A guide from Digital Signage Today

Digital Signage in the Restaurant Industry

INSIDE: The digital signage phenomenon has effectively spread to the retail and financial industries, among others. Now, learn about the advantages the technology can bring to restaurants.

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Contents
Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 About the sponsors Introduction | By Bill Yackey, editor, Digital Signage Today Chapter 1 | The potential for digital signage in foodservice

Page 6 Chapter 2 | The role of digital media in the restaurant Food can be beautiful Expert opinion: Digital media and consumers Page 9 Chapter 3 | Benefiting the consumer Informing customers of specials Branding Self-service ordering and tableside media Entertainment and wait warping Expert opinion: Self-service and tableside media

Page 14 Chapter 4 | Advantages for the restaurant And added benefit: Internal communication Getting franchisees on board Page 17 Chapter 5 | The top trends in menu boards Significance Dayparting Movement toward digital menu boards Protecting the investment Tips and best practices

About the sponsors

NEC Display Solutions, a pioneer in developing and delivering advanced display technology, has taken a leadership role in providing total digital signage display solutions. By bringing together strategic project management and solid display solutions experience, it can provide solutions for a wide range of markets, environments and applications. NEC offers a broad selection of LCD displays and projectors, coupled with expertise in hardware/software consulting, financing, system configuration, deployment services, maintenance and service/support. The result is a customized, technology-rich deployment optimized specifically to meet a companys unique needs.

Digital Signage Today, operated by Louisville, Ky.-based NetWorld Alliance, is the leading online publisher of news and information on the emerging world of digital signage, dynamic messaging and cutting-edge business-communication technologies. The content, which is updated every business day and read by professionals around the world, is provided free of charge to readers.

Published by NetWorld Alliance 2009 NetWorld Alliance Photos courtesy of NEC Display Solutions unless otherwise specified. Written and edited by Bill Yackey, editor, Digital Signage Today Dick Good, CEO Tom Harper, president and publisher Bob Fincher, executive vice president Joseph Grove, vice president and associate publisher

Introduction
n my experience covering the digital signage industry, judging digital signage competitions and experiencing the technology firsthand, I have yet to see an industry with more potential to benefit from the technology than foodservice.
Think about it since food is perishable, there is more turnover in the foodservice industry than just about anywhere else. Sure, taste is everything, but the way the food looks is just as important, both in affecting the buying decision and making customers happy. There are even experts in the foodservice industry known as food stylists, whose only job is to make sure the dishes look pretty. But the gustatory appeal of restaurant digital signage is only one benefit the technology can offer. More importantly, it brings a level of efficiency to the industry that is unprecedented. And as anyone in the restaurant business will tell you, its all about efficiency. Digital screens in restaurants eliminate the need for changeable menu boards both light boxes and paper that require time to change in certain intervals. Menus that previously became grimy and coated with ketchup and grease are being replaced by dynamic displays that show the food not only in vivid color, but also in action. Steam may rise off of a baked potato, and flames may kiss a burger before it is placed onto a bun.

Then there is the customer experience aspect restaurant digital signage can go a long way to enhance branding efforts and entertain customers while they are eating or waiting in line. Of course, there are challenges. Bill Yackey, editor, The economics of digital signDigital Signage Today age can be tricky when dealing with franchisees, and the introduction of high-definition screens places a responsibility on the restaurants marketing department to create compelling content. Dont forget about the hardware issues either. Heat and grease can do a number on a flat screen over time, so plans must be made in advance when it comes to screen placement and type. But the pros will always outweigh the cons when it comes to replacing menu boards and in-restaurant signage with the digital versions, even though the challenges seem significant. After all, achievements are often more beneficial the harder the challenges are to overcome. We would like to thank NEC Display Solutions, whose sponsorship of this guide allows us to bring it to you free of charge.

