Have you ever wondered what keeps those giant digital out-of-home billboards and screens lit up and glitch-free? It’s all about uptime. Uptime is everything in the fast-paced world of Out-of-Home (OOH) digital advertising. When your digital signs go dark, so do your message and investment. Let’s dive into why keeping those screens glowing is not just important but absolutely critical.
Understanding Uptime in Out-of-Home Digital Advertising
First things first, what exactly is uptime? In the realm of large-scale digital advertising, uptime refers to the amount of time your digital signs are operational and displaying ads without a hitch. High uptime equals reliable ads and happy customers. In this industry, ad reliability and customer satisfaction are everything.
Maintaining high uptime is crucial for ad reliability and customer satisfaction because advertisers rely on consistent performance to reach their target audiences. Each moment of downtime can lead to missed opportunities for audience impressions, decreased engagement, and, ultimately, a lower return on investment for advertisers.
Common Challenges in Maintaining Uptime 
Here’s the catch- keeping that uptime isn’t always easy. When dealing with any large-scale ad network, there are always challenges. Let’s take a look at some of those challenges.
Some common challenges include screen issues like dead pixels, screen burn-in, or glitches. This could mean a light in the panel or the control board failed, leading to a partial or complete screen outage. There is also the challenge of rising utility costs and customer satisfaction.
While those are internal issues, have you ever considered external issues like weather, power outages, and more? Too much heat can cause the system or screen to overheat and damage the hardware. Loss of power can bring down digital signs, especially in areas prone to electrical issues.
It is hard to manually monitor and fix issues across multiple locations. Doing that is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Not to mention, it takes a lot to find a trustworthy team to do so. Keep on reading, and you will learn about a solution that is here to fix all your problems!
Outdoorlink Smart Controller: A Solution for Ad Reliability
Enter the Outdoorlink Smart Controller. This device was created to solve the out-of-home advertising industry’s illumination and maintenance issues. It is a cellular-based smart control device that allows operators to remotely monitor, schedule, and maintain their assets from anywhere at the click of a button.
With real-time monitoring, the Smart Controller helps spot issues before your advertisers do. Verifying advertisements and ensuring they are displayed correctly is important. Using the Outdoorlink controller is like having a 24/7 watchdog, ensuring problems are addressed ASAP, keeping downtime to a minimum, and boosting reliability.
Features of Outdoorlink Smart Controller for Uptime Management
First off, who doesn’t like a good app? Managing large-scale OOH displays through a mobile app means always having visibility and control in your pocket. Before the Outdoorlink Smart Controller, customers depended on faulty, unreliable time clocks and photocells and blindly drove by assets to confirm whether lights were working.
With the app, our customers can view and manage an entire market from any desktop or mobile device and generate maintenance reports and usage data, so manual labor is only deployed when needed.
Outdoorlink’s Smart Controller lets you stay updated with instant alerts on system performance. This could involve utility outages, bulb faults, failures to draw current, and bad neutrals.
The controller also enables multiple devices to run on separate schedules, providing a flexible infrastructure for your operators. You can assign schedules to specific days of the week and adjust lighting levels within designated time frames. Additionally, schedules can be easily and instantly changed remotely, which is crucial for maintaining solar-powered assets.
Check out a few testimonials from our amazing clients!
“The financial return you get from installing the Smart Controller and high efficient lighting is pretty remarkable. But to get the true return you must factor in the cost of continual maintenance on the old system, parts and labor. You also have to factor in the cost of not having an upset advertiser because his board isn’t lighted – again! I think that’s worth as much or more as the straight financial return.” – Duane Fredrickson, Circle City Outdoor
“Before using the Smart Controller, I could see how utilizing it would help us save on our electrical usage. I did not realize however, that it would help us manage our staff to address lighting issues and lessen issues all together. There has been a tremendous drop in our budget for ongoing electrical maintenance. We were in the process of hiring a second full time electrician, but after using the Smart Controller, it was no longer necessary. In fact, we were able to eliminate our current full-time electrician and now we just hire a sub-contractor on a as needed basis. The Outdoorlink Smart Controller is the only way to go.” – Don Riley, Lamar Texas Territory Manager
Benefits of Using Outdoorlink Smart Controller for Large-Scale Out-of-Home Ad Networks
Now for the benefits! The Smart Controller offers monitoring and control of large digital assets similar to what the Out-of-Home community has come to know and trust.
With continuous monitoring, it provides alerts for power outages, downtime, and power fluctuations that could indicate larger electrical issues. The added control features allow the operator to turn the units on, off, or reboot them, enhancing the security of the entire network.
They can manage each component of your digital screen individually, such as rebooting the WiFi or computer as needed. The Smart Controller allows you to take this first step from anywhere, anytime, with any device. This oftentimes solves the issue without needing to deploy additional assistance to visit the board in person or hire an electrician.
With any digital network, big or small, there is always a risk of potential hackers. Because Outdoorlink’s system is fully independent of others, the operator can shut down the screens at any time as a safety net.
Ensuring uptime is crucial for the reliability and effectiveness of home OOH advertising. The Outdoorlink Smart Controller is a game-changer in maintaining high uptime, helping advertisers keep their message constantly visible and impactful. High uptime is the key to Out-of-Home campaigns’ success, ensuring ads are always seen and engaged.
Curious to see it in action? Schedule a virtual demo and discover how the Outdoorlink Smart Controller can boost your OOH ad network’s performance.
Do you want to learn more about smaller-scale, place-based advertising? Check out our blog post (linked here), where we discuss unique strategies and technologies tailored for more localized advertising environments.