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Digital Signage Best Practices - ScreenCloud

If your team operates from multiple locations around the world, you likely have to juggle multiple calendars. Notion, Google, Microsoft, Outlook, and many others have calendar options, that often exist separate from each other.

That means having to juggle them, and inevitably, some team members will miss some key events. 

This is one of the reasons why your office needs a digital wall calendar: your team needs a way to see what’s coming up at a glance. 

Here’s how to turn your existing digital signage or a spare TV into a digital calendar display that works with Outlook, Google Calendar, or an iCalendar feed.

How to Set Up a Digital Wall Calendar (Top 3 options)

Before setup, you need to choose your software for display. We recommend ScreenCloud because it lets you easily display almost anything on your screens, from powerpoint presentations to digital menus,and of course, your shared calendars. 

Specifically, it comes with a handful of built-in calendar tools to show the current date and upcoming meetings, countdown the days to a launch, and build smart conference rooms that show when a meeting will be finished.

Next is deciding what you want to display on your signage. Just the date and month? Want a list of upcoming events? Or a combined feed of everything happening across your company? There’s a ScreenCloud app for each.

<center><font size="-1"><em>ScreenCloud’s Date app is the easiest way to build a simple digital wall calendar</em></center></font></p>

You can start out with the simplest wall calendar replacement: ScreenCloud’s Date app, shown above. Search for Date in the ScreenCloud Apps pane, and add a new instance. Choose to start the week on Sunday (American style) or Monday (European style), pick your language, and that’s it. The current date is as easy to read as the time on a clock.

This calendar is great for simply visualizing the date and day on the calendar. 

<center><font size="-1"><em>Show how much time is left before the next big thing happens</em></center></font></p>

Another simple option is ScreenCloud’s countdown timer app to see the time remaining before a product launch or event (with a companion count-up app to show the days since a launch or incident). 

Add the app from ScreenCloud’s app pane, enter the launch date, time, and title, and choose date and timer settings. ScreenCloud can show a flip board counting down the days, or a more minimal screen showing how many days are left until launch.

It’s not a calendar, per se, but it does give your team a bit of actionable calendar data.

Option 3: Display a fully integrated calendar

<center><font size="-1"><em>Show the whole month, or a day’s events, on a digital wall calendar</em></center></font></p>

If you’re looking for a full-featured calendar, this is the option for you. With it, you can visualize upcoming events, shared team tasks and much more. This is much more elaborate, so we’ll cover it in the next section. 

Displaying Google and Outlook Calendars on a digital wall screen

Here’s how you display your shared Google or Outlook Calendar on screen.

Step 1: Connect Calendar in your digital display

Depending on what your team uses, install the Google Calendar app or Outlook calendar in your ScreenCloud studio. (Both apps work the same.)

In the ScreenCloud app settings, click the Login button to connect to Outlook or Google Calendar. Sign into your account and select the calendar you want to put on your signage.

<center><font size="-1"><em>Choose the calendar you want to add to your signage</em></center></font></p>

You can only display one calendar feed at a time. If you need to display more calendars, you can add as many instances of ScreenCloud’s Outlook or Google Calendar apps as you need, each with their own dedicated slide. 

Or, you could build a merged calendar feed; we’ll show you how to create that below.

Now that you’ve added your calendar, it’s time to tweak how it looks. 

Week view shows an overview of what’s happening every hour of the day

Month view is closer to a paper wall calendar and it gives you a top-level overview. (The month view is pictured in the “Option 3” section above).

The Upcoming calendar view (pictured below) shows the next four to six events over the next few days, before shuffling to the next screen to show what’s coming up after that. 

<center><font size="-1"><em>ScreenCloud’s Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar Upcoming view shows a list of upcoming events</em></center></font></p>

Pick the calendar that fits your team’s needs and set the calendar options (including language, day to start the week, and event color). You’ll likely also want to choose the Large font size to make your calendar readable at a distance.

And that’s it. You’ve now got a digital calendar for your office wall that shows every upcoming Outlook and Google Calendar event. Every new event you add to that calendar, back in your Outlook or Google Calendar apps, will show up on your signage automatically.

Advanced digital calendar features for offices

If you have a standalone calendar that you’d like to put on your signage (could be a public iCal calendar feed with local events or a calendar file you exported from an app?