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Chapter 1

The potential for digital signage in foodservice

verybody eats. Not as many people cook dinner every night. Many people work more than they would like. Put those facts together, and you have the impetus behind the growth of the restaurant industry the nations largest employer outside of government. The foodservice industry in the United States employs 12.8 million people, according to the National Restaurant Association, providing work for more than 9 percent of employed U.S. residents. The industry has experienced phenomenal growth over the past three decades. In 1970, foodservice in the U.S. was a $42 billion industry. The NRA projects that in 2009 it will reach $566 billion. Americans spend a lot of money eating out. In 2005, the average person spent $1,054 on food away from home. And that consumer has more choices than ever an estimated 945,000 locations in 2009 making for a very competitive environment. In such a dog-eat-dog arena, brands must find as many avenues of differentiation as possible. Digital signage, which is proving its mettle in retail and financial services on a daily basis, can act as a major source of several key types of differentiation from customer experience to branding to product education. One application for digital signage that will set you apart is brand enhancement who you are and what youre doing,

The ease of content rotation with restaurant digital signage makes it possible to offer more promotions and entertainment with a minimal amount of effort.

Mike Zmuda, director of business development for NEC Display Solutions, said. The other is to highlight items that may change frequently. You may be running specials where you can plug numbers in and out, but how do you convey the message? Visually is the best way, especially when you have customers with dwell time. Heres your chance to upsell and get that message across. Look at digital signage not to completely replace pricing, but use it as an enhancement. Also, since more calorie-count disclosure regulations are being mandated regionally, it makes even more sense for an operator to have a digital solution that allows him to easily add calorie information to menu boards.

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Chapter 2

The role of digital media in the restaurant

trictly speaking, digital media in the restaurant environment is nothing new. For years, wallmounted television sets have been staples in certain types of restaurants, usually tuned to a news or sports station. Sports bars, in particular, often boast about the number of screens and satellite dishes they have in an effort to attract diners. As digital signage evolves, this phenomenon is expanding far beyond breaking news and football games. Digital media has become a pervasive part of the customer experience and is being used not only to entertain diners, but also as an integral building block of the store design. In todays world, everyones conditioned now to see digital media, NECs Zmuda said. The final frontier was the digital billboards out on the road. What theyre tuned into is the entertainment factor. And I dont think its a negative. Once its there and the placement is correct, people will expect to see something. As always, customer expectations are a major factor, and they change drastically over time. Any consumer-facing establishment be it a store, bank, restaurant or any place where people make purchases needs to be reassessed from a customer experience standpoint every few years. And at this juncture, the audience is one whose members have grown accustomed to digital media in

As digital media becomes a pervasive part of the customer experience, it is being used not only to entertain diners, but also as an integral building block of the store design.
almost every aspect of their lives. For a restaurateur, the question is not what customers expect, but rather what will maximize their experience, said Thomas McFeeley of EK3. Having a TV screen gathering dust and showing a football game or CNN will keep the attention of some customers and may or may not generate more revenue for the time that customer has occupied that very valuable piece of real estate in the restaurant. Digital narrowcasting engages all customers with information they need and want, while they are making their purchasing decision. That allows the restaurateur to maximize the valued real estate.

Food can be beautiful

Its not uncommon to visit the neighborhood Best Buy or Radio Shack and see one or two families gathered around the high-definition televisions, jaws agape. As the quality of screens continues to improve, the ability of digital media to turn heads and capture attention grows. There is no substitute for visual messaging, especially when its done well, Zmuda said. The key for digital signage

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CHAPTER 2

The role of digital media in the restaurant

Photo courtesy of ADFLOW

There is no substitution to visual messaging in the restaurant, especially when its done well.

in restaurants is the content. If I have hungry customers in line, the best thing I can do is make everything look appetizing. In some cases, you could have a new product that no one knows what it looks like and therefore wont try it. Here you have the opportunity now to reinforce the message by giving them a look. During the grind of a typical day, consumers minds wander from one style of food to the next; the hour before lunchtime becomes a mind maze of possibilities. When introduced to this mindset, digital media can have a powerful influence. I was in some Mexican place last week when I was on the road, and I spent a

good five minutes staring at all the little line-items of things they had, said Dave Haynes, vice president of BroadSign. One sexy video for a quesadilla or whatever and I would have been all over it.

