How Custom Digital Signage Can Modernize Your Business Property
Commercial properties have changed significantly in recent years, but many businesses are still relying on signage that was installed years or even decades ago. While traditional signs continue to serve an important purpose, digital displays give property owners another way to communicate with customers, tenants, visitors, and employees.
Custom digital signage can bring new technology to a property without losing sight of the practical job signage needs to perform. From exterior messaging to interior directories and displays, digital signage gives businesses more control over what people see and how quickly that information can be changed.
For commercial property owners considering updates to an older building, signage can be an important part of the modernization plan.
What Is Custom Digital Signage?
Custom digital signage uses electronic displays to communicate information, branding, promotions, directions, announcements, and other messages. Unlike a static sign, the content displayed on a digital system can be updated as business needs change.
Depending on the property, digital signage may include LED message centers, digital displays, touchscreen systems, menu boards, directories, or other electronic signs.
The “custom” part is especially important for commercial properties. A retail center has very different signage needs than a corporate office, university, restaurant, healthcare facility, or multi-tenant building. The size, location, viewing distance, surrounding lighting, available electrical service, and intended audience all affect how a digital signage system should be planned.
How Custom Digital Signage Updates an Older Property
Modernizing a commercial property does not always require a major renovation. Updating highly visible features can make a noticeable difference in how a building is perceived.
An outdated monument sign, directory, or building display can make an otherwise well-maintained property feel older. Custom digital signage introduces a modern visual element while adding functionality at the same time.
Property owners can use digital displays to:
- Promote businesses or tenants
- Display property announcements
- Share upcoming events
- Communicate operating hours
- Highlight promotions and specials
- Provide directions and wayfinding information
- Display branded graphics or videos
- Share emergency or time-sensitive information
Rather than installing a new physical sign each time information changes, property owners can update the content displayed through the digital system.
Create More Flexible Communication Across Your Property
One of the biggest differences between static and custom digital signage is the ability to change messaging.
Consider a shopping center that needs to promote a newly opened tenant. A restaurant may want to change featured menu items throughout the day. A university may need to promote upcoming events. A corporate property may need to communicate visitor information or company announcements.
Digital displays allow the signage to support those changing needs.
This can be especially useful for multi-use and multi-tenant properties where information changes frequently. Instead of having a sign serve one fixed purpose, property owners can use the same display for several types of communication.
Strengthen Branding at Key Customer Touchpoints
Signs are often among the first branded features someone sees when arriving at a commercial property. That makes signage an important part of the overall appearance of the site.
Custom digital signage gives businesses more options for presenting their brand through graphics, colors, images, video, and changing messages. Digital displays can also complement existing monument signs, channel letters, building signs, and interior signage rather than replacing every traditional sign on the property.
The goal should be a coordinated signage system. Digital and traditional elements should feel like they belong to the same property and brand.
For commercial property owners, this is especially valuable during a rebrand, property renovation, tenant improvement project, or broader effort to update an aging facility.
Improve the Visitor Experience Inside the Building
Digital signage is not limited to exterior advertising.
Inside a commercial property, custom digital signage can help people understand where to go and provide useful information once they arrive. Digital directories, touchscreen displays, informational screens, and branded displays can all become part of the visitor experience.
This can work well in properties with changing tenants, departments, events, or destinations. Updating a digital directory, for example, may be more practical than replacing physical directory panels every time a tenant changes.
For larger facilities, strategically placed displays can also support existing wayfinding signs by providing more detailed information at key decision points.
Plan the System Around the Property
A digital display should not be treated like a television mounted wherever space is available.
Effective custom digital signage starts with the property itself. Sign location, visibility, viewing distance, brightness, electrical requirements, local sign codes, mounting conditions, and exposure to weather may all need to be considered.
Exterior systems face different conditions than indoor displays. A sign intended for passing motorists also needs to communicate differently than a touchscreen used by someone standing a few feet away.
Working with a sign company that can manage design, permitting, fabrication, installation, electrical work, and service can help property owners account for these factors from the beginning.
Think Beyond the Initial Installation
Digital signage contains electronic components, so long-term service should be part of the planning process.
Property owners should consider how the display will be accessed for maintenance, how content will be managed, and who can service the system if a component stops working.
Metro Signs & Lighting provides sign installation and ongoing sign and lighting maintenance in addition to digital display solutions. This gives commercial property owners a resource for both the initial project and future service needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can digital signage be added to an existing commercial property?
Yes. Many digital signage projects involve existing buildings or signage systems. The property, electrical infrastructure, mounting location, visibility, and local sign requirements should be evaluated to determine what type of display makes sense.
Can custom digital signage work with my existing business signs?
Yes. Digital displays can be incorporated alongside monument signs, building signs, channel letters, wayfinding signs, and other existing signage. A coordinated design can help the new display feel like part of the property’s existing branding.
What should commercial property owners consider before installing digital signage?
Consider where the sign will be viewed, the type of information it will display, viewing distance, brightness, electrical needs, permitting requirements, content management, and future maintenance. These factors can influence the size, placement, and type of digital system selected.
Modernize Your Property with Metro Signs & Lighting
For a property owner, modernization should improve how the building looks and functions. Custom digital signage can accomplish both by introducing a modern visual feature while creating a more flexible way to communicate with the people using the property.
Metro Signs & Lighting has served Michigan businesses since 1942 and provides custom sign design, permitting, fabrication, installation, digital displays, project management, and ongoing maintenance.
Contact Metro Signs & Lighting to discuss how custom digital signage could fit into your next commercial property signage project.