<center><font size="-1"><em>Import a calendar file or feed to Google Calendar, then add it to your signage</em></center></font></p>

The easiest way to add that to your signage is with Outlook or Google Calendar. First, import the calendar feed or file to your Google Calendar or Outlook account. In Google Calendar, click the + button beside Other Calendars, choose From URL for a calendar link or Import for a .ics file, and add your calendar.

Then, in ScreenCloud, add a new instance of your calendar app, this time choosing the newly imported calendar to add it to your signage.

Merging multiple calendars into one display

<center><font size="-1"><em>Build a single merged calendar with Zapier</em></center></font></p>

You could also pull all of your events together into a single calendar—something that’s a bit more complicated.

App automation tools like Zapier are great for this. Start your automation with Google Calendar, Outlook, or any other supported Calendar app including Zoho Calendar, CalendarHero, and more. 

Select your calendar, and have Zapier watch for any new event. Then, in the action step, select either Google or Outlook Calendar, select the calendar you want to use to show all events together, and have Zapier add a new event.

Repeat that for every calendar. You could add Outlook events to a Google Calendar, and vice versa. Once you’re finished, add your merged calendar to ScreenCloud, and you’ll have every event in one view.

You can also customize your calendar’s design in ScreenCloud? Instead of adding each event to a calendar, you could add them to an RSS feed. Then, you could use ScreenCloud’s RSS app to show a feed of events, or use ScreenCloud Playgrounds to build a custom event ticker. Check our guide to consolidating company notifications into a single feed for the steps, including ideas like turning your events into a news ticker.

Displaying calendars from other business apps

<center><font size="-1"><em>ScreenCloud Dashboards can embed most online calendars into your digital signage</em></center></font></p>

Maybe you have a calendar inside an app that you’d like to share with your team. This could be a Trello calendar to show project milestones, a Salesforce calendar to show important sales calls, a Notion or Airtable’s calendars for team-focused events, or even a public events page on a local website to keep track of civic events.

There are a few ways to get those on your signage. You could import an iCalendar feed from the app into Google or Outlook calendar. Or, if the app’s calendar includes an embed code, copy it and add it to ScreenCloud’s Embed app.

<center><font size="-1"><em>A Basecamp calendar on ScreenCloud digital signage</em></center></font></p>

Or, you could scrape the website and grab the calendar widget for your signage, with ScreenCloud Dashboards. Click Dashboards in ScreenCloud’s sidebar, add a new Dashboard, then enter the link to the site with your calendar. 

ScreenCloud will open that site in a new window. Login to your app, if needed, and navigate to the calendar widget. Then click ScreenCloud’s yellow Finish Journey & Take Snapshot button, select the calendar widget from your app, and tap Finish Journey.

Save your Dashboard and add it to a Channel or Playlist to display any in-app calendar widget on your digital signage.

How to customize your digital wall calendar display

<center><font size="-1"><em>Three calendar widgets on one digital signage screen</em></center></font></p>

Show the date, upcoming events, and a countdown timer together

You can bring it all together, with an oversized date and month overview, a list of what’s happening, and a countdown timer for your next big event.

All you need is a ScreenCloud channel that can turn your Google Calendar into a widget. Click the Channels tab, add a new one, and choose a layout with multiple widgets. Then click each section of the screen and add the calendar app you want. The Date and Calendar apps both require large widgets; the Count Down Timer app can run as a news-style ticker along the bottom of your screen.

With that done, you’ll have a heads-up display for your team’s schedule with everything date-related together. Or, if you’d rather keep info separate—or have too many calendar widgets for one display—add your calendars to a ScreenCloud playlist and your signage will rotate through them on the schedule you set.

Build smart conference rooms with digital calendars

<center><font size="-1"><em>ScreenCloud’s Meeting Room app is perfect to build smart conference rooms</em></center></font></p>

Calendars aren’t all general purpose. Some events, like the times a specific meeting room is booked, aren’t exactly private data, but they’re also something you only need to know if you need that meeting room.

That makes meeting rooms perfect for custom digital signage calendars.

ScreenCloud’s built-in Meeting Room signage app is custom-built for that use case. It shows a list of upcoming meetings that will be held in that room, along with a QR code to book the room for your next meeting. And if a meeting is in progress, the sign will turn orange and show when the room will be available.