Expert opinion: Digital media and consumers

Do you think customers expect to see digital media when theyre dining? Has the occasional TV set in the corner of a restaurant or bar trained them to look for it? The expectation to see digital signage greatly depends on the restaurant environment and how the signage is

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CHAPTER 2

The role of digital media in the restaurant

implemented. The digital signage cannot be invasive or interrupt the dining experience. Traditional TV programming may have opened up the door for digital media, but there is a border that needs to be watched to prevent invasive use of the technology that can turn customers off by pushing sales too strongly.
Holly Heitkamp, Wireless Ronin

need to capitalize on that expectation to deliver more meaningful content.

Greg Perrill, Wand Corp.

What are your general tips and guidelines for determining placement? Placement for digital signage is generally determined by customer traffic and how a company wants to funnel traffic throughout their restaurant. Generally, most foodservice facilities want to place signage where the customer is going to make a purchasing decision, as well as in areas leading up to the point of purchase. The size and type of restaurant quick-serve, fast casual can influence the number of displays and where they are positioned.
Bryan Lesseraux, IDS Menus

It really depends on the customer and where they are dining. I dont believe the majority of customers expect to see digital media everywhere they dine, but once they see it in a few foodservice establishments, they will expect to see it in others. In the future, establishments without digital media could begin to look like relics of the past. Of course, no one can say for certain when this will happen, but the signs are certainly there.
Bryan Lesseraux, IDS Menus

Use the right size signage dont be overbearing in size. Kevin Moll, National Food Service Advisors Screens that replace menus should go above the cash registers, where consumers typically expect to see them. Point-of-purchase displays should be placed strategically near entrances and in sight lines of the queues. We review layouts and make specific recommendations based on the floor plan, store volume and budget.
Greg Perrill, Wand Corp.

It depends on the concept. If in a QSR (quick service restaurant), guests expect a highly visual experience. If in a casual or themed restaurant, highly visual experiences frequently turn guests off. Operators must be sensitive to how digital media is interpreted by the guest. Kevin Moll, National Food Service Advisors It has trained them to expect some sort of content usually child-related if it is near a play area, or headline news. We

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Chapter 3

Benefiting the consumer

he business case for digital media in restaurants is powerful it not only impacts profit on a number of levels, but it also introduces operational efficiencies that make life and work better for everyone in the enterprise. The nuts and bolts are covered in the next chapter, but first, a restaurant operator must consider the most important person in the whole business: the customer. If the customer isnt happy with a restaurant for virtually any reason, fair or not, he will go somewhere else. Digital signage is an effective way to inform and entertain in any venue, John

Remmler, vice president of ChyTV, said. In restaurants, such signage can be used to inform customers of specials and preparation techniques, general branding information about the restaurant, as well as (to provide) entertaining distractions that can reduce perceived waiting time. Lets take a look at each of those benefits individually:

Informing customers of specials

Frankly, discounting products works consumers respond favorably to what they perceive to be the offer of a good deal.

Digital signage in restaurants can be a highly effective way to upsell to patrons.

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CHAPTER 3

Benefiting the consumer

For QSRs, that offer has traditionally come in the form of a combo meal; for sit-down establishments, daily specials are the norm. In either case, dynamic signage can be used to tell customers what is available, without them having to look it up on a menu or day-of-the-week placard. The ease of rotation of content also makes it possible for restaurants to offer many more specials than they normally might, with only a minimal amount of effort. Another tip is to inform customers of preparation techniques. Diners want to know that their food is fresh and is being prepared in a clean and safe environment. One recent trend has been the open kitchen, allowing diners to watch their meals being prepared, plated or both. While this isnt always logistically possible, informative videos can accomplish largely the same goal, by giving customers a peek into the kitchen to reassure them that their food is being handled with the utmost care in a professional and clean facility.

A key to success is engineering a solution that is user-friendly for a broad audience. If systems are intuitive and usable, the customer gets control and convenience.
Dean Reverman, director of business development,
TradePRO Network

children the images trigger as many emotions as the food itself. Smart restaurants already understand how critical branding is; in many ways, it is more important than the food. Digital media can take the effort to a whole new level, increasing both the quality and potential quantity of brand messaging.

