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Digital Signage Best Practices - ScreenCloud

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>
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                    <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>
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                    <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>
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                    <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>
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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.

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      <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>
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      <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>
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      <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>
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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.

Connect Your Media Player: ScreenCloud is hardware-agnostic, but we highly recommend the purpose-built Station P1 Pro powered by ScreenCloud OS or PIXI for the best performance and RDM capabilities across your network.

Software: If using smart TVs or non-ScreenCloud media players, you’ll need to install the ScreenCloud Digital Signage Player app on your chosen device (available on Amazon’s Fire OS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows and more). If you’re using our proprietary devices you can skip this step as they will plug-and-play straight away.

Screen Pairing: Once the Player app is running, you'll be given a unique 6-character pairing code. Enter this code into your ScreenCloud Studio account to instantly connect and activate the display on your network.

Read more about ScreenCloud hardware compatibility.

How to monitor and manage a large signage network

Keeping an eye on multiple screens isn’t as challenging as it used to be. These days, live status notifications keep you up to date with whats happening on your screens, wherever they are.

ScreenCloud Studio is where you manage all of your screens - and while we do offer 99% glitch-free operation, sometimes the unexpected can happen. And thats when it’s good to know that these features will keep your screens running smoothly…

Screen monitoring: Know your screen status

When managing hundreds of screens, the error code is your enemy - whether thats a blue screen of death, loading page, Windows desktop screen or other non-useful display. Thankfully, ScreenCloud is built to make sure this doesn’t happen to you…

Within the Screens section of the ScreenCloud dashboard, offline/online indicators provide real-time status updates on whether a screen device has a network connection and is correctly communicating with your account and ScreenCloud servers.

You can also setup notifications to ensure you’re alerted when anything goes offline or if something needs your attention.

ScreenCloud offers full offline caching for all static assets (images, videos, documents, and applications like Canvas). This means if a screen drops its network connection, the content will continue to play uninterrupted. 

While streamed media (like live feeds) are an exception, this feature is vital for maintaining uptime across a distributed digital signage network.

If a screen appears totally blank, the quickest troubleshooting steps are to remotely restart the device or clear the cache.

For enterprise IT teams, RDM tools are essential for managing large digital signage networks. ScreenCloud devices have Remote Device Management built in, which allows you to remotely:

Check the connection status of your screens.

Remotely reboot and troubleshoot devices.

Note: To effectively manage your devices remotely, you must use a remote-enabled media player, such as the Station P1 Pro (powered by ScreenCloud OS) or PIXI, which have RDM functionality built in, allowing you to update, reboot, and troubleshoot without a physical presence.

Controlling network access and permissions

When you manage large digital signage networks, it’s not always on the IT team to create the content or manage the displays. Which means that you need granular control over who can access which screens and content. 

ScreenCloud provides a sophisticated 3-in-1 solution: Roles, Spaces, and Groups. These allow screen managers to give specific people or teams access to certain screens, zones or permissions.

Spaces allows you to subdivide your single ScreenCloud account into 'mini-accounts.' This is crucial for large, multi-site organizations because it consolidates billing, security, logins, and SSO under one master account while effectively firewalling different locations or departments from one another. 

You can organize your network into logical units like "Global Space," "Logistics Hub," or "Location #1 Space," enabling location-specific content and screen management.

Roles: Allows you to define specific access levels and permissions for team members.

Groups: These are teams of users attributed to any number of Spaces, with individualized permissions (e.g., creator, viewer, manager, admin).

Restricting global permissions ensures that your Content HQ maintains total control over core brand content. But the HQ team can also empower local teams to manage their own localized content efficiently within their designated Spaces.

This is great for large organizations with specific local departments, for example a gym franchise managing nationwide promotions, but also local events; or a courier and logistics center sharing company wide information, but local schedules and targets. 

Another great use is for display resellers, who might have clients in different locations or industries. They might want to show broader messaging across all screens, but also allow clients to display their own content too - without affecting the network wide messaging.

Sharing is Caring: Content localization at scale

For company-wide messaging, you can share global Channels between Spaces as "read-only." 

This is ideal for sharing corporate Playlists into each local team’s Space, allowing local teams to add their unique content around the global content without being able to modify the core corporate messaging.

When it comes to keeping track of your screens and network, sticking to rigid naming conventions is going to be important.  As you’ll be remotely managing hundreds of screens, make sure naming is clear. For example, name your screen after its exact location (e.g., “LA Office#2-Reception-Left”). 

