Outdoor digital signage has become less expensive and more accessible over time for retailers, institutions and other sign shop clients, but still requires a significant commitment in terms of money and time to source, install and manage. When developing a strategy and diving into all of the details of hardware and software,it is very important to understand the potential return on investment (ROI) and clearly lay out the entire process, to ensure a successful deployment.
当下，户外数字标牌已经随处可见，对于标识制造商来说，做一个户外数字标牌的项目越来越简单，但是，为了更好的减少资金和时间的浪费，需要精心地做好规划和管理措施。此外，在制定策略并深入了解硬件和软件的所有细节时，预估好投资回报率是非常重要的，明确整个流程，才能确保户外数字标牌的部署成功。
Determining the return
回报率
Developing digital signage for exterior environments—whether oriented toward private businesses or public institutions—represents one of the most difficult challenges in the industry, as the medium has a particularly big impact on the community and on business communications. It calls for a deliberative strategy and process.
无论是私营企业还是公共机构开发的户外数字标牌都会遇到很多挑战，其中，最困难的挑战之一是，户外数字标牌是否能在社区和商业之间搭建一个合理的平台，有效地将信息呈现出来，这需要一个战略性的部署。
There are multiple metrics and approaches an organization can use to justify the implementation of digital signage. One simple option that encapsulates most of them is ‘return on experience’ (ROE), which is determined by considering the following three key elements:
标识制造商对户外数字标牌的实施可以设定多项指标。其中一个关键的指标就是“回报率”，回报率主要是通过以下三个关键要素来衡量的：
Brand identity
品牌识别
An outdoor screen can support and even enhance an organization’s brand identity, with an enormous impact on the public’s view of it. This can be accomplished by showcasing engaging, non-obtrusive content, reducing visual clutter and serving as a community resource. Digital signage can provide powerful benefits at a shopping mall, for example, by reducing and simplifying a wide variety of messages.
户外数字标牌可以增强一个企业的品牌形象，在潜移默化中对公众产生巨大的影响。要想实现这一效果，这就需要户外数字标牌所展示的内容足够有吸引力，减少视觉混乱的信息。此外，尤其是在商场这种地方，户外数字标牌具有强大的优势，通过减少和简化各种信息来发挥互动功能。
Media channels
媒体通道
While digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising can compete on cost-per-impression with many other paid media, including TV, radio and newspapers, this does not mean installing a screen will be cost-effective without a clear sales plan.
虽然户外数字标牌可以与许多其他付费媒体（包括电视，广播和报纸）进行竞争，但这并不意味着没有明确的销售计划，安装和部署也是具有成本效益的。
On the contrary, digital signage is relatively expensive to start up and operate, becoming cost-effective only when properly integrated into a larger strategy to maximize its number of impressions and drive the impact of its content.
与传统媒体相反的是，户外数字标牌的管理和运行费用相对昂贵，只有整合到适当地环境中，才能达到成本效益，从而最大限度地展示内容，产生积极的影响。
Studies by the Sign Research Foundation (SRF), among others, have shown planning is particularly important for success with outdoor digital signage because there is wide variability in cost-per-impression across deployments, compared to other media.
根据标识研究基金会的研究表明，规划对户外数字标牌的成功尤其重要，因为与其他媒体相比，部署的成本很大。
Experience optimization
经验研究
With a well-thought-out content plan, digital signage can help track the public’s habits and respond to them quickly, e.g. by changing messages based on the time of day or on increased business.
通过深思熟虑的计划，数字标牌可以帮助追踪公众的习惯，并快速回应他们，通过根据一天的时间或业务量来更换消息。
“Some restaurants link messaging to their food supply chain, to control waste by changing specials based on inventory,” says John Kunze, a division sales director for Watchfire, which manufactures outdoor digital signs.
Watchfire公司的销售总监John Kunze表示：“一些餐馆将数字标牌显示出的消息传递到他们的食品供应链，通过改变库存来控制消费。”
Developing a deployment process
部署过程
As mentioned, to ensure a successful deployment, it is important to clearly lay out the complete process for development, including the following steps.
如上所述，为了确保部署成功，重要的是要明确整个开发过程，包括以下步骤：
Strategic analysis
战略设计
This is the phase when a digital signage audience’s demographics are broken down on the basis of age, education and socioeconomic factors, to help define a clear approach to content and messaging. The specific products, services and/or events that will be promoted by the screen will need to be listed, along with the relevant attributes of the advertiser(s).
户外数字标牌的设计涉及了人口统计学中的年龄划分、教育背景和社会经济等方面，以帮助内容和消息传递的有效性和合理性，数字屏上推出的特定产品信息、服务都要和广告商的理念要一致。
This way, the message narrative—i.e. the specific mix of digital content the audience will respond best to—can be developed. It might include product ads, community information and event highlights relevant to specific target groups.