Self-service ordering and tableside media

If a restaurant operator decides to make the move to digital media, its only a short step further to add another component, one that introduces some incredible operational efficiencies: self-service ordering. If given the choice, people appreciate the ability to take control of their environment, said Dean Reverman, director of business development for digital signage network provider TradePRO Network. A key to success is engineering a solution that is user-friendly for a broad audience. If systems are intuitive and usable, the customer gets control and convenience.

Branding
Few things are more important to a foodservice company than its brand assets when dealing with visual representations of food, it is essential that the feeling conveyed is overwhelmingly positive. There also is the lifestyle aspect of branding smiling faces, happy families, joyful

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Benefiting the consumer

Thus far, most emphasis on self-service ordering in the restaurant space has been in the QSR segment after all, these are the restaurants with the lowest level of emphasis on customer service quality and the highest on transaction speed. But self-service ordering is slowly inching its way into other segments of the industry. Located in Woodland Hills, Calif., uWink is an interactive, social restaurant with touchscreens on every table. Patrons control the flow of food at their desired pace, using the digital media network for entertainment purposes during wait times. UWinks founder is Nolan Bushnell, whose previous successes include the Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain and the company that ostensibly gave birth to the video-game industry, Atari. Tableside digital media is a strong growth area for several reasons. It puts diners in control of their meals and gives them something to do to alleviate boredom. It creates a dynamic experience and allows patrons to pay at the table by swiping their own debit or credit cards, which cuts down on skimming and other types of payment-related fraud.

Tableside digital media puts diners in control of their meals and gives them something to do to alleviate boredom. It creates a dynamic experience and allows patrons to pay at the table, which cuts down on payment-related fraud.

warping, and it is an established retail fact and the reason sensational magazines are placed within eyeshot of checkout lanes. Digital signage gives customers something to look at; tableside interactive signage gives them something to do. In either case, the perceived wait time is shortened, and the customer remains happy to be where he is. Weve seen some really neat things done in eating areas involving mobile integration with screens, cell phones and video jukeboxes where you can actually build a database of who is interacting for marketing use later and making that part of the entertainment in the area, NECs Zmuda said.

Expert opinion: Self-service and tableside media

What experience have you had with self-service ordering in restaurants? Do you think this is a good fit for restaurants? Im all for it. When its not thought out correctly and completely, it can become

Entertainment and wait warping

Customers who are entertained while waiting are less likely to be bothered by the wait. This is sometimes called wait

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CHAPTER 3

Benefiting the consumer

a negative, so you have to look at how you want people to interact with it. It has to be intuitive. Too often, Ive seen people who dont even know how to get started. But I think it has tremendous potential. Use commands: push here, touch here.
Mike Zmuda, NEC Display Solutions

Effective digital signage focuses on the individual customer experience. If the content is appropriate to the demographic, then self-service ordering offers convenience, efficiency and accuracy. Two major issues in the restaurant industry are waste and ease of substitution. A customer has a lot of choice about where they spend their dining dollars. Interactive systems allow customers to control their experience and provide the dining facility with a mechanism to increase service levels while reducing costs.
Jeff Collard, Omnivex

Denver McDonalds and found it quite delightful. I believe these systems can effectively enhance the fast-food experience, because after all, it is not about relationships at this level of dining, but about speed. Typical fast-food chains have a couple of order lines where you stand until its your turn. During their busiest hours, these lines can get annoyingly long. If the same busy restaurant has eight self-serve touchscreens, lines are minimized, as are mistakes. Order execution is expedited, and employees can be focused on getting what patrons want the most fast food.
David Little, Keywest Technologies

Digital signs and interactive technology play well into the recent trends of customer choice. As restaurants respond by offering more choices (such as makeyour-own combo deals), digital signs and interactive technology offer a continuation of this control. Dean Reverman, TradePRO Network

