A recent ROI development: integrating with existing systems to pull content feeds that already live inside your business—FirstUp, Unily, OneDrive—and repurposing them to screens automatically based on rules and logic. Your comms team doesn't have to redesign content for each channel. This gives them back enormous amounts of time for more valuable work.

Enhancing Digital Signage with Seamless Integration

A more recent ROI development for digital signage is when we can integrate with existing systems and take feeds of content which already lives inside the business and repurpose that to screens. And that's one of the key parts of the ScreenCloud architecture. So let's say you're using a communications platform like FirstUp or Unily, or even just integrating with things like OneDrive, we can pull those files and those messages which you're already pushing out on those other channels and then repurpose them up onto screen based on rules or logic and filtering and tagging and things like that. So your comms team isn't having to take information from one source and then redesign it and push it out again on another, which often we are finding they have had to do historically. This really just gives them back a huge amount more time to focus on the more nuanced work that's more valuable.

A recent ROI development is integrating with existing business systems to pull content that already lives inside the organisation—FirstUp, Unily, OneDrive—and repurposing it to screens automatically. Your comms team isn't redesigning the same content for multiple channels. It gives them back significant time to focus on more valuable, nuanced work.

Optimising Digital Signage with Integration

A more recent ROI development for digital signage is when we can integrate with existing systems and take feeds of content which already lives inside the business and repurpose that to screens. And that's one of the key parts of the ScreenCloud architecture. So let's say you're using a communications platform like FirstUp or Unily, or even just integrating with things like OneDrive, we can pull those files and those messages which you're already pushing out on those other channels and then repurpose them up onto screen based on rules or logic and filtering and tagging and things like that. So your comms team isn't having to take information from one source and then redesign it and push it out again on another, which often we are finding they have had to do historically. This really just gives them back a huge amount more time to focus on the more nuanced work that's more valuable. ScreenCloud is a production of the Center for Digital Transformation and the Center for Digital Transformation and the Center for Digital Transformation for the U.S. Department of State. www.sccd.gov

Employees see communication screens 20-30 times daily, so static playlists become stale incredibly quickly. We've built automation through our feeds platform and Bob (our design language) to pull content from business systems via API, categorise it, adapt it for screens, and apply on-brand design automatically. This keeps content fresh whilst empowering small teams.

Revolutionising Screen Content Management for Businesses

When we consider screens that communicate rather than screens that sell in retail or McDonald's-type restaurants, we're thinking about employee-facing or student-facing screens that the people in front of them may see 20, 30 times a day, every day of the week. Now, that is a lot of exposure to screens. If the screen is just showing a playlist of images and videos rotating around, they are going to become out-of-date and over-saturated very, very quickly. So we need content to be more automated in terms of how it's delivered up to screen. In addition, the people who are responsible for screens, even in really large companies, 100,000 people, might only be 5 to 10 people. So there's not a huge number of them, and normally they're not really designers, they're communicators. And finally, most of the content people want to see on a screen already exists. It just lives inside of business systems, siloed behind IT logins and accessible to only a few. So what we try to do at ScreenCloud is bring all of that automation together through our feeds platform and Bob, Bob the Builder, which is our design language for screens. What we do is we take those systems and hook it up via API, farming out the information, categorizing and sorting, and sometimes changing it slightly so it's screen-adapted, then pushing it out to the relevant screen and audience, but also giving it an on-brand design look and feel that's automatically applied, so you don't need to worry that it's not going to look good on a screen. This means we can automate most of the content so it stays fresh, that we can support that little team and give them superpowers, and that we can also reutilize the great content that lives inside of the business and now get that onto a screen so that everyone gets to see it and it has maximum exposure.

Canva integration was one of our most requested features, and it's brilliantly simple. You can now create or update designs in Canva and have them instantly replicate to ScreenCloud. Canva is actually a customer of ours too, which makes the partnership even better.

Streamlining Content Creation with Canva Integration

One of our most popular requests for an app integration was, unsurprisingly, Canva, one of the biggest platforms in the world that enables marketers and content creators to easily create beautiful-looking graphics. Usually, that's for social media or print, but now it's also for screen. So we've partnered with them. Canva's actually also a customer of ours, and we have done an integration, which means you can just change your content inside of Canva and have that replicated straight to ScreenCloud. It's nice and simple and works really beautifully.

Digital signage lives in public spaces where you're competing for attention, so you need to earn the eyeballs. Think about what your audience needs - practical information that helps them excel - then balance that with your company messages. Get this right and your communications become genuinely effective.

