It's a sign of the times!

Sometimes we find inspiration in the strangest places.  It can happen while driving in your neighborhood or while doing your grocery shopping... Me?  I like to go out for a nice drive.

So I'm driving around the other day and I notice my local Applebee's recently installed a big LED sign on a pylon sign, right in front of their restaurant.  The sign is animated, bold and bright.  You can see it from quite a distance, in fact it's pretty hard to miss.  The sign tells you the time, it displays weather forecasts and lists daily specials and featured menu items.  It was doing it's job because the parking lot was full.

Not long after this, I noticed a couple of churches in my neighborhood had also installed LED panels.  They were using them in a similar fashion and judging by their parking lots, "business was booming".

This got me thinking... We mostly see LED signs used outside restaurants, hotels or houses of worship but I haven't see them used much in retail, at least not in Canada, and I wondered why not?

The cost of deploying LED signage has been going down every year.  The software applications are mature and affordable.  In fact the software is often thrown in with the sign's control hardware. In many cases, retailers have already invested in web sites so they have digital assets they can reuse on their signs.

There are boatloads of LED panels shipped out of China every year so why aren't we seeing more of these signs outside retail venues?

When you think about it, your typical big box retail store has it's name bolted on a wall and little else.  Maybe you'll find a pylon sign and some banners hanging in front of the building or on lamp posts.  Some retailers spend tons of money deploying digital signage in their stores, however they don't exploit the huge expanse of empty wall space that is visible from the street.

While it's true most municipalities regulate the size and design of exterior and road side signage, many are becoming more tolerant of LED signs simply due to their visual appeal.

We've all driven by those cheesy mobile letter signs that litter main street in many small towns.  Mobile signs make sense for temporary applications but in many cases they have become permanent fixtures that eventually fall apart and rust away.  These garish orange and yellow lettered signs are simply not meant for permanent use and some municipalities are outlawing them for good reason.

There is an obvious need for innovative and appealing road side advertising. I just hope municipalities and businesses can work together and support the deployment of LED signs for retail applications.