I have used an automated ordering system located in a high-volume downtown

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CHAPTER 3

Benefiting the consumer

The Benefits of Digital Signage for the Diner and the Restaurant
Richard Oh of Mediox Inc. said the advantages of digital signage are different for those using it and those deploying it. Here are his top four for each group. Benefits for the consumer: 1. Increased understanding of the items offered by the restaurant 2. Improved order efficiency to reduce the burdens that long lines place on the consumer 3. An enhancement or introduction of entertainment in the dining experience 4. Improved communications between client and service provider, leading to greater customer satisfaction Benefits for the restaurant: 1. Increased customer retention as a result of improved diner understanding and client/service provider relationship 2. Reduction in the number of staff required and a significant decrease in the associated training costs 3. Higher sales, resulting from improved order efficiency 4. A positive consumer perception of the dining environment

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Chapter 4

Advantages for the restaurant

lthough customers will come to know and love the digital media that entertain and serve them in their favorite restaurant, the real benefit is enjoyed by the deployer. Digital signage offers some amazing benefits to restaurateurs, from both a revenue and an operational standpoint. Generally speaking, anything that enhances communication, streamlines systems and eliminates waste is a good thing for the restaurant business, said Kevin Moll, president of National Food Service Advisors Inc. First and foremost, the reputation of a restaurant is enhanced by the presence of properly executed digital media. Screens that show worthwhile and emotionally pleasing content not only create a positive feeling in the mind of the customer, but they also convey the message that the company is on-trend, modern and attentive to its patrons. Digital signage is also a powerful tool for extracting additional revenue from customers already coming into the restaurant. One of the more powerful applications in achieving this is the digital menu board, which can use dynamic and eye-catching content to gently nudge customers into increasing their ticket size. On the back end, digital signage reduces both costs and labor, specifically when it comes to in-store point-of-purchase materials. Gone is the need for a

Generally speaking, anything that enhances communication, streamlines systems and eliminates waste is a good thing for the restaurant business.
Kevin Moll, president of National Food Service Advisors

stockroom filled with posters, tabletop placards and menu signs. Gone, too, is the very real likelihood that at any given time, one or more locations will have incorrect signage posted. A digital media network ensures that the correct messages appear on all screens at all times, regardless of what is being done in the store. Digital signage allows store operators to manage many locations centrally, said Bryan Lesseraux, vice president of marketing for IDS Menus. As a result, they no longer have to rely on print companies or store management when it comes time to change their menus. They can also tie their digital signage and POS systems together, so that menu items and prices update automatically. Thats a powerful benefit for marketing and brand managers, who are now able to oversee all of the content being used across the enterprise remotely.

An added benefit: Internal communication

While the primary benefits of digital sign-

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Advantages for the restaurant

age come from its relationship with the customer, the screens bring an added appeal to store management: Outside of normal business hours, they can be used for employee communication and training. One of the biggest challenges facing restaurants is ensuring a consistent, quality customer experience. Training staff from Miami to Montana on weekly specials and new products can be an overwhelming task. With a digital signage network, its easy and effective. Staff morale is key to building a respected brand, Lesseraux said. But as foodservice operations grow, it can be difficult to keep employees in the loop with regard to new developments and initiatives. With digital signage, companies can host both live and prerecorded training sessions before or after store hours, CEOs can speak directly to frontline employees and regional managers can host remote manager meetings. The result is an in-house communication network the restaurants own TV channel. It can be analogous to a corporate intranet, for instance, but more far-reaching and valuable. This kind of channel could have farreaching implications for communicating corporate goals, culture and internal marketing messages, said David Little, director of marketing for Keywest Technologies.

The reputation of a restaurant is enhanced by the presence of properly executed digital media.

A corporate intranet is suitable for some of this communication, but multimedia is preferable when dealing with employees who are less dedicated to the company or are at a greater distance from the corporate grapevine.

Getting franchisees on board

One of the barriers to adoption of restaurant digital signage and self-service technology up to now has been the franchise relationship. For example, in most cases, individual franchisees and their organizations would be required to cover the costs of installing such technology. Convincing them that the purchase is worth the money can be tough; in the case of

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Advantages for the restaurant

small organizations or independent concepts, the ability to afford the technology at all can be an issue in and of itself. Restaurant chains that franchise their concepts need to approach digital signage as they would any other instore messaging they need to set the standards for what will be used, how it will be installed and what content it will deliver. In the same sense that a franchisor makes available several choices when it comes to ovens and cash registers and furniture, that organization needs to also do all of the dirty work of selecting technology, software, content and partners, so that each franchise in the network gets consistent results. If a franchisee desired to have static promotion signage, they need only select which promotions to run, said TradePROs Reverman. All the creative, copy, printing and logistics are taken care of as a part of the process. Organizations need to offer similar levels of support over time, considering the likely initial negative franchisee response relative to cost.