You can then use the drag-and-drop feature to organize your dashboard view by location or content type.

Specialized digital signage software simplifies a content management system across a large network. When it comes to creating or managing your digital signage content, some of the ScreenCloud features to streamline the process include:

Multi-Select: Quickly cast new content or set specific Channels across multiple screens simultaneously by multi-selecting devices. This dramatically speeds up network-wide updates.

Content Scheduling and Expiry: Use media availability settings to schedule content and set automatic expiry dates (e.g., for seasonal campaigns). The Playlist will skip expired content, eliminating the need for manual removal.

Customization and Integration: Use the search function to find assets quickly. For bespoke needs, ScreenCloud’s GraphQL API allows your team to build custom integrations with unique enterprise systems that are not yet available in the app marketplace.

Connect Data and Content Sources: With over 80 ready to go apps, you can pull real time updates and data from a huge range of sources, from RSS feeds to data dashboards, social media or live news - and more...

Stay on Brand with Canvas: The Canvas app allows non-design teams to create compliant content instantly using branded templates, ensuring consistency across every screen in your digital signage network.

AI-Powered Digital Signage Content: Our QuickPost app is designed to speed up the process, creating professional looking displays in seconds. Add your text and images, select the style and QuickPost does the rest.

Whats more, you can easily mix and match your displays, allowing you to customize your signage as you need. Create content for specific audiences, with one set of screens for your production team, and another set of screens for your high traffic public facing network.

Check out this video guide for a run through.

Using Bulk Screen Updates with ScreenCloud

Enterprise security: Securing your digital signage network

Security is non-negotiable when you manage large digital signage networks. And ScreenCloud is built for this at scale:

Enterprise-Grade Compliance: ScreenCloud is SOC 2 Type II compliant, with further certifications like SOC 3 Type II and adherence to ISO 27000 standards, ensuring trust and data protection.

Data Protection: ScreenCloud's CMS platform offers various levels of end-to-end encryption for data storage and transmission.

Roles and SSO: Enforce correct user permissions, use Single Sign-On (SSO) for secure access, and utilize deep provisioning to automatically deactivate user access upon departure. Audit logs provide a record of all actions taken within the system.

Kiosk Mode: Use remote management to run the ScreenCloud Player in Kiosk Mode on devices like the Station P1 Pro. This means nothing else can run on the screen except ScreenCloud, preventing screen hijacking.

Find out more about ScreenCloud's security credentials.

Enterprise digital signage hardware for network reliability

While ScreenCloud is hardware-agnostic, allowing you to mix and match devices across your network, dedicated hardware is recommended for large scale digital signage.

Our own ScreenCloud OS devices are purpose-built for digital signage, offering unmatched reliability, full RDM capabilities, and seamless integration required to manage large digital signage networks efficiently.

For the most complex and global enterprise digital signage deployments, our Professional Services team offers a hands-on, strategic approach. They work with your own team to ensure your digital signage roll out is a success from the get go.

They'll discuss your strategic digital signage plans and assist with creating custom app development and system integrations, ensuring a smooth, tailored rollout of your large digital signage network.

In fact, our pro-services team are not just here to get you started. We're the only digital signage provider to offer ongoing after sales support, working with you as your network grows to make sure you're getting the best from your screens.

Try ScreenCloud for your large digital signage network

We get it. Launching a large scale digital signage network is daunting, and you want to be sure you're choosing the right partner for optimal success. And with ScreenCloud, your in good hands.

We already power some of the biggest global enterprise with multi-site screens, connecting teams at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Orbia and Compass Group, among many others.

And with a digital signage solution designed for a huge variety of industries, ScreenCloud offers unrivalled functionality and crucially after-launch support.

Try ScreenCloud for free for 14 days, or book a demo today.

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.

Managing Large Digital Signage Networks and Content

So, you've seen the power of billboard advertising (these days known as DOOH - or digital out of home) and you're ready to launch your own local ad network. It’s an definitely a growing business model and an exciting time for digital signage advertising! 

And with the growth of powerful cloud-based digital signage software, it is easier than ever to try out this business model with a handful of digital screens and see what sticks.

Digital signage networks, DOOH or billboards can be used as hyper-local ad networks or nationwide displays. By using digital signage you have access to a high-potential, scalable business model that lets you become a media owner in your community. 

And with advertisers always looking for a good value ad space, could setting up your own digital signage advertising network be a high ROI play?

In this guide, we'll walk you through the appeal - hit you with some reality checks, explain the necessary tech foundation, and offer our top tips for turning your vision into a successful, revenue-generating business.