Balancing Content for Effective Digital Signage

So when you're thinking about your content calendar for digital signage, most comms teams will think about what the company objectives are and the information the company wants its employees and teams to see. So that is very much company objectives. However, this is a form of entertainment, and it is in a public space where people could look and do other things rather than look at the screen. So you need to earn the eyeballs. You need to think about the audience needs and what's the information that they want to see. Now, it might not necessarily just be entertainment, although, again, there's nothing wrong with that if it's in a break room, for example. But it might be information that is specifically useful to them. So examples would be more information about maybe management training or job opportunities, or how to change rotor shift schedules, or who's even running the shift. Information which is practical and useful for them to get their job done better and also to excel at the company. And then you need to balance that out with the needs of what the company wants its team to understand and see. If you get that balance right, you earn the eyeballs, and you will get your message across in a much more meaningful way. We call this internally broccoli and ice cream. So you want to eat the broccoli, you've got to give it an ice cream incentive. Some of our product team hate that analogy, but it kind of seems to land. So, you know, if you're giving out lots of broccoli, don't forget to also reward some ice cream too.

When planning digital signage content, you need to balance company objectives with what your audience actually wants to see. I call this 'broccoli and ice cream' - if you're serving up lots of corporate messages, you've got to reward people with content they genuinely find useful or entertaining.

Optimising Digital Signage Content for Employee Engagement

So when you're thinking about your content calendar for digital signage, most comms teams will think about what the company objectives are and the information the company wants its employees and teams to see. So that is very much company objectives. However, this is a form of entertainment, and it is in a public space where people could look and do other things rather than look at the screen. So you need to earn the eyeballs. You need to think about the audience needs and what's the information that they want to see. Now, it might not necessarily just be entertainment, although, again, there's nothing wrong with that if it's in a break room, for example. But it might be information that is specifically useful to them. So examples would be more information about maybe management training or job opportunities, or how to change rotor shift schedules, or who's even running the shift. Information which is practical and useful for them to get their job done better and also to excel at the company. And then you need to balance that out with the needs of what the company wants its team to understand and see. If you get that balance right, you earn the eyeballs, and you will get your message across in a much more meaningful way. We call this internally broccoli and ice cream. So you kind of want to eat the broccoli, you've got to give it an ice cream incentive. Some of our product team hate that analogy, but it kind of seems to land. So, you know, if you're giving out lots of broccoli, don't forget to also reward some ice cream too.

I explore the zones versus full-screen debate in digital signage design. Whilst single messages work best for crucial communications, zoned layouts excel at attracting attention with peripheral information like weather or safety notices. ScreenCloud's flexibility allows both approaches - zoned layouts for ambient content with priority messages that pop to full-screen when needed.

Effective Digital Signage Strategies: Zones vs Full Screen

So there's a big debate amongst digital science experts about whether you should zone up a screen or just use a full screen. So for zones, just think of kind of like a 24-hour news or sports news where you have ticker tapes and information down the side, and then you've got the main panel would be the presenters and things like that. And obviously, full screen is full screen. Now, the argument is that if you really want to get a message across, you should just have one message at one time up on that screen. And I would broadly agree with that. And I think, generally speaking, because digital signage is running so often, actually having one message and then moving on to something else is fine. However, I do quite like zoned content for attracting attention to the main zone with the content that you would normally want to attract, but then having peripheral information to the side, which could be something as basic as weather or a clock as well, or just something useful that maybe wouldn't have necessarily attracted attention in the first place. It could be something to do with health and safety, for example, which people tend to start to block out over time. So I think done well, zones can be really powerful. But when there is a crucial message, it's better to move full screen. And the way we designed ScreenCloud was actually to allow for both. So you can have a zoned layout. And then if you have priority content that can pop up full screen, and then when that's done, go back down again. And that seems to work really well for customers. It also adds a bit of variety into the layout of the screen as well.

I explore how we're leveraging AI at ScreenCloud to transform existing content into screen-friendly formats. From automatic summarisation and translation to generating custom dashboards from spreadsheets, these AI features are designed to make digital signage more accessible and powerful for everyone.

AI-Driven Content Transformation in Digital Signage

We are embracing AI at ScreenCloud. First and foremost, it's about content transformation. Most of the content people want to put on a screen already exists, but not in a screen-friendly format. So AI can easily understand that content and reformat that up the screen. In addition to that, we can summarize content, so we can condense it so it's easier to understand. We can also do things like translation as well, and even upscale and create images to associate with that content if there isn't any available. Finally, we're actually looking at ways in which we can generate code and screen apps automatically for those screens. So that could be taking a spreadsheet and dynamically building a dashboard of those numbers ready up onto a screen. So stay on the lookout for loads of AI features coming from the ScreenCloud product team.

