Advertising Screen: How to Energize Your Display?

Reading time : 9 minutes

An advertising screen is much more than a simple digital display device. Used primarily by retail businesses and in public spaces, these screens transform sales areas, streets, and waiting zones into true customer engagement platforms. Their deployment spans from store windows to shopping mall corridors, as well as train stations and airports, creating a dynamic communication network serving brands.

If these advertising screens have marked a turning point in visual communication, their use has now become democratized to the point of becoming a standard. What now makes the difference is no longer the technology itself, but how it is utilized. Modern advertising screens stand out through their ability to broadcast dynamic content. This contextual intelligence, combined with attractive and interactive visual elements, enables the creation of truly personalized and engaging customer experiences.

For Commercial Communication Screens

These screens, dedicated to promoting a brand’s products or services, play a key role in customer experience and conversion:

• Enhanced visibility: Their brightness and dynamism instantly capture attention, standing out from static media.
• “Wow” effect: Videos, animations, and interactive content create a memorable experience, increasing the impact of promotions or product launches.
• Flexibility: Messages can be adjusted in real time (e.g., highlighting a product restock, flash promotion).
• Greater engagement: By reducing perceived waiting time (e.g., in waiting rooms or checkout lines), they increase customer satisfaction.

For In-Store Retail Media

Installed in large retail stores or specialized retailers, these screens monetize audience traffic, encourage sales, and enrich the shopping experience:

• Revenue generation: Broadcasting ads for third-party brands, with a model based on traffic and engagement. This benefits the highlighted brands but also the retailers selling the products.
• Precise targeting: Content adapts to visitor profiles (e.g., targeted promotions based on time or day).
• Performance measurement: Real-time tracking of interactions (e.g., QR code scans) to optimize campaigns.
• Creation of a dynamic atmosphere: Animating common areas with wall screens (e.g., promotions, events) to encourage discovery and purchase.

For DOOH (Digital Out Of Home)

These screens, located in public spaces (stations, airports, streets, meeting points), are 100% dedicated to advertising and offer unique advantages:

• Maximum impact: Their size, brightness, and strategic placement (bus shelters, giant billboards, digital totems) ensure optimal visibility.
• Contextual targeting: Using sensors or real-time data (weather, traffic), messages adapt to reach the right audience at the right moment.
• Advanced monetization: Ad space purchased via programmatic platforms (DSP/SSP), enabling ultra-precise targeting and automatic budget optimization.
• Audience measurement: Granular data on impressions, engagement, and conversions for transparent ROI.

Impact on Brand Image

The study shows that 78% of consumers believe advertising screens significantly improve the image of stores using them. This underscores their strategic importance for brand positioning and customer experience.

Engagement and Action Rates

A particularly revealing number: 34% of individuals say they have already taken concrete action after seeing information on an advertising screen.
This confirms the strong conversion and call-to-action potential of dynamic displays.

Consumer Expectations

Expectations for content are increasingly high:

• 89% want relevant, updated information
• 82% expect entertaining content
• 76% expect strong visual quality

Preferred installation locations

According to the study, consumers find the following locations most relevant:

1. Shopping centers (cited by 68%)
2. Transit areas (stations, airports – 63%)
3. Streets (urban display – 59%)
4. Retail stores (55%)

These 2025 numbers confirm the central role of advertising screens in modern communication strategies, with measurable impact on customer engagement and brand image. The full IFOP study also highlights a 12% increase in perceived effectiveness compared to 2023, illustrating the maturity of this medium within the marketing mix.

The Added Value of Programmatic

Contextual and Dynamic Targeting: :  

• Programmatic enables ultra-targeted distribution using real-time data.
• Examples: display a hot beverage ad when temperature drops; display sunscreen during high UV exposure; push train ads during peak transit hours.

Flexibility and Agility:

• Unlike traditional reservation (daily/weekly slots), programmatic buying enables purchasing impressions, even minute by minute.
• Brands can adjust, start, or stop campaigns instantly for greater responsiveness.

Performance Measurement (ROI):  

• By combining screen exposure with mobile geolocation or in-store transactions, programmatic platforms can measure real impact, including Drive-to-Store effects.

Overall, the integration of programmatic technologies has pushed DOOH and in-store retail media into the era of data-driven advertising, offering effectiveness and relevance comparable to digital media.

A Technical Architecture Adapted to Each Use Case

Modern advertising screens rely on three key elements: the screen itself, a media player (integrated or external), and management software. For commercial communication screens, simple integrated systems are often enough, whereas in-store retail media and DOOH require more robust systems capable of managing dynamic content, audience data, and programmatic campaigns.

The Central Role of the Software

Digital signage software is the brain of the system. It not only enables the creation and scheduling of varied content but also centralizes the management of multiple screens, integrates sