Eating is a sensory-rich experience. This is true when enjoying a good meal, and it’s also true of the process of finding your next good meal. Anyone who has ever paused in an airport terminal after smelling the pretzels from Auntie Anne’s or changed their order after hearing the sizzle of the fajitas in Chili’s can attest to this fact. As much influence as smell and sound can have on our food choices, we can’t neglect the power of seeing. In the drive-thru, suggestive selling success with digital menu boards reveals a critical truth: showing the item through vibrant, video-based visuals goes far beyond what suggestions from crew members could ever accomplish. Here's another foundational truth for digital displays: they will ultimately only be as successful as the marketing campaigns displayed on them. If this is true, then it’s time to explore some guidelines for getting the most out of using video in your digital displays. Let’s dive in.
Nothing can capture a guest’s attention like seeing the steam rising from an order of fries or the condensation running down the side of an iced coffee. Video-based visuals that truly capture that attention of your guests requires more than taking existing creative assets and making them move around through animations. This approach will certainly produce better results than just static content, but the real magic comes from building and designing video-based marketing campaigns specifically for digital displays. This is why QSRs with the support and buy-in from the corporate brand often experience the best results. With corporate commitment, franchisees benefit from access to the brand’s marketing and creative teams to produce the best digital content. As a result, it makes sense for franchisees to push for these initiatives with their brand to ensure the best return on their investment and for the brands to invest in the creation of the types of creative visual assets that can transform the menu boards throughout the whole organization.
Digital menu boards are a great way to capture guests’ attention, but they must also aid a fast and efficient ordering process. And if a desired item disappears from the screen when the guest gets to the counter and results in a lengthy attempt to locate that item, the ordering process is hardly efficient. It is possible to use too much video on digital displays, and the right ‘content recipe’ requires a mix of creativity and research-based science. The sweet spot is usually found somewhere in the middle of advertising and marketing research, brand marketing strategies, and digital displays that are designed to accomplish these goals. The good news is that finding the right balance between video and static menu content might not take long. Since digital displays are connected to other key QSR technologies like the point of sale, operators and brands gain the data they need to see quickly what’s working and what’s not. And with digital menu boards, content changes can be made quickly and easily, allowing for the kind of small adjustments and modifications that capture guests’ attention and aid a fast and efficient ordering process.
Digital displays can also go far beyond listing the menu. In fact, more brands are enlisting digital in other areas. For example, we have seen some international markets start to put digital displays in restaurant windows. By hanging two screens back-to-back in front of a window, they replace the traditional window cling with a much more engaging experience for guests, both inside and outside the restaurant. Outward-facing displays with the right visuals can capture the attention of pedestrians in dense urban environments as well as cars in high-traffic areas, especially at intersections. Inside the restaurant, digital displays can completely change the dining experience. QSRs can display any content, including sound and social feeds, that creates the desired environment or highlights complementary items that could bring guests back to order more. The presence of digital media inside the restaurant often creates a noticeable difference in the quality of the dining space. It can also help leave a positive image of the brand in the minds of guests.
Xenial Indoor and Outdoor Digital Menu Boards bring together the power of suggestive selling with seamless integration and the efficiency of central, portal-based menu and pricing management. Plus, with the strategic assistance of the Xenial Digital Content Team and round-the-clock technical support, Xenial will help you transform your digital displays into a powerful engine for engagement and sales.