And if you want, you could add the Meeting Room app to a playlist, so your signage will show other company-wide events and calendar details along with room availability.

Read More: The Guide to Conference Room Digital Signage.

Create automated calendar-based signage updates

You could also use ScreenCloud’s GraphQL API to build smart digital signage that updates based on company-wide events.

Say you’d like to greet office visitors with your signage, or want to have holiday-themed playlists show up on the correct dates. You’d need an automation that watches your calendar for events—another place where Zapier comes in handy. Have it watch your Google or Outlook calendar for new events, and consider adding a search term to have it watch for specific functions.

Then add a JavaScript code action to run your ScreenCloud GraphQL mutation, perhaps using castStart to temporarily cast an app or playlist, or setScreenContent to switch a screen’s playlist. Check our full GraphQL guide for more details on setting that up.

Build the smart office wall calendar that fits your team

Now it’s time to start tweaking your calendar signage to show the event data your team needs most.

Need a quick digital calendar? ScreenCloud’s date and Google Calendar apps are perfect.

Want a smart conference room? Throw in ScreenCloud’s meeting room app.

Or, get fancy with Zapier-powered calendar feeds and some GraphQL automations to dress your signage up for special days.

And while you’re at it, build more dashboards to show display numbers and spreadsheets on your tv (stats, sales figures and other data) alongside your dates. 

You can start a free 14-day ScreenCloud trial to start building out your team’s first digital wall calendar.

Image Credit: Calendar photo by Gaining Visuals via Unsplash

You need a smart calendar on your office walls to show the date, upcoming events, availibility, and more. Here's how to build a digital calendar display with ScreenCloud.

How to Create a Unified Digital Wall Calendar for Your Business

You need a smart calendar on your office walls to show the date, upcoming events, availability, and more. Here's how to build a digital calendar display with ScreenCloud.

For any organization serving a diverse audience; whether a global corporation, a local hospital, or an international airport, language barriers can be a challenge...  In more ways than one. The use of multilingual digital signage can be a powerful and strategic asset and one of the best ways to effectively communicate with a diverse audience (besides actually talking to them).

In addition to this, legislation often mandates more support for physical and sensory impairments. But multilingual communication is the next frontier of inclusion - and one that can be easy to miss. 

Sometimes offering multi lingual support can be an afterthought, or totally ignored. But for businesses pivoting towards using digital signage, or with a display network already in place, adding different languages to your screens can be a relatively quick process. 

Let's dig in and find out how and why to use digital signage to communicate with your entire audience, including those that speak other languages...

When it comes to navigating the modern world, signs are obviously one of the most important beacons. Whether this is in the workplace or a busy transport hub, signs help us to easily navigate or find information when we need it. 

And using digital screens to display signage means you can better manage content, including sharing multiple languages - especially in the following cases:

In high-risk or high-traffic environments, missing an important emergency message can have catastrophic consequences. So, providing real-time alerts and instructions in multiple languages means you can ensure that every individual receives and comprehends critical information immediately. 

This moves an organization beyond basic legal compliance toward a comprehensive standard of duty of care for all.

Read more: OSHA Compliance with digital signage.

2. Universal inclusion and improved experience

A multilingual display helps to make more visitors feel seen and respected. This is especially the case for international travelers - but is equally important for non-native speaking employees, site visitors, students or patients.

As anyone who has ever arrived in a new place being unable to speak the language knows, encountering information in our primary language massively reduces anxiety and frustration. Whether in the workplace or a customer facing environment, this leads to a more positive overall experience, and strengthens the perceived quality of service.

When staff and visitors can find what they need or understand an announcement without asking for assistance, it frees up employee time. For example, multilingual wayfinding screens can reduce the burden on front-desk staff, receptionists, and nurses who might otherwise spend valuable time translating basic directions or announcements. 

And this is just one example of where streamlined communication contributes directly to smoother daily operations - and by extension better productivity.

In a diverse workplace, communicating company news, motivational messages, or HR updates in multiple languages ensures that all employees are equally engaged and informed. While this is obviously great for internal communication, it's also an excellent way to improve your general company culture and inclusivity.

How to make multi lingual signage easier with digital signage

Digital signage allows you to create dynamic content for screens. This means you can take one sign and translate it into multiple languages, or even display videos in sign language. You might have seen versions of these type of signs in airports, often around the security area - where an animated screen streams animated videos of how to prepare for inspections. 