The appeal: Why build a digital signage ad network?

Billboard advertising has long been a great visual medium, and a popular way for big brands to connect with their audience. But, it's always been a high cost advertising medium that has often been out of reach of smaller businesses - until now.

The rise of affordable digital signage software means that any enterprising person can buy a few screens, or even connect to existing screens, and start offering high value ad space. Whether it's DOOH (digital out of home advertising) or screens in different stores or transit locations, a well managed digital ad network can potentially reach a broad and engaged audience.

And yes, there is demand for this type of advertising. Plenty of businesses are looking to improve their brand recognition, especially offline, and are looking to target hyper local or niche location audiences. And this is where you come in...

What do you need to set up a digital signage ad network?

A self-made billboard network simply needs some well placed screens and some willing advertisers. 

Your digital signage ad network will operate on a simple, yet powerful, three-way business model:

The Network Operator (You): You source, install, and manage screens in high-traffic commercial locations. Or - you can also connect screens that are already installed but are under-used (eg, TVs in waiting rooms, bars, shop windows etc).

The Screen Owner (The Host): The host provides the physical space and power for the screen. In return, they get significant, dedicated advertising time on the display inside their venue, which they can use for promotions, menus, or internal communications. You will likely also need to offer some kind of revenue share or fee for hosting the screens which should, at the very least, cover their running costs. 

The Advertiser (Your Client): They pay you a fee (CPM or spot rate) to display their ads to the captive audience inside the host's location. 

The Appeal: Unlike traditional media (radio or print), DOOH networks offer unparalleled geo-targeting and flexibility. If you know the rough footfall in a location, you can add this to your media pack to summarize the value of your ad network.

Advertisers can then reach hyper-local or very specific customers right before they make a purchase decision, making the ad spend highly efficient. 

For you, the network operator, the business is highly scalable. Once the initial hardware is installed, adding a paying client is pure profit, turning every screen into a potential cash-generating billboard.

The engine of your network: Easy content control

The backbone of any successful digital ad network is reliable, centralized content management. If you can't easily manage content, check device health, and prove that ads are running, your entire business model collapses.

This is why choosing a robust, scalable Content Management System (CMS) for digital signage, such as ScreenCloud, is crucial from day one. Your digital signage CMS needs to be able to handle the complexity of a growing network without requiring you to be onsite for every update.

It also needs to be controllable remotely, easy to update, edit or schedule content and also offer proof of play to validate your delivery for your advertisers. 

When you're looking for a digital signage software provider, check whether they offer:

Remote Device Management: The ability to reboot devices, check screen health, and troubleshoot remotely. If a screen goes blank, you need an instant alert and a quick fix—no driving across town required.

Remote Content Scheduling and Management: Instantly push content updates, pause campaigns, or swap out ads from your laptop, anywhere in the world.

Proof of Play Logs: This is non-negotiable for serious advertisers. Proof of Play provides detailed logs confirming exactly when and how often an ad was displayed, justifying the advertising fee and building client trust.

Granular User Permissions: As your network grows, you may need to grant clients access to manage their own content. Granular permissions allow you to restrict them to only their specific ad slot or content folder, maintaining the integrity and security of the overall network loop.

App Integrations: Beyond ads you might want to offer other forms of engaging content on your screens, to maximise customer engagement. Access app integrations can allow you to pull content from RSS feeds, news websites, sports scores, local traffic information, weather and much more. 

Much of the control comes from your media player. While you can connect to smart TVs using ScreenCloud, we highly recommend using a digital signage media player such as our own PIXI.

PIXI is one of the best value media players on the market, offering plug-and-play functionality with ScreenCloud, in addition to enterprise grade security, RDM and a discreet profile. 

Top tips for a successful digital signage advertising business

Building a profitable DOOH ad network needs a strategic approach to both screen placements and pricing. We've worked with many digital signage network managers, and the main challenges are either sourcing advertising customers - or balancing the volume of ads on screens.

Tip 1: The Placement Paradox and Screen Owner ROI

The biggest challenge for new DOOH entrepreneurs is finding the right balance between offering good screen placements for the advertisers and the value/ROI for the screen owners (hosts).

A common approach is to offer a "free screen and free self-promotion" package. This can be a hard sell, as some small businesses won't see the value in this trade-off. They may view the screen as a liability (electricity use, aesthetics) rather than an asset.

