of exploration and discovery to ensure that our team can continue our successful deployment history and day-to-day operational excellence.

My belief is that the true dynamic and underlying benefit of digital signage needs to be tapped into and integrated with the other technical components in the restaurant to deliver an experience to our customers that is:

• Truly unique and one that provides points of interaction.

• Seamlessly integrated across channels and onsite.

• Memorable and repeatable.

• Consistent from location to location.

This is in contrast to what I often see, which is that many digital signage implementations are simply a copy of a brand’s static signage, and not developed beyond the transfer to a new medium, leaving opportunity for a higher ROI (return on investment) undeveloped and untapped.

Digital signage is no longer just bright fancy signs with full motion video capability; the medium and the message must “pop” and “wow” customers. The initial and ongoing investment is too high for the medium not to be a game changer, and the underlying technology available with most implementations to make this kind of impact is already there and can — and should — be surfaced in new and exciting ways that will coincidentally contribute to a higher ROI.

The fact that digital signage can be changed instantaneously and is itself dynamic provides opportunity to connect with customers and be creative in ways that were not previously possible. One of my favorite aspects of my job is the fact that I can go out to our restaurants each and every day and see the positive impact the solutions we are building have on restaurant employees and customers. Listening to their comments and feedback is priceless in validating our direction and making suggestions for improvement. I believe that we have only scratched the surface of what is possible and that potential to me is the most exciting aspect.

Though we started our journey with digital signage 5 years ago, I can say with confidence, based on opportunities we have not yet begun to tap that we are only beginning to see the type of results we can accomplish with these technologies.

— Nick DeCarlo is the director of restaurant solutions for The Wendy’s Company. Within his current scope of responsibilities are all critical business impacting technologies within the four walls of the restaurant, including: POS, DMB, Mobile Architecture, Wi-Fi, TV, Music, Headsets, Timers, Customer Self Order devices, Hand Held/Line Busting device, Dual Lane Drive Thru Technology, and many more.

 

 

NOTE: Nick DeCarlo will be a presenter at Digital Signage Expo 2016 on March 17, 2016 from 9:15-10:15am at the Las Vegas Convention Center.