A powerful system like ScreenCloud provides the tools to create and deploy these types of compelling multilingual sign displays. Here's how: 

Content Creation Flexibility: Content managers can easily create images, slide decks, or video assets for the same message (e.g., an evacuation map) in different languages. These distinct assets can then be scheduled to play sequentially or targeted to specific screens where a particular language demographic is dominant.

Built-in App Localization: Beyond custom content, many of ScreenCloud's core apps and integrations offer dedicated language support. Apps like the Calendar for Google, Outlook Calendar, Clock, Date, Countdown Timer, and Weather all support five key European languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Dutch. This ensures that essential live data, like local time or the schedule for a meeting room, is automatically displayed in the required language format.

Emergency Overrides with Language Cycling: Crucially, emergency alerts can be pre-designed in these multiple languages. The system can be set up to display the emergency message (e.g., "This is not a drill! Evacuate calmly and safely!") in English, Spanish, French, German, and Dutch, cycling through the different language slides on safety signage. This instant, multi-language capability is vital for comprehensive safety and compliance during a crisis.

Where to use multilingual digital signage

The strategic use of digital signage in different languages differs significantly across sectors. But the core objective remains the same: ensuring clarity and inclusion for every audience member.

1. Factories and Workplaces: Safety, HR, and Training

Modern manufacturing, logistics, and corporate environments often rely on diverse workforces. These can comprise employees whose primary language is not the company's official tongue - meaning extra needs to be taken to communicate especially when it comes to internal communications.

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                <th>Emergency Alerts & Safety Protocols</th>
                <td>Displaying mandatory PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) requirements, machine safety warnings, and live emergency instructions (e.g., lockdown or evacuation directions) in multiple languages.</td>
                <td>Reduces workplace accidents by ensuring better comprehension of critical warnings; ensures legal compliance (e.g., OSHA compliance) with safety regulations for all employees.</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <th>Internal Communications & HR</th>
                <td>Displaying company news, shift schedules, HR deadlines, and employee-of-the-month announcements in the native languages of the team.</td>
                <td>Boosts employee engagement and morale by making all team members feel valued and included in the company dialogue.</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <th>Training & Onboarding</th>
                <td>Using video content with subtitles, translated text overlays or sign language for quick, bite-sized training modules on quality control or new machinery operation.</td>
                <td>Accelerates onboarding and minimizes errors by overcoming language-based training barriers.</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <th>Wayfinding</th>
                <td>Directing delivery drivers, temporary staff, and visitors to specific loading docks, meeting rooms, or offices in their preferred language.</td>
                <td>Increases operational flow by reducing bottlenecks caused by confusion or misdirection.</td>
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2. Hospitals and Healthcare Centers: Patient Anxiety and Critical Instructions

Healthcare facilities such as hospitals are often high-stress environments where communication clarity is non-negotiable. Patients and visitors may be anxious, medically compromised, or facing cultural barriers, making single-language signage insufficient.

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      <th>Use Case</th>
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      <th>Impact</th>
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      <td><strong>Wayfinding and Waiting Room Status</strong></td>
      <td>Providing interactive maps and directions to clinics, wards, and labs in multiple languages. Displaying patient queue or appointment status updates (using anonymous numbers) alongside waiting time estimates in the appropriate language.</td>
      <td>Reduces patient anxiety and stress by providing clear, independent navigation and managing expectations effectively.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Public Health Information</strong></td>
      <td>Displaying critical health campaigns, like hand-washing guides, infectious disease protocols, or vaccination clinic details, in various languages.</td>
      <td>Improves public health outcomes by disseminating information that reaches all community demographics effectively.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Patient Rights and Forms</strong></td>
      <td>Displaying summarized patient rights, visitation policies, and instructions for check-in/check-out in multiple languages.</td>
      <td>Ensures equitable access to information regarding medical treatment and patient autonomy.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Staff Coordination</strong></td>
      <td>Using back-of-house screens at nurses' stations to display shift changes or policy updates in the languages spoken by nursing and support staff.</td>
      <td>Streamlines internal workflows and reduces errors caused by miscommunication among diverse staff members.</td>
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3. Educational Facilities: Inclusion and Campus Safety

Universities and large school districts host international students, exchange programs, and diverse faculty, making multilingual support an inclusionary necessity. Translations for your key announcements can help to bridge those cultural divides. 