I discuss how digital screens can transform event spaces beyond traditional methods like lighting and furniture. Event-specific content on screens can completely change the atmosphere and function of a workspace, creating immersive experiences that engage attendees in new ways.

Transform Event Spaces with Dynamic Digital Signage

Have you ever hosted an event in your workspace? The answer is probably yes. So how do you change the mood and function of that setting? Well, you probably changed the lighting, maybe moved the furniture, and maybe even played some music. But what about screens as well? If you do have screens in that environment, you can push content out, which is relevant to the event that you're running, and completely change the atmosphere and function of the room. Give it a try. www.microsoft.com

I address the perceived tension between company objectives and audience needs in digital signage. With screens running 8-24 hours daily at high frequency, there's ample opportunity for diverse content; the real challenge is usually having too little content, not too much.

Bridging the Gap in Digital Signage Content

We know that there is a disconnect between company objectives and audience needs when it comes to digital signage content. Customers often worry about this, but there's really no need. The screens are on in these environments for 8, 12, or 24 hours a day, and people are going to be seeing the screens at a really high frequency. So there is plenty of opportunity to put up the content that everyone wants. In fact, the problem isn't usually that there's too much content, it's usually that there's too little.

I argue for balancing centralised corporate content with local contributions in digital signage. Whilst leadership messages are important, one-way communication feels like propaganda; allocating 25-30% of schedules to local voices creates more authentic engagement.

Balanced Content Strategy for Effective Digital Signage

Red alert, red alert, corporate propaganda coming your way. That's how most workers think about communication when it comes from head office and just broadcasts out on the screen, via email, on the company app. It's just top-down flow of information. Most comms is centralized, and for a very good reason. The leadership of the company wants people to stay on the same page and be getting those updates. There's nothing wrong with that. But if that traffic is flowing one way, especially in this modern world where people want to have more of a say, more of a voice, it doesn't really reflect on the environment or the voices locally of the people in front of those screens. So we need to consider a balance in the way that we're scheduling content. Of course, we need the centralized content. Maybe that's two thirds, three quarters of it. But we need to partition an amount of the calendar and the schedule to allow for local management and even local members of the team to also contribute content to those screens so it feels more reflective of the world as they see it. And even a way to pass content and information back upstream, maybe through a QR code to a feedback form or something like that. If it's all one-way traffic, people are going to be potentially even put off or angry about it, and it won't reflect the reality of their world.

I discuss digital signage's unique advantage over other channels: knowing precisely where your audience is when they see your message. Unlike emails or notifications, screens provide guaranteed location context, enabling highly targeted calls-to-action.

Maximising Impact with Strategic Digital Signage

There are so many things about screens which set them apart from every other digital channel. And I think one of the most important ones there is that you know exactly where the audience is going to be when they see that message, because you physically placed the screen up on that wall. Right, now this is different to say, sending an email or even sending a notification as you're doing some kind of sophisticated tracking and push. You have no idea at what point that email will be read. Maybe it's read at home, maybe it's read at work or the commute or something like that. But when someone sees that message on that screen, you know that they are there. Now that gives you a unique context, which you just don't get through other digital channels. And that really should be considered in how you're planning out your content. So if you want to trigger a specific action to happen in this environment, this is your opportunity to do so. You know that they are there, you know the time that they are there, and then you can really trigger what you want to happen next. And that is quite unusual in digital to have that opportunity. So think about that more when you're planning out your content.

I explore dwell time as the crucial factor in content planning for digital signage. A corridor viewer has three seconds whilst a break room visitor has minutes, requiring completely different content strategies for the same audience in different locations.

Maximise Engagement with Dwell Time in Digital Signage

So dwell time is probably the most important thing to consider when you're planning out your digital signage content. And what do we mean by dwell time? Well, it literally is just the amount of time a person is going to be in front of the screen to see that content. So think of a high-traffic area like a corridor. Someone's going to be walking past that screen. The dwell time could be literally three seconds, unless they stop and look, which is kind of rare. Now, in a break room, for example, the dwell time could be a matter of minutes. So this is very, very different, even though it's the same audience. If you're going straight past in a short dwell time, you can really only afford to put text and maybe an image up on the screen just to get your message understood. If you had a two-minute video, you have no idea what point in the video they're going to be walking by, and therefore, the context is completely lost. However, you completely flip that round if they are going to be there for several minutes. And actually, that gives you the opportunity to tell more of a story, to embellish your point, to be a little bit more entertaining, rather than just showing text and images, which is going to be a bit boring. So think about the likely dwell time, and even one screen may have different types of dwell time at different times of day. So as people are flooding into a building, they might actually be going straight past, not even stopping in the break room, just going straight in and out the door. But then during that lunchtime break, they might actually genuinely be there for longer. So you can start to observe traffic flows. There's sophisticated ways of doing this. You can actually track it using technology. But a simple way to begin is just to go to that environment and look for yourself or talk to the people that work there. They'll tell you when people are hanging around and when they're not.

