Article

Restaurants move to digital menu boards

Dynamic updates, operational efficiency among the benefits.

June 24, 2007

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the forthcoming guide "Digital menu boards."

It wasn't so long ago that chalkboards were the only type of menu boards found in restaurants. They were easy to maintain, easy to change and they were relatively inexpensive. They were also very bland and synonymous.

As the idea of quick and inexpensive meals gained national appeal, more quick-serve restaurants came on the scene. The result was a battle for attention in the fast food sector.

Restaurants have responded with new advances in technology such as self-service ordering and digital signage.

For the fast food industry, digital signage used as menu boards pose the biggest opportunity to incorporate digital signage into restaurants. The benefits of having digital menu boards are they solve the problems standard backlit boards faced with space and item changes. Digital menu boards essentially have an infinite amount of space because the presentation can change multiple times while the customer is making his/her food selections.

Digital menu boards can also be connected to a network that can be remotely operated. Remote connectivity eliminates the need for employees to have to manually change the signs on site. As fast food restaurants further integrate digital signs into their systems, the on-site employees won't have to deal with menu content at all, as it will all be controlled digitally from a central location.

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So why doesn't every restaurant have these new boards already? One factor outweighs the others: cost. Most menu boards are made up of 5 or six panels. Some operators expect to use the same amount of flat screen monitors, which can be very expensive. Hybrid, or a combination of fixed and digital panels are a more affordable, practical and effective solution.

"In the past, flat screen monitors were somewhat cost-prohibitive for restaurants," said Mike Abbott, vice president of ADFLOW Networks. "Now the price points, brightness and sizes are better. We should be seeing a lot more digital menu boards in the future."

Although consumer flat screens run in the neighborhood of $1,500, commercial grade screens are quite a bit more. They are made from heavier-grade materials and have to have more hours to their life, as they are left on sometimes all day long.

Couple that number with installation, mounting, content development and integration prices and it is understandable why the local McDonald's doesn't have an integrated digital signage network … yet.

Mainstreet Menu Systems, like many other menu and digital signage companies, are expanding to include digital menu board capabilities. Mainstreet offers a digital menu board solution called VisionQuest. The board can be controlled through a PC where menu templates and information are uploaded from a network connection, internet connection or manually from a compact flashcard. The system allows for content management (scheduling and dayparting) from a remote location.

Nextep Systems, a software design company out of Troy, Mich., also offers a dynamic digital menu board solution called the Enterprise.

Like most digital menu board networks, the Enterprise is connected to the Internet through a DSL line, which gives restaurant owners the power to schedule day parts, change menu items and prices and control the menu board remotely from any PC.

Mainstreet Menus and Nextep both understand that with the cost of flat screens and Internet service not all restaurants can afford to go digital right away.

"Most small chains don't have DSL and don't want to pay an extra $500 for the service just to support their digital menu board," said Tommy Woycik, president of Nextep Systems. "Some large chains change menu options all the time and some change once a year. Not everyone needs a full-blown digital menu board network."

Mainstreet offers entry-level versions of digital menu boards that don't require a network connection to operate. Both systems also have the processor built inside the casing for the flat screen, so no external PC is needed to control the menu board content. The price for the boards-in-a-box is competitive with that of a new custom stagnant menu board.

Doug Watson, regional vice president for Mainstreet Menu Systems, says the best and most effective digital menu boards are hybrid systems where one or two of the panels are digital and the rest are fixed.

"On these boards the digital panels serve as advertising, while the others remain informational," Watson said. "This way the customer isn't over whelmed with five moving digital signs and gets confused on where to look."