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      <td><strong>International Student Support</strong></td>
      <td>Displaying information on visa procedures, campus housing, and student services targeted at specific language groups. College and university settings can utilize ScreenCloud's localized Calendar and Date apps for event promotion.</td>
      <td>Improves the experience and retention of international students by easing their transition into a new academic environment.</td>
    </tr>
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      <td><strong>Timetables and Announcements</strong></td>
      <td>Displaying class schedules, exam schedules, and library hours in languages common among the student body.</td>
      <td>Reduces administrative friction and confusion, ensuring students arrive on time for critical academic activities.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Campus-Wide Safety Alerts</strong></td>
      <td>Quickly broadcasting shelter-in-place or campus closure warnings in multiple languages.</td>
      <td>Enhances campus safety and ensures quick action from all students and faculty during emergency situations.</td>
    </tr>
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4. Transport Facilities (Airports, Train Stations, Ports): Seamless Global Travel

Transport hubs are the quintessential multilingual environment. Here, success is measured in efficiency and passenger flow. Multilingual signs here are not just a benefit, but an operational requirement. Whether you're managing an airport or a cruise ship terminal, making information accessible to all users is key to smooth operation.

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      <th>Use Case</th>
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      <td><strong>Flight/Train Information Displays (FIDS/TIDS)</strong></td>
      <td>While primary data feeds are often coded, secondary, explanatory information—like "Proceed to Gate" or "Baggage Claim Area"—can be presented in multiple languages simultaneously or cycled.</td>
      <td>Reduces stress and missed connections for international travelers, enabling quick, independent understanding of their status.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Customs, Immigration, and Security Instructions</strong></td>
      <td>Displaying step-by-step procedures for security screening (e.g., "Remove liquids and laptops") and customs declarations in multiple world languages.</td>
      <td>Increases throughput and efficiency at checkpoints by ensuring all passengers are prepared.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td><strong>Emergency Notifications</strong></td>
      <td>Utilizing the dynamic override feature to broadcast clear, time-sensitive emergency information in the key European languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch) and others as needed, during disruptive events.</td>
      <td>Ensures maximum passenger safety and organizational efficiency during an evacuation or security incident.</td>
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Multilingual digital signage is a powerful evolution of communication. Moving forward, the global standard for any public-facing organization will not simply be to inform, but to inform everyone, in a language they can readily understand.

ScreenCloud makes it easier to create and manage your content and control screens remotely, across multiple locations. Whether you're managing a global enterprise, a hospital site or a chain of hotel or resorts, multilingual signage on digital signage is a low friction and engaging method of customer and employee communication. 

Find out how easy it is to create professional digital signage with our FREE 14 day trial, or book a demo today.

Unlock universal communication! Learn how multilingual digital signage boosts safety, inclusion, and efficiency in factories, hospitals, schools, and transport hubs globally.

Offering support in other languages is a feature in places such as airports. But more businesses are adopting digital signage to display multilingual communication from healthcare facilities to hotels and retail.

Using Multilingual Digital Signage for Better Communication

Digital Out of Home (DOOH) advertising has seen huge growth in recent years and is forecast to continue growing. 

But digital out of home isn't just a buzzword; it's a huge shift in how brands communicate in the physical world. It takes the power of traditional outdoor advertising and injects it with the flexibility, targeting, and measurable insights of digital media. 

Creating DOOH ads isn't about slapping a poster on a digital screen and walking away...it's about creating dynamic, contextually relevant connections with consumers as they move through their day. And with the opportunities to manage your own DOOH advertising network using affordable software such as digital signage, the world of billboard and digital OOH media is more accessible than ever.

Let's dig into the world of digital out of home and look at how it's used and how you can use it to benefit your business.

DOOH stands for Digital Out of Home. The 'out of home' refers to any form of advertising or content displayed on a digital screen in a public place.

It's an evolution of traditional Out of Home (OOH) media, such as static billboards, transit posters, and bus shelter ads - even those 'Golf Sale' signs that you still sometimes spot. The key difference is the transition from a static, printed message to a dynamic, remotely managed digital display.