I explore how audience mindset shifts throughout the day and week, and why this matters for digital signage messaging. Morning audiences think about work tasks whilst evening audiences focus on home life, requiring different content strategies for the same physical location.

Optimising Screen Messaging for Audience Mindset

So when you think about the screens and the various locations they're in, you also need to consider the likely traffic flows going in front of those screens. What we mean here is if you just take a typical day, a screen may be in a break room. Now, that break room at some points is going to swell with activity, maybe just before the working day or a shift begins, and then other times it may be completely empty or very, very sparsely used. There's also differences. It may be that as the traffic's coming in in the morning, what's the mindset of that audience as that traffic swell occurs? They're thinking about what they're about to work on. So the messaging that you put out in front of them should probably be related to something they're actually going to be able to action immediately in the working day. Now, as they come back into that break room after the shift or at the end of the day, their mindset has shifted. They're now thinking about going home and their family and things like that. There may be still messages that you want to get in there, maybe a message of praise, a reward, or opportunities that they may have internally, like a management training program or other job opportunities, or if they're enrolling in benefits that might impact their family, maybe that's something that they want to talk to their family about. So screens in the same location, even to the same audience, but the traffic and the time of day is obviously quite important, and then the mindset of that traffic is important too. Now, that expands out further as you think about the week. Is Monday different to Friday or the weekend? Or even do you have traffic flows during the night? Do you have a night shift or a cleaning team who's coming in and possibly seeing those screens as well? Have you considered what message you'd like to put in front of them? And if it's more in a commercial setting, you've got the traffic flows of your team setting up the store or location, or the actual customers

I discuss the importance of planning digital signage content around annual business rhythms and quarterly objectives. Strategic seasonal planning creates coherent narratives whilst reducing reactive content decisions throughout the year.

Maximise Impact with Seasonal Digital Signage Strategies

So when it comes to seasonality, this is an important thing to consider when you're putting together your annual content calendar. And we would advise really thinking long-term about this because a screen is not just for Christmas. It's a commitment, right? And there's different ways of adjusting towards that commitment. But if you think about the flow of a year inside of a business and the natural seasonality of like, when are people typically joining this company? Or what are the key times of the year where certain things are happening? We all basically understand inside of our own businesses, there is a rhythm of the year. And in each of those periods, and it could just be quarterly or monthly, you're thinking about what are the main objectives? What are the things that we're really trying to work on? Where do we want to focus our attention in this quarter? It might not necessarily be related to the season. It might be to just think in this quarter, we're going to focus primarily on our safety record. On this quarter, we're going to focus more on education and upskilling. On this quarter, it's towards the end of the financial year, we're going to have a big push for productivity. So you can build these themes amongst your kind of regular everyday content. And adding in that seasonality is going to help you build a narrative for how you're communicating to your audience over that year. It'll also give you more ideas and probably a bit less of a reactionary state in terms of how you're putting content up on those screens. So just think more about what the business is trying to respond to. And then think, how can that be applied to my screens and the campaigns we put on them at certain times of the year?

I explain the balance between company-driven content and third-party "filler" content like news and weather. Whilst corporate messages are essential, screens run 8-24 hours daily, requiring neutral content that attracts viewers whilst keeping displays fresh and engaging.

Effective Digital Signage Content Strategies

When we think about screen content, there's a push and a pull. We have content which is going to be something that the company really wants people to look at, whether that be their customers or their employees. But we're also going to have content which is going to need to catch the eye and earn the eyeball. So, why am I looking at this screen? What are you giving me to look at this screen? And quite often, that content is what we might describe as filler content. So, it might be the clock, the time. It might be the weather or the latest news headlines, even sports scores and things like that. That might not feel really that necessary from a company objective point of view, but it is something that people like to look at and read. So, you're kind of earning the eyeball whilst also then pushing the message that you want to push, which maybe they might not have been initially as interested in. In addition to that, the screen is on for up of 8, 12, even 24 hours a day. That is a lot of content that needs to be shown to people. And most companies don't have enough content of their own to really keep that completely fleshed out. So, it is actually quite good to kind of introduce, let's say, this third-party other content. Fairly neutral, doesn't really cause any offense or any problem, but does attract the eyeball, does keep the screens fresh, and means it's not all on you to produce all of that content, which might also sound a little bit one-way in terms of just company news and updates being pushed out. So, this is kind of why we like to fill out with a bit of that kind of third-party stuff like news and weather.