这样一来，观众才能全面接受信息，并有良好地回应，合理有效的信息也包括与特定目标群体相关的产品广告、社区信息和活动宣传。
Design
设计
The design of a digital sign is also crucial to maintaining or improving brand identity. A screen that is not well-suited for a certain environment can hurt more than it helps.
户外数字标牌的设计对于维护或改善一个企业品牌至关重要，要是安装在一个适合的环境中，会更有帮助它发挥导视功能。
The design development phase should involve location planning, including a complete legibility analysis based on the sign’s visual context, local sign code limitations and average vehicular/pedestrian speeds. Choosing the size of the screen, for example, may be a balancing act between optimal legibility and what is permitted by existing sign bylaws.
设计阶段包括对数字标牌的位置进行规划，包括标识的整体视觉环境、标识代码和平均车辆/行人速度的数据分析。例如，选择屏幕的大小和位置会影响内容的可读性。
Another factor is how the screen will fit into the larger environment, including the physical landscape and the overall architecture of the site. This will inform illumination levels and other elements of the sign’s functionality.
另一个方面，设计时要考虑安装的户外数字屏幕如何能适应大环境，包括周围的景观和城市网络的整体架构，这需要注重标识的照明功能。
In fact, no area has seen more innovation than CMS development. There are many options available today that focus on specific needs, such as ease of inputting information, the ability to change content based on external factors and convenient access to special effects.
事实上，数字标牌领域比其他领域在创新方面的限制要少的多。在今天，数字标牌有很多选择来满足客户、群众的具体需求，根据外部因素更改内容，还能达到特殊的效果。
It is important to keep the realities of the outdoor environment in mind. Many of the special effects digital signage is capable of are lost on viewers passing by in vehicles at high speeds. Instead, messages need to be simple. Only at the pedestrian level can more complex content prove effective on an outdoor screen.
在室外环境，将数字标牌放在合理的位置相当重要。例如，在高速公路上的数字标牌，如果位置放的太低，许多高速行驶的车辆经过，会很难注意到上面显示的信息，只有将数字标牌的位置放置在行人高一级的位置才能发挥效果。除此之外，数字标牌上的信息要简单，一目了然地表达内容，使观看者一看就能明白。
Similarly, active and passive interactivity may be integrated for pedestrians, such as facial recognition software. Such features are less relevant with a screen for vehicular audiences.
类似地情况还有，例如面部识别软件，能发挥数字标牌的交互功能，如果其中的设置不合理，对受众没有进行很好的分析，就无法很好地与受众进行对接，产生互动。
The dynamic nature of digital signage is its best attribute, yet often the most underused. An outdoor screen should be seen as a tool for experimenting with different messages, monitoring the results, analyzing changing conditions and reacting to them.
数字标牌的动态属性是它特有的属性，但在现实情况下往往不能得到充分的发挥。对户外屏幕应该要定期进行监测、分析变动的情况，并对其进行调整。
Content development
内容开发
Designing strong content for digital signage is a comprehensive process, combining multiple technical areas. The most important is the content management system (CMS) software.
数字标牌的内容设计是一个综合的过程，结合了多个技术领域，最重要的是内容管理系统软件。
Hardware selection
硬件选择
The hardware options for exterior digital signage vary significantly in terms of price and resolution.
户外数字标牌的硬件选择在价格和分辨率方面差别会很大。
Light-emitting diode (LED) screens are the industry standard for scrolling message signs and digital billboards, as they are ideal for displaying moving content from a distance. Many resolutions are available, though there are considerable cost differences from low to high.
带有发光二极管（LED）屏幕来显示滚动消息的数字标牌在行业中最常见，因为它们是从远处显示移动内容的理想选择。尽管成本的高低差异很大，但能产生的效果是极好的。
Beyond billboards, one of the advantages of LED screens is they can be arranged in different shapes to suit a building’s architecture.
除了广告牌，LED屏幕的优点之一是它们可以以不同的形状排列，以适应建筑的整体设计。
Another emerging option is to arrange organic LEDs (OLEDs) into a transparent or translucent screen. OLEDs lend themselves well to intricate shapes and can handily turn an existing surface, such as a window, into a screen.
另一个优点是LED布置在透明或半透明的屏幕中，可以很好地适应复杂的形状，并且可以将诸如窗口的表面轻松地转换到屏幕中。
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) dominate indoor digital signage deployments, but they have also become popular for outdoor applications, housed behind glass façades or within weather-resistant enclosures. These are more typically pedestrian-facing ‘streetscape’ deployments in big cities.