The market for this innovation is substantial and growing quickly. The global DOOH advertising market size was estimated at $20.74 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $39.12 billion by 2030, reflecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.7% from 2025 to 2030 (Grand View Research). 

This growth is fueled by increasing demand for engaging, interactive displays, and the ability to combine OOH's mass reach with digital precision.

Dynamic Content: Screens can show full-motion video, animation, or a rotation of multiple advertisements, keeping the display fresh and captivating.

Remote Management: Content can be updated instantly from a central control system, often via a digital signage software platform.

Contextual Relevance: Ads can be triggered by real-time data or scheduled to match time of day, making the message significantly more relevant to the viewer. For example, a fast food brand could display their lunch options throughout the day, and then switch to meal deal specials to hit the evening rush hour.

Measurability: Unlike static print, DOOH can leverage technologies like mobile location data, QR codes and proof-of-play to provide real-time metrics on impressions, engagement, and even post-exposure actions like store visits or web searches. Studies show that 65% of consumers take an action (search, store visit, social post) after seeing a DOOH ad (Eskimi).

How does DOOH differ from billboard advertising?

While a digital billboard is a prime example of DOOH, the shift from a traditional, static printed billboard to a digital display fundamentally changes the medium's capabilities.

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                    <th>Feature</th>
                    <th>Traditional (Static) Billboard</th>
                    <th>Digital Out of Home (DOOH)</th>
                </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
                <tr>
                    <th>Content</th>
                    <td>Static, printed image or message.</td>
                    <td>Dynamic, including video, animation, and rotating ad slots.</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <th>Updates</th>
                    <td>Manual, requires physical printing, installation, and crew, which can take days or weeks.</td>
                    <td>Remote, instantaneous updates via central software, allowing for real-time pivots.</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <th>Flexibility</th>
                    <td>Extremely low. One design for the entire campaign duration.</td>
                    <td>High. Multiple creatives can run on a single screen, and change based on external triggers (weather, time, stock price).</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <th>Targeting</th>
                    <td>Broad reach, based solely on the physical location.</td>
                    <td>Precision targeting based on time of day and external data to reach specific audiences or mindsets.</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <th>Interactivity</th>
                    <td>None. A one-way message.</td>
                    <td>High. Can incorporate QR codes, touchscreens, augmented reality (AR), and social media integration.</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <th>Measurement</th>
                    <td>Limited to estimated traffic counts and demographic data.</td>
                    <td>Data-driven with metrics on impressions, engagement rate (e.g., QR scans), and attribution (e.g., store visits via mobile data).</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <th>Cost Structure</th>
                    <td>Typically a lower up-front cost for long-term, exclusive placement, plus recurring printing/installation fees.</td>
                    <td>Higher initial tech investment, but lower long-term operational costs; offers flexible, shorter-term, programmatic ad buys.</td>
                </tr>
            </tbody>
        </table>
    </div>
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The most significant difference is agility. A traditional billboard is a monolith, fixed, unmoving, and costly to change. DOOH is a fluid platform that allows advertisers to be hyper-responsive, running a campaign in the morning, switching to a different one at lunchtime, and responding to a current news event an hour later. 

This dynamic capacity is why 80% of consumers find DOOH ads on digital billboards more engaging than static billboards (WifiTalents).

Digital out of home screens can be highly effective, especially when considering alternative advertising channels. 

DOOH screens are often positioned in high footfall locations, or in places with a captive audience such as a waiting rooms, bus stations or shopping malls. That means that they have a typically higher dwell time, or view time, than other advertising channels, including personal devices.

As an example, a display ad on the internet might have a dwell time of a few seconds. A print ad in a magazine or newspaper might have a dwell time between 2 to ten seconds, and direct mail has a dwell time of up to one minute. However, print advertising needs to be physically in the hands of the audience - with print runs being able to give a rough idea of impressions.

A DOOH screen could have a dwell time from seconds to many minutes, depending on it's placement. 

A digital billboard at a busy road junction might be viewed by thousands of people per hour, or a screen in an airport might be viewed by a highly captive audience multiple times over the course of a few hours. Depending on the footfall, this can be a highly effective way of positioning your branding.

In short, digital out of home screens can be one of the most visible and effective forms of advertising. 