But, some might also see that they have a screen going to waste, and so having someone manage their digital signage displays for them could be useful. In which case, you might be able to secure free screen use in exchange for advertising their business elsewhere on your network. 

The Insight: To attract quality hosts, you must make the deal incredibly valuable to them. This can mean:

Monetary Compensation: Paying a small monthly fee for the physical placement.

Dominant Screen Time: Ensure the host's content takes up the vast majority of the loop (e.g., an 80/20 or 70/30 split, where the host gets 70–80% of the air time). This turns the display into a dedicated tool for their business first, and an ad platform second.

Tip 2: Focus on Quality Placements to Attract High-Value Clients

Don't chase a huge number of low-traffic screens. Instead, prioritize either quality placements where viewers have a high dwell time (the time spent looking at the screen) and the location serves a niche demographic. Or, prominent screens in high traffic locations.

Once you have 10 to 20 high-quality screens - say, inside three busy fitness centers and five doctor's offices - you can use the value of that specific, targeted audience to attract higher value advertisers (e.g., physical therapists targeting the gym audience, or local law firms targeting the waiting room audience).

Tip 3: Instant Monetization: ScreenCloud's Vengo App

If you're eager to start generating revenue while you build your local client list, ScreenCloud features the Vengo app. Vengo allows network managers to start monetizing their screens right away by tapping into demand from national programmatic advertising campaigns that bid for spots on your screens: https://screencloud.com/apps/vengo. 

This can provide immediate income and proof of concept for your business. 

Tip 4: Master the Power of Niche Targeting

A small, powerful local ad network thrives by being highly relevant. Instead of trying to cover a whole city, create a focused, high-value network by targeting niche industries and high-traffic locations.

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      <tr style="height:50px">
        <th><strong>Niche Industry</strong></th>
        <th><strong>High-Value Audience</strong></th>
        <th><strong>Advertiser Potential</strong></th>
  </tr>
  <tr style="height:30px">
        <th><strong>Fitness Centers/Gyms</strong></th>
        <td>Health-conscious, younger, local residents</td>
        <td>Nutrition stores, physical therapists, supplements, real estate agents</td>
  </tr>
  <tr style="height:30px">
        <th><strong>Local Shopping Precincts</strong></th>
        <td>Shoppers ready to buy, often from immediate area</td>
        <td>Banks, local services, restaurants, regional attractions</td>
  </tr>
  <tr style="height:30px">
        <th><strong>High Traffic Locations (e.g., near arterial roads)</strong></th>
        <td>Commuters, fast brand awareness</td>
        <td>Car dealerships, major local employers, corporate brands</td>
  </tr>
  <tr style="height:30px">
        <th><strong>Medical/Dental Offices</strong></th>
        <td>Captive audience with long dwell time</td>
        <td>Health insurance providers, specialists, retirement planning</td>
  </tr>
  <tr style="height:30px">
        <th><strong>Hotels/Tourist Offices/Tourist Attractions</strong></th>
        <td>Visitors looking for things to see/do, ready to buy</td>
        <td>Local restaurants, tourist attractions, tour operators, car hire, taxi services</td>
 

    </tr>
  </tbody>
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Targeting a niche allows you to sell audience segments rather than just screen time, which commands a higher price. Be sure to provide measurable results to your advertisers using features like unique QR codes or campaign-specific discount codes to help them track their ROI.

Tip 5: Add useful content for maximum engagement

Lets be honest, billboards and DOOH tend to work for the fact that they're placed in high traffic locations. But for your digital signage network to be truly effective, especially if you're targeting a niche audience, you'll need to provide something other than ads to ensure your audience are engaged.

This means adding useful information to your digital screens, or allowing businesses to publish content that serves their visitors. Some good ideas can include:

Local events, special offers or community notices

Real time information such as local traffic, public transport  or weather updates

All of these can be easily added using app integrations from your ScreenCloud dashboard. For example, if you're running a screen network close to a major public transport interchange, you might want a screen showing real time updates of arrivals and departures, such as with our Transport app or Flight Schedules. 

Or, if you have a screen network in a shopping precinct, you might also want to stream social media feeds from local businesses - which can easily be done using social media wall apps such as Walls.io.

How much does digital signage software cost for ad networks?

There is a lot of choice for business owners looking for the best digital signage software, with pricing running the gamut from free to $100 per screen per month, or more. In terms of what it costs for a digital signage advertising network, it will likely depend on what features you need.

How can you set up your own screen based advertising network with digital signage? Find what you need to create an ad network and tips for success.

How it works:

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