液晶显示器主导室内数字标牌的部署，但它们也是户外数字标牌应用的热门产品，常用于玻璃幕墙后面或耐候性的外壳内，我们通常看到的是“街景”部署。
Digital projection can be cost-effective for both small- and large-scale applications. Although it is only useful at night, the technology is reportedly used in 25 per cent of all digital signage applications.
数字投影可以在小规模和大规模应用中很好的实现成本效益。虽然它仅在晚上有用，但据数据显示，该技术占所有数字标牌应用的25％。
Ongoing management and maintenance
管理和维护
All digital signs require extensive and ongoing attention to maintain their effectiveness, but the need is clearest with high-profile outdoor screens. When a digital sign is ‘broken,’ it has a significant negative impact on its owner’s brand identity.
所有数字标牌都需要持续的管理才能维持有效性，尤其是户外数字标牌。当数字标牌坏掉时，它将对对应的品牌产生重大的负面影响。
The ability to remotely monitor and update screen content is crucial. Larger operators can co-ordinate multiple digital billboards asa platform for national ad campaigns.
具有远程监控和更新屏幕内容的能力至关重要。运营商可以同时协调多个数字标牌作为广告系列的平台。
The ability to manage illumination levels remotely is also useful. Changing a screen’s brightness for day and night will both extend the life of the hardware and improve acceptance by the community. In some cases, this feature is required for bylaw compliance.
此外，对照明进行远程管理的能力也是关键点。改变屏幕的白昼亮度能延长硬件的使用寿命，并提高群众的接受度。
“There is a significant difference of as much as 70 to 90 per cent between luminescence needs during the day or night and, for that matter, between sunny and cloudy days,” says Philip M. Garvey。
宾夕法尼亚州立大学的高级研究员Philip M. Garvey说：“应用白天或黑夜之间的照明，需要有明显的差异。”
Content legibility
内容易读性
As much as people’s attention is naturally attracted to the dynamic nature of digital signage, it is a double-edged sword, because changing content can be more difficult to read than a printed graphic. One of the biggest challenges in the industry has been to develop high-quality, consistently legible messaging.
尽管人们的注意力自然地会被数字标牌的动态信息所吸引，但是文字内容往往比图形更难阅读。所以，行业面临的挑战之一是开发出高质量、易读的文字信息。
Effective messages
有效地信息
Many sign codes prohibit flashing, scrolling or moving messages on digital screens. Instead, a static image must be displayed for a certain minimum duration—e.g. five seconds—before the next one appears. These codes usually take their cues from the digital billboard industry, where large screens are viewed from vehicles moving at high speeds.
许多符号代码禁止在数字屏幕上闪烁，滚动或移动。相反的是，静态图像必须显示的信息要持续五秒钟时间。这些代码通常是数字广告牌的线索，使高速移动的车辆可以注意到屏幕上的内容。
A more comprehensive approach to determining how changeable messages will appear should also be based on the size of the billboard and the complexity of the desired messages. Research suggests brief messages should comprise no more than three lines of text, with no more than 20 characters per line. It should be possible for each message to be read twice by a driver moving at the speed limit, which typically requires four seconds of viewing time for every 10 seconds the sign itself is visible to the viewer. Each message should convey a complete thought.
要全面的显示内容应基于广告牌的大小。研究表明，短信内容应不超过三行文本，每行不超过20个字符；每条消息内容都应该传达一个完整的想法，观看者的读取速度通常在每10秒钟内需要花费四秒的时间。
“Eight seconds between messages will produce the strongest results in terms of legibility,” says Garvey. “The average driver can digest two messages from when they first see a message until they pass the sign. That usually is a 16-second period, at typical driving speeds and sign sizes.”
Garvey表示：“八秒内就可以决定一条消息的可读性。驾驶员可以从他们第一次看到数字标牌上的内容到他们路过之后消化两条内容，这通常需要花费16秒的时间，当然，这基于一般的驾驶速度和数字标牌的大小。”
In other words, even putting sign codes aside, industry guidelines themselves suggest digital billboard content should be basic, clear and not especially dynamic. The ads must be short, but also relevant, to be effective. Ultimately, most legibility issues for digital billboards are the same as for traditional signs.
另一方，即使把符号代码放在一边，数字标牌内容本身作为行业指南也是最基本的。因此，广告内容必须简短有效，数字标牌在内容可读性方面与传统标识是相一致的。
For pedestrian-facing digital signage, on the other hand, content may be much more complex, with a mix of advertising, information and even interactivity. Storytelling can give ad campaigns a strong impact.
对于面向行人的数字标牌，内容可能会复杂一些，广告图片、文字信息以及交互性功能会混合在一起。另外，广告内容以故事或者带有感情色彩主题形式来呈现，更能走进群众的心里，带来一定积极的影响。