Popular uses and placements for DOOH screens

While traditional out of home advertising has often been focused on high traffic streets, or downtown areas, modern DOOH isn't confined to these locations. Modern digital billboards have colonized virtually every public space where people dwell, wait, or move. 

The applications for digital OOH fall into three main categories: Large Format, Place-Based, and Point-of-Purchase.

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Placement Type</th>
      <th>Example Locations</th>
      <th>Common Use Cases</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Large Format</td>
      <td>Roadside digital billboards, spectaculars (e.g., Times Square), major urban wallscapes.</td>
      <td>High-impact brand awareness, driving broad reach, product launch announcements, mass messaging.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Place-Based</td>
      <td>Airports, train stations, shopping malls, office building lobbies, gyms, medical offices, university campuses, transit vehicles (subway, bus, taxi).</td>
      <td>Targeting captive audiences during "dwell time" with contextually relevant messages, geo-targeting event attendees, or corporate communications.</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Point-of-Purchase (PoP)</td>
      <td>Grocery store deli counters, gas station pumps, in-store kiosks, checkout screens, retail end caps.</td>
      <td>Influencing last-minute purchasing decisions, promoting sales and discounts, providing product information right before a purchase.</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

The growth of programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) is further expanding these uses. Programmatic platforms allow advertisers to buy ad placements across a global network of screens in real-time, targeting specific audiences based on data. 

For instance, an auto insurer could bid to display its ad campaign only on screens near a major highway exit or slow moving arterial roads within a specified time frame, ensuring their message reaches its target audience at an optimal moment.

No, digital out of home screens have uses beyond simply promotional means. DOOH screens can also be used for relaying important information in a highly visible format. A good example of this is at live events, where large format screens can relay upcoming schedules, safety information and even emergency alert information.

Thanks to their large size, the hardware and digital infrastructure behind DOOH screens can also be a great way to stream live footage.

An example of this is with ScreenCloud being used at the America's Cup in Barcelona, where screens were used for streaming the action as well as sharing promotional messages. 

The power of digital signage at events: Connecting The America's Cup

ScreenCloud has also been used at music festivals including Lollapalooza, as well as countless corporate events. 

Using digital signage to create a DOOH network

For a business, a DOOH network is a powerful asset. A fleet of strategically placed digital screens that can be centrally controlled for advertising or communications. And with access to affordable software and screens, it's easier than ever to create a digital ad network.

The foundation of any DOOH network is digital signage software (like ScreenCloud). This software is the crucial component that bridges the gap between a static display and a dynamic advertising medium, and gives content managers the power to remotely control and schedule messaging and much more.

Central Content Management: The software allows an advertiser or a venue owner (e.g., a mall operator or a transport authority) to manage content for hundreds or thousands of screens from a single dashboard. This is how real-time changes are executed instantly across a whole network.

Scheduling and Rotation: Digital signage software enables the rotation of multiple advertisements on a single screen (a "loop"). This maximizes the screen's commercial value by selling multiple ad slots. It also facilitates precise scheduling, ensuring the right ad runs at the right time (e.g., running coffee ads during the morning commute and switching to happy hour ads in the evening).

Data Integration: Modern platforms can integrate with external data feeds to enable dynamic content. This is the core of DOOH's contextual power, and allows content managers to add more relevant information for their target audience, from breaking news alerts to traffic updates, or emergency information.

Proof of Play & Reporting: For advertisers, using a CMS such as ScreenCloud gives access to Proof of Play reports. This helps to verify exactly when and where an ad ran, providing the foundational data for campaign reporting and billing. This transparency is a massive leap forward from the uncertainty of traditional billboard impressions.

In essence, digital signage software is the brain that turns a collection of digital screens into a cohesive, monetizable DOOH advertising ecosystem.

Whether managing a nationwide network of digital billboards, or a collection of screens for local ads, your content management software is the engine behind it all. ScreenCloud powers digital screens for outdoor advertising in a range of industries, from transport hubs and ski resorts, to shopping malls and local business.

Some of the reasons that digital advertising companies trust us is:

Hardware agnostic: ScreenCloud powers any screen and works on most operating systems.

Remote device management (RDM): Troubleshoot device issues without site visits. A life saver for IT managers with large screen networks.

Powerful hardware: Our proprietary media players are designed to stream demanding content, from 24/7 displays and video ads - so your brand message stays consistent.

