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21st century signage
Electronic variable message centers are computerized programmable electronic visual communications devices capable of storing and displaying multiple messages in dozens of formats and at varying intervals. Although Electronic Message Centers (EMCs) can be any one of the three primary types of signs (building-mounted, freestanding, or interior), their unique and revolutionary nature warrants a separate section.
The last few decades have witnessed simultaneous revolutions in lighting and computer technology. This rapidly developing technology has made it possible for even a small business with a simple message unit to produce high-impact changeable copy video/graphic displays.
Features & Advantages of EMCs
Take into account the following when considering an electronic message
center for your business:
EMCs allow an unlimited number of message changes and variable controls,
all easily completed with a computer. The result is lower labor cost and
elimination of the physical liabilities often associated with copy changes
on traditional reader boards.
EMCs communicate variable messages as people pass by, allowing greater
flexibility in communicating to the public.
With their automated dimming and focusing systems, EMCs can respond to
the visibility needs of the public, increasing safety and conspicuity
day and night.
The flexibility offered by EMCs means your business can advertise specials
while also displaying public service information or other items of public
interest.
These signs can quickly "brand" your business site in the local
community.
EMCs are an investment in your business and provide the best and most
cost-effective forms of paid advertising. The only form of advertising
that may be more powerful is word of mouth (although it can be neither
purchased nor controlled).
The effectiveness of an EMC is not limited by space or surface area constraints
as with a reader-board.
EMCs act as your "salesman on the street," attracting new customers
to your business location.
EMCs allow you to market your products and services to your immediate
trade area and prevent wasteful advertising expenses.
The business owner can change the message as needed to provide information
to specific retail customers, and can be used for political, social or
community events.
Software is available that enables a business owner to display sophisticated
logos or images on the EMC precisely as planned.
Although they may require a greater initial investment, electronic message
centers offer many different advantages for the business owner to consider.
Compare the figures below:
Newspaper advertising - the cost on average is about $7.39 for 1000 exposures within a 10-mile radius of the business location.
Television advertising - The cost on average is approximately $6.26 per 1000 exposures.
Radio advertising - The cost is about $5.47 per 1000 exposures.
New LED electronic message center display - The cost is less than $0.15 per 1000 exposures. How? Assume, for example, that you spend $30,000.00 on this type of system, and that its useful life is about ten years. The amortized daily cost of the message center would equal about $2.74. Add to this the daily cost of electricity for this new LED unit (approximately $0.20), thus giving your business a daily message center expense total of $8.82. With a daily traffic count of 20,000 vehicles passing your business, you would have a cost of less than $0.45 per thousand exposures (counting drivers only)
Best of all, with an electronic message center, a business does not have to worry about missing its target audience, becoming "yesterday's news," or facing expensive production costs for changing its message, as happens frequently with the other forms of advertising mentioned.
With an electronic variable message display:
The business owns the form of advertising
The advertising works for the business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
The sign acts as the "salesman on the street" attracting customers
into the business
The advertising speaks directly to the potential customers as they drive
past the business location, and the EMC makes the business a landmark
in its community.
Many message center manufacturers provide leasing programs, which include
service and maintenance, thereby providing another option for covering
the cost of usage.
What level of return on investment can I expect?
For businesses that choose to enhance their signs with an electronic message display, the owners typically see an increase in business of 15% to 150%. Using the smaller number, consider the following example.
A small business generating $1,000.00 a day in revenue adds an electronic message center. The business soon increases by 15%, adding another $150 per day in total revenue. That translates into an additional $1,050.00 a week in revenue, or $54,600.00 per year.
It has been said that in retailing, "the last dollars are the best dollars," meaning that each additional customer adds a greater marginal percentage to the business's bottom line profit. In the foregoing example, we can only speculate upon the actual impact upon profit, but assuming that the business was at or above its "break-even" point before adding the electronic message center, the addition of $54,600.00 per year in revenue would clearly add to the business's profit.
Keep in mind that with this example, the investment in the electronic message center unit would likely be about one-third of the additional revenue generated in the first year of its operation alone.
How much can I expect to spend on an electronic message center?
Before you wonder how much a business will spend on an electronic message center, first determine how much will be spent overall on marketing and advertising. It is not uncommon for a business that is already using a variety of media advertising without an electronic message center to divert some of those advertising dollars to an investment in one of these displays, greatly increasing exposure, business volume and customer acquisition - all without spending any additional revenue.
Technological breakthroughs have reduced the costs of producing these communications devices and have considerably reduced the previous level of expense for operating message centers. New technology is available that allows message centers to:
operate 24 hours a day continuously for many years with minimal bulb
or LED replacement; and
consume electricity at a daily cost of as little as $0.20 for a small
LED display, or approximately $74.00 per year.
Best of all, these new message centers can be purchased for much less
than their predecessors. Even small and medium-sized companies are finding
an investment in a changeable electronic sign is worthwhile. Technological
advancements are occurring so rapidly that a greater variety of these
signs is within financial reach, offering the small business a tremendous
on-site advertising tool that ties the advertised product directly to
the location where it can be purchased.
Call us for more info on EMC's