#OOH Today continues our discussion from yesterday with Amber Steinhauer, Account Manager for Daktronics.  We climb new heights understanding OOH Digital screens, Industry Growth and Digital Sign Differentiation. 

 

Amber Steinhauer, Account Manager for Daktronics, placed a recent post on her LinkedIn profile regarding the 10-year image quality of Daktronics Digital Screens still on the street.  The message said, “Here’s proof that at 10 years, digital billboards can still look amazing! Image Quality & Reliability – two major factors to consider when selecting a digital billboard manufacturer.”  #DOOH #OOH

Here is the second part of the two-part series Digital OOH and Daktronics.

 

Digital signs are not the same

BB- 8. Are all digital signs the same?

Daktronics- At the very basic level, LEDs are not sourced from the same supplier – creating different signs across different digital billboard suppliers. This concept is the same for all components. Daktronics designs and builds from the component level up. This gives us control over the manufacturing and quality control process versus a company that might source pre-built panels from overseas.

What Daktronics offers

BB- 9. What differentiates you from the other digital sign providers?
Why should an OOH Owner use Daktronics?

Daktronics– A digital display is not a small investment, and the desired outcome from purchasing one is the greatest return on investment possible. We understand that OOH owners generate more revenue if they have a reliable product with great lifetime image quality. Add to this a dedicated support team and resources for continued training and collaboration to help them achieve their specific business goals.

We manufacture our displays from the component level up, taking sourcing very seriously. We have control of our processes and don’t rely on others to build our modules. As a result, we are currently shipping the most reliable, best-looking digital billboards to date.

Anyone who visits our manufacturing facilities in South Dakota comments on the passion and dedication of our employees. With our core values of Helpful, Honest and Humble, we do whatever we can to help our customers have the best experience possible.

our core values of Helpful, Honest and Humble

We have a dedicated OOH team, resources to help with product selection and site surveys, a legal team that will help with meetings and documentation for obtaining permits, ad sales strategy assistance, a creative consulting group and customizable service plans

OOH Digital Competition

BB- 10. Who is your competition?

Daktronics- Our digital billboard competition includes Watchfire, Formetco and various overseas manufacturers.  

Total revenue

BB- 11. How much does OOH billboards represent with Daktronics total revenues?

Daktronics- For our fiscal year ending 2017, Daktronics posted revenue of $586 million. Out of Home is part of our Commercial business unit that accounts for 25% of the total revenue.

Daktronics background

BB- 12. How can Daktronics prosper in a little town in the middle of South Dakota?  What type of Labor, resources, infrastructure, services does Daktronics receive?  Why Brookings?

Daktronics- We are a global company founded by two university professors who saw a need to keep engineering talent in the state of South Dakota. In 50 years, the company has grown from a garage operation to 3,000 employees located around the world.

Can all static billboards be retrofitted?

BB- 13. Why aren’t all billboards rebuilt as a digital billboard?
We know a significant number of OOH statics already built and permitted, are legal/non-conforming signs and most likely grandfathered by right and will be nearly impossible to convert to digital. What is the prospective universe of Digital OOH billboards remaining to be built from Daktronics view? In what time period?

Daktronics- The sign location dictates the rates that an OOH company can charge their customers that will impact ROI. Some sites do not command a rate that would make the ROI positive if a digital is installed.

Zoning/Permitting also dictate if a static can be converted to a digital. Daktronics has a team of legislative/permitting experts that are solely dedicated to working with our customers to help them obtain permits. This group can assist in a variety of ways:

• Create lighting diagrams that show the impact of a digital on a specific location.
• Produce PowerPoint presentations for the OOH company to present to a local council.
• Testify in council meetings on behalf of the OOH company, allowing the council members to ask the experts (us) questions directly.

We know a significant number of OOH statics, already built and permitted, are legal/non-conforming signs and most likely grandfathered by right and will be nearly impossible to convert to digital. As local elections are held, the opportunities to change local zoning laws are renewed. Every year we see cities change their zoning laws as they see the benefits of digital billboards for the community – Amber Alert®, severe weather alerts and other public service announcements.

Every year we see cities change their zoning laws as they see the benefits of digital billboards for the community

Industry growth for DOOH

BB- 14. Where do you see growth in OOH?  In your business? What is the future of Digital for OOH?

Daktronics- We are very optimistic about the growth of the OOH industry. Our forecasting sources include OAAA data, traditional OOH digital prospects, airport opportunities, historical trends and economy temperature.

Traditional digital billboards will continue to grow. Other areas of the OOH Industry are starting to take off, such as transportation, street furniture, retail, and spectaculars. We are also seeing traditional forms of advertising trending downward, while OOH ad spend continues to grow.

Consumers are spending more time out of their homes and the younger generations live in a digital world with real-time information at their fingertips. The future digital LED technology for OOH may include higher resolution displays in some locations, but more importantly, what we can do with the technology is sure to continue to grow … better content, real-time data, using demographics and customer data.

The future digital LED technology for OOH may include … better content, real-time data, using demographics and customer data.

Return on investment

BB- 15. How important is pricing to your prospects?

Daktronics- Price is just one component of the overall cost of ownership for our customers. When you plan to own a product for 10 years, there are other considerations to determine overall ROI. Some of those things are image quality, reliability and service support.

Up front, it is difficult for display owners to know how much the additional services will impact their ROI. We know that our customers have seen great value from our additional services – ad sales strategies and service coverage, are the best in the industry.

Service

BB- 16. How Important is Service?

Daktronics- Our current product is the most reliable product we’ve ever manufactured. As these are revenue generating displays for our customers, it is important to have a comprehensive service plan in place to keep them operational.

BB- 17. So, why should an OOH Owner use Daktronics?

Daktronics-  To answer simply, because of our product, our people and our partnership.