And what about cost? Who foots the bill for all this? Again, the model is already established franchisees typically cover the cost of improvements to their store, often with assistance from the parent organization. Smart franchisors, though, will capitalize on this opportunity to help their franchisees make the jump. And as with anything else, constant education of the benefits is essential. Aside from demonstrating that stronger sales will result from the deployment, franchise organizations could also reduce the amount of required spending on static signage and other marketing materials or offer to subsidize some portion of the digital signage system, said Bill Gerba, president of WireSpring Technologies.

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Chapter 5

The top trends in menu boards

t wasnt so long ago that chalkboards were the only type of menu boards found in restaurants. They were easy to maintain, easy to change and relatively inexpensive. They were also very bland and synonymous. As the idea of quick and inexpensive meals gained national appeal, more quick-serve restaurants came on the scene. The result was a battle for attention in the fast-food sector. Menu boards needed a change when restaurant owners and parent companies began to focus more on the atmosphere and dcor of their establishments.

Atmosphere became a selling point for distinguishing one burger joint from another. With the menu board being the immediate center of attention in most fast-food restaurants, it wasnt long until the design of the board became just as important as the type of carpet on the floor or pictures on the wall. At the time, menu boards also assumed a double functionality role as both an informational guide and a marketing tool. Because a menu board is almost guaranteed to be looked at by all patrons in the restaurant, advertising space on the board is a commodity.

A digital media network that includes digital menu boards ensures that the correct messages appear on all screens at all times, regardless of what is being done in the store.

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The top trends in menu boards

Beverage companies often brand the menu boards of fast-food restaurants, placing their name and logo prominently as part of a marketing agreement. Most menu boards that evolved from the movement were large, plastic boards that were placed on walls in groups of three or four, called panels. They were covered in plastic tracks where employees could insert plastic slides with the food information on them. From there, electronic backlit signs were introduced and fluorescent bulbs were placed behind the sign to draw more attention to the board. In the past decade, fast-food restaurants have become more aware that visual appeal results in more sales and have included many more pictures on their menu boards. For many restaurants, the increase in pictures meant a decrease in space for other items. So fast-food restaurants addressed the problem, offering limited-time specials that needed a large space on the board for marketing reasons. In the 1990s, combos became a standard way of ordering meals, with restaurants offering discounts on items purchased together. For menu board manufacturers, this also required more space for combo meal menus and pictures of the combo meals.

The menu board is the most important part of the restaurant.

Doug Watson, regional vice president,
Mainstreet Menu Systems

Menu board manufacturers responded by offering sturdier backlit boards that could withstand constant changes of strips and pictures, which sometimes are changed daily.

Significance
The menu board is the most important part of the restaurant, said Doug Watson, regional vice president of Mainstreet Menu Systems. Restaurateurs may argue differently, claiming they cant serve food without a grill or oven, or that a good team of employees is most essential. But a customers experience relies greatly on his or her interaction with the menu board. To support this, both indoor and outdoor (drive-thru) boards must be taken into consideration. According to Watson, more than 50 percent of all transactions at fast-food restaurants occur through the drive-thru menu board. In some cases, the drive-thru hosts up to 70 percent of transactions. After years of concentrating on the inside of restaurants, people are beginning to pay more attention to the drive-thru, Watson said. He is referring to the re-

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The top trends in menu boards

design efforts of some restaurants to keep up with the modernization of new franchises. According to Watson, customers visit fastfood restaurants for two main qualities: convenience and speed. Particularly from the drive-thru, the menu board system plays a huge part in the quickness and convenience of a restaurants operation. Watson said he is seeing more investments in technology to make drive-thrus quicker, such as contactless credit card readers to speed up payments. Another trend has been the installation of LED time counters that track customer wait times at the drive-thru. Menu-board experts agree that the industry is seeing many new trends moving menu boards away from standardization. Here are five trends that are affecting the design and deployment of new menu board projects.