Enterprise-grade security: End to end data encryption and one of the highest standards of security in the digital signage industry mean you don't need to worry...

Total control: Featuring easy integration with over 80 apps, remote content management, user permissions and easy to setup and scale functionality, there is a reason more businesses choose ScreenCloud for their digital signage.

Whether you're setting up a screen based advertising channel, or you're looking at using screens across your business for multiple uses, try ScreenCloud.

Sign up for a free 14 day trial - or book a demo today.

Programmatic DOOH advertising (pDOOH) is an automated way of buying and selling ad space on DOOH screens. While traditional DOOH involves manually booking specific screen loops for fixed periods, pDOOH uses a data-driven software platform to buy individual ad impressions in real-time. This allows advertisers to target specific audiences only when they are present, based on factors like mobile data, time of day, or weather, making campaigns more agile and efficient.

What is the difference between DOOH and Programmatic DOOH (pDOOH)?

The cost structure of DOOH advertising is different, not necessarily more expensive overall. While the initial technology investment is higher for the screen owner, the cost for the advertiser can be lower in the long run. DOOH allows multiple ads to share a screen, reducing the cost per advertiser. Furthermore, the elimination of printing and installation costs, combined with the precision targeting of programmatic DOOH, often delivers a superior Return on Investment (ROI) compared to the broad, static reach of traditional OOH.

Is DOOH more expensive than traditional print Out of Home (OOH) advertising?

Yes, digital out of home advertising is often positioned in locations with high footfall or a captive audience. This means that the exposure to the content and the dwell time can be higher than on other forms of screens, including on personal screen devices. 

DOOH is the future of public advertising. Learn how Digital Out of Home differs from static billboards, its dynamic uses, key placements, and market growth.

Digital Out of Home (DOOH) is revolutionizing public space advertising. Discover how this dynamic, data-driven medium delivers real-time, contextually relevant messages, leaving static billboards in the past. Get the key figures.

What is DOOH (Digital Out of Home) Advertising? 

More businesses than ever are using multiple digital signage screens to display content across a variety of uses and locations.

In fact, the very nature of business digital signage means that there are often multiple screens and different sites and locations. This might be between a manufacturing center, logistics hub and head office; a network of offices and departments in different cities, retail stores, or multiple dispatch centers in different states or countries. 

Managing hundreds of screens needs an efficient solution, and cloud based digital signage such as ScreenCloud takes away the hassle with connecting all those screens. 

We’re going to take a look at the features you need to manage an enterprise digital signage network, and keep that display network running smoothly.

What are the important features of a large digital signage network?

Multi-site digital signage has become a big feature for businesses of all sizes; Whether thats connecting retail stores, offices or manufacturing hubs, a network of screens across high traffic areas such as airports or train stations, or looking at digital signage for effective communication in enterprise settings.

When it comes to managing multiple screens for digital signage, there are typically five focus concerns:

Ease of Setup/Scalability: Rapid deployment across multiple sites.

Functionality and Ease of Use: Centralized control with local content flexibility.

Security: Enterprise-grade compliance and access controls.

Cost-Efficiency: Reducing the need for on-site maintenance.

Access to Support: Professional assistance for complex rollouts.

In addition to these key features, enterprise IT managers will also factor in useful features such as remote device management (RDM) for multi-site setups. This can be a huge time (and stress) saver, allowing teams to manage and troubleshoot devices without needing to visit a site or co-ordinate with local managers. 

Lets look at how these features impact the workload in the real world workplace. 

How easy is it to launch a large digital signage network?

Setting up a digital signage network across multiple locations has been made a lot simpler thanks to cloud based software such as ScreenCloud. The entire focus of cloud based digital signage such as ScreenCloud is simplicity, even at scale.

Whether you already have the hardware available, or you’re buying in new screens and media players, rolling out your multi-site digital signage is a straightforward plug-and-play based process with ScreenCloud.

Hardware: Select your display hardware. ScreenCloud connects to popular smart TV screens such as Samsung Tizen, LG webOS and Sony Bravia -  but for best results and control a media player should be used.

See how easy it is for Enterprise businesses to manage multiple digital signage screens from anywhere, with ScreenCloud digital signage

Managing multiple screens – nationwide or internationally – doesn’t need to be a headache. Here are some tips and tricks to make the whole thing a lot easier.

How it works:

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