How to choose the right location for your mobile digital signage

With the weather due to brighten up considerably in the coming weeks, you may already be planning your mobile LED digital signage campaigns for the spring and summer of 2022. Scouting and settling on your location will likely be one of the first decisions you’ll need to make, but it’s far from an easy one, as there are a lot of considerations that you’ll need to take into account. At Scanlite though, we’re here to help – so to save you a bit of time (and possibly a headache or two), we’ve summed up some of the most critical things you’ll need to bear in mind.

Whatever the nature of your business, and whatever the objectives of your campaign, if you want maximum return on investment and minimal chance of logistical difficulties, you’ll need to look at…

Distance and height

A good place to start is by estimating the average distance between your viewer and the screen, as you’ll want the text and images to be big enough to be read from the farthest distance. Then there’s height. The average person’s field of vision ranges between 75 degrees below the eye and 60 degrees above it, so ideally your screen will need to be placed within this range. There’s no point investing all that time, effort and money if your intended audience can’t even see the content you’ve worked so hard on!

The space around the screen

Pre-emptive crowd management might sound a bit like overkill, but it should probably be a very real concern. If your content is effective enough to start drawing in groups of people, you’ll want to think about how to place your screen so that others further back can still see it. Avoid chokepoints if you can, especially as that might annoy passers-by too. Similarly, you’ll want to take a look around the area to pick out any pillars or walls that might end up blocking the view of your screen, and think about some creative solutions to work around them – or even avoid them altogether.

Lighting and glare

When you’re sizing up an area for mobile LED signage, you’ll also need to bear in mind the effect of natural light, and how it might change throughout the day, as that could have an adverse effect on your screens. For example, they might be perfectly visible during the afternoon hours, and throughout the evening, but if the morning sunlight throws a noticeable glare on them then this might affect the ability of passers-by to see and internalise your content. That could be a particular issue if you’re targeting certain groups at certain times of day, for example commuters in the morning or afternoon rush hour.

Sound

Incorporating sound into your LED signage can be effective, but only if it’s done carefully. The choice of environment plays a big part in the effectiveness of sound – you’ll want to steer clear of lobbies or corridors for example, as the sound has a tendency to echo, and the message can all too easily be lost. High-traffic areas like public transport hubs might not yield the best results either, as people might be moving too quickly to their destination to properly take in your content.

Instead, it works best in areas with a high dwell time – in other words, where people are going to be hanging around for longer. Waiting rooms and break rooms are examples. Outdoor queues for various events might be an option too, such as local festivals. Just don’t forget that you won’t want it to end up being too repetitive for people, so maintain decent lengths and intervals for your content – if they end up being too short, you might actually end up annoying your potential customers rather than engaging them!

Power and connectivity

Then of course, there are the power considerations. When you’re sizing up the location, you’ll have to think about where the nearest power source is, and how you’re going to be able to connect the media player to the screen. Is there internet connectivity? And will it be provided by cable, or WiFi?

This isn’t an exhaustive list – just a few helpful pointers to get you started! To make sure you’re taking full advantage of everything that mobile screens have to offer, it’s worth checking out our post on the key benefits of mobile LED screens for your marketing.

And of course, if you’ve got any questions or you need any more advice, that’s exactly what we’re here for at Scanlite. We know LED digital displays inside out, and all the most effective ways in which they can be used to achieve your objectives. If you’d like, you can read a bit more about the various types of outdoor LED screens in our most recent post – or alternatively, to find out how we can help you, feel free to give us a call today on 01253 302723, or email us on sales@scanlite.co.uk. We’re here to help!