have to search through items that arent being served at the time, said Paul Steinbrenner, vice president of development for Mainstreet Menu Systems. Its not necessary to show all of the menu items all the time. The simple manual system for dayparting comes in two forms, one being the slide and track method, which requires employees to change plastic slides containing price digits, names or pictures of food. For restaurants that daypart, it can be cumbersome for employees to have to change these slides several times a day. An easier solution became the use of a mechanical board that rotates or scrolls two- or three-panel displays. Identified as a mechanical menu board, it is often powered by a crank that the employee can turn. As dayparting becomes more popular, menu board companies are seeing an influx of customers who want to add these capabilities to their existing menu boards. It is always easier to deploy a dayparting system into a restaurant as its being built, but as fast-food chains add more options to their menus and sometimes an entire meal such as breakfast, they are demanding installation of dayparting capabilities on their existing menu boards. A menu board panel that supports dayparting is called a module. In todays

Dayparting
Dayparting is the ability for restaurant personnel to convert the menu board to different displays depending on the meal that is to be featured. Restaurants such as McDonalds have begun using dayparting menu boards in the past two decades as their options for breakfast and other meals have continued to grow. For the customer, it is distracting to

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The top trends in menu boards

dayparting systems, modules often have rotating mechanisms that allow different menu screens to be scrolled through at different times of the day. The rotating mechanisms fit inside the panels, or doors of backlit menu boards. Adding rotating modules to the existing doors of a menu board is difficult, but not impossible. Normally new cuts and welds have to be made to the existing board. Also, the menu board has to be rewired for the lights and the mechanical parts. Often, the steel frames of backlit boards prohibit the installation of rotating doors. McDonalds is an example of a restaurant that frequently dayparts because of the popularity of its breakfast menu. In the past, McDonalds typically used backlit menu boards with rotating modules housed inside each panel. The company ran into problems with scrolling large parts of the board such as pictures and other plastic sections. McDonalds now features a manual flip board in its newer restaurants that the employees can change after breakfast. Breakfast is different from lunch, which is different than dinner, NECs Zmuda said. When you put the content in with the information, your whole messaging system can now be timed with the time of day, depending on what your audience is looking for.

Digital menu boards essentially have an infinite amount of space because the presentation can change multiple times while the customer is making his or her food selections.
Movement toward digital menu boards
Digital signage is the newest wave of technology that has an impact on all customer-related industries. A digital sign is any flat-panel monitor that is hooked up to a content network. For the fast-food industry, menu boards are the biggest opportunity to incorporate digital signage into restaurants. Digital menu boards solve the problems standard backlit boards faced with space and item changes. Digital menu boards essentially have an infinite amount of space because the presentation can change multiple times while the customer is making his or her food selections. Digital menu boards can also be connected to a network that can be remotely operated. Remote connectivity eliminates the need for employees to manually change the signs on site. As fast-food restaurants further integrate digital signs into their systems, the onsite employees wont have to deal with menu content at all, as it will all be con-

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The top trends in menu boards

trolled digitally from a central location. So why doesnt every restaurant have these new boards already? One factor outweighs the others: cost. Most menu boards are made up of five or six panels. Some operators expect to use the same amount of flat-screen monitors, which can be very expensive. Hybrid, or a combination of fixed and digital panels, is a more affordable, practical and effective solution. Although consumer flat screens run in the neighborhood of $1,500, commercialgrade screens are quite a bit more. They are made from heavier-grade materials and must have more hours in their lifecycle, as sometimes they are left on all day long. Couple that number with installation, mounting, content development and integration prices and it is understandable why the local McDonalds doesnt have an integrated digital signage network yet. Four years ago, a lot of quick-service restaurants said that they would go with digital signage but the cost was too high, Zmuda said. The single biggest cost has always been the monitor. Back then, the best you could do was a 40inch monitor, which you would have to pay $5,000-$6,000 for. The cost today is a quarter of that, and were still seeing QSRs who arent pulling the trigger. I think when its looked at, its still costly

