Press Release

Boosting Sales Through Digital Signage - Interview with CEO of Mandoe Media

Steven Baxter, CEO of Mandoe Media, discusses how AI-driven digital signage enhances customer engagement and boosts sales in hospitality venues. He emphasizes the importance of bright, dynamic visuals with clear pricing and advises that content should be concise, adhering to a seven-second rule for optimal impact.

Photo: Mandoe

December 20, 2024

Interview with Steven Baxter, Mandoe Media

Founder and CEO of Mandoe Media, Steven Baxter, shares the impact of digital signage in the hospitality industry.

Steven Baxter, founder and CEO of Mandoe Media, is at the forefront of advancing digital signage technology for the hospitality industry. Through solutions like Mandoe’s Artificial-Intelligence-powered Magic Create, the company enables venues to create and update visual content quickly and cost-effectively.

In this interview, Baxter discusses how digital signage is enhancing customer engagement, streamlining operations, and driving sales for hospitality businesses.

The Interview

Tell me about the current market and evolution of digital signage in hospitality and how your work aims to enhance the customer experience and increase sales revenue?

It’s an exciting time to be in digital signage – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to change the game for hospitality. Mandoe Media’s AI Magic Create leverages AI to enhance our customers’ experiences and increase their sales by eliminating the time-consuming and costly process that many businesses face when hiring graphic designers or using external design software to craft engaging signage content.

For example, let’s say an Italian restaurant has an excess of pizza dough that needs to be used up – as was the case recently for Amin, the owner of Street Taste in Melbourne. Historically, Amin would have needed to contact a designer to create a new special promoting discounted pizzas, followed by engaging with his digital signage provider to schedule that content onto his restaurant’s screens. This would have taken about a week.

Now, with the use of AI in digital signage, he can create a special and display it on screen in minutes, saving himself both time and money – and ensuring that the pizza dough gets used while it’s still fresh.

These types of user advances are not where the hype is – there is plenty of talk about things like tailoring ads to different audiences and changing content based on factors like the weather – but they are what hospitality owners seem to care about. That is what we facilitate with AI Magic Create – ease of use and speed to change content.

What type of visual content generates the greatest sales uplift and how can businesses in high-traffic, limited-space areas strategically place screens to attract customers and drive sales?

Hospitality content is a glance medium – television commercials don’t work. Based on my experience working with many hospo businesses over the years, the golden rules of content creation are: bright imagery,  ‘moving’ over ‘static’ content and the inclusion of price points. The customer needs to be able to take it all in at once – in other words, keep it simple.

When it comes to quick-service restaurants (QSRs), the best practice is for screens to be set with a moving background so they capture attention but can be read over time. Screens for these restaurants should cycle through specials with content that links all screens together – like a common background or branding.  

For window screens, we consider brighter, sharper movements designed to get people looking up from their phones as ideal. Venues with these screens need to attract people’s eyeballs and communicate a message really quickly. 

Once in-store, make sure any specials are offered in a simple layout and have a price – this is critical. My experience says content without a price does not work anywhere near as well, because customers don’t have the full information needed to make a purchase decision. 

Other than menus, no piece of content should run for more than seven seconds – think of it as ‘the seven-second rule’. There shouldn’t be more than six pieces of content in the cycle and the cycle should be randomised.

What observations have you made between venue types and sizes in their use of digital signage? For example, are large restaurant chains and small individual cafes engaging differently with the medium – if so, how and what are they doing?

Independent cafes often use digital signage to attract attention from passersby, highlight upsells like pastries or specialty drinks and enhance the customer experience with engaging content, such as stories about their products or social media integration.

Larger venues, like restaurant chains, focus on efficiency and scalability, using digital menus that automatically update throughout the day, promoting loyalty programs, and testing promotions based on sales data.

Both types use signage to reduce perceived wait times and streamline decision-making, but larger venues often emphasise operational consistency across multiple locations.

How has digital signage enabled food businesses to stay agile in experimenting with promotions or menu items to meet changing customer demands, while also improving operational efficiency and customer service in response to economic pressures?

Digital signage has proven to be a flexible tool for hospitality venues, allowing rapid experimentation with promotions and menu items. Businesses can remotely update displays to test various offers and analyse sales data to refine strategies.

Some operators report significant cost savings and revenue growth after implementing digital signage. For example, Paul Klooster – owner of Ashburton Meats – says he experienced a 10 percent increase in revenue through the use of window screens, while Seagrass Boutique Hospitality Group – which looks after the Ribs and Burgers international franchise – experienced a 30 percent reduction in annual operating costs and a 9 percent increase in sales by utilising digital signage technology. 

Beyond financial benefits, the ability to pre-set and automate content gives staff more time to focus on customer service.

What role do you see digital signage playing in the future for personalising customer experiences through AI, targeted promotions or data-driven content?

Digital signage is increasingly leveraging AI and data-driven content to personalise customer experiences. By consolidating and analysing customer data, businesses can fine-tune promotions and operations to meet specific needs. This iterative process of optimisation will ensure faster, more tailored services, benefiting both businesses and their customers.

Find out more about Mandoe Media: https://mandoemedia.com/ 

Learn more about Ai Magic Create

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Mandoe Media

Mandoe delivers high quality digital signage design software, hardware media players & software players enabling store owners to effectively communicate with their potential customers. All our products are developed to improve the agility, efficiency and simplicity of digital signage to increase sales and reduce marketing and operating costs.

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