because its still considered a replacement for print signage. A typical franchisee is looking for sales uplift, but digital signage needs to be looked at for more than ROI. Consider all of the benefits: branding, time saved, customer experience, etc. Mainstreet Menu Systems, like many other menu and digital signage companies, is expanding to include digital menu board capabilities. Mainstreet offers a digital menu board solution called VisionQuest. The board can be controlled through a PC where menu templates and information are uploaded from a network connection, Internet connection or manually from a compact flash card. The system allows for content management (scheduling and dayparting) from a remote location. Nextep Systems, a software design company out of Troy, Mich., also offers a dynamic digital menu board solution called the Enterprise. Like most digital menu board networks, the Enterprise is connected to the Internet through a DSL line, which gives restaurant owners the power to schedule dayparts, change menu items and prices and control the menu board remotely from any PC. Mainstreet and Nextep both understand that, with the cost of flat screens and Internet service, not all restaurants can afford to go digital right away. Most small chains dont have DSL and

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The top trends in menu boards

dont want to pay an extra $500 for the service just to support their digital menu board, said Tommy Woycik, president of Nextep Systems. Some large chains change menu options all the time and some change once a year. Not everyone needs a full-blown digital menu board network. Mainstreet offers entry-level versions of digital menu boards that dont require a network connection to operate. Both systems also have the processor built inside the casing for the flat screen, so no external PC is needed to control the menu board content. The price for the boards-in-a-box is competitive with that of a new custom stagnant menu board. Watson said the best and most effective digital menu boards are hybrid systems where one or two of the panels are digital and the rest are fixed. On these boards, the digital panels serve as advertising, while the others remain informational, Watson said. This way, the customer isnt overwhelmed with five moving digital signs and confused on where to look.

Six Reasons Digital Menu Boards Are a Good Idea

David Little, director of marketing for Keywest Technologies, offers six reasons why restaurants should strongly consider digital menu boards. They can: 1. Provide timely announcements, such as the special of the day 2. Daypart menu items and show only the relevant one 3. Entice the purchase of new or little-known products 4. Effectively show what items look like in real time 5. Show the effects (e.g., smiling people, slim people) of happy patrons 6. Offer useful community information and real-time quotes from customers via text-messaging (SMS), which could be both amusing and informative for patrons.

Protecting the investment

Restaurants can be hostile environments for technology oil and grease can do major damage to screens and computers. While some of the components of a digital signage network can be tucked safely away from the fryers, it

is still crucial to purchase hardware and mounting tools that will stand up to the rigors of the foodservice environment. Restaurants are held to very strict standards with regards to cleanliness, but in general theyre full of substances that dont get along particularly well with expensive electronic equipment, said

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WireSprings Gerba. My No.1 piece of advice would be to keep the computers as far away from any prep or serving areas as possible. If theres an existing phone room or managers office that has computers in it, place your media players there and run the video signal out to the screens in the main areas. If thats not an option, get the heaviest-duty equipment you can buy. Sealed, fanless enclosures make a lot of sense here. Its not just the computers and media players that need protecting, but the screens themselves. Restaurants should strongly consider rugged, high-end mounting brackets and enclosures. Trying to save a few pennies at this stage will result in many dollars lost down the road.

IDS Menus Lesseraux emphasizes the design of the menu board, making sure that it isnt an afterthought of the deployment. Look for a company that lets you communicate directly with their design team, he said. Most of all, industry experts stress the importance of planning ahead before the installation of a new menu board. Small restaurants need to consider their amount of growth in the future to determine how much flexibility should be built into their menu board. If the restaurant plans to expand its menu over the next few years, a magnetic board or digital board may prove to be more worthwhile than a backlit system. It is just as important to choose a menu board manufacturer that not only will provide the right design resources, but also has experience in servicing the boards after the sale has gone through.

Tips and best practices

Watson of Mainstreet Menu Systems suggests taking a spin through your own drive-thru to test the effectiveness of your outdoor menu board, and also to get the perspective of your customer with regard to customer service, timeliness and order accuracy. Seventy percent of business goes through the drive-thru, Watson said. Check it to make sure that nothing has fallen down or that there are no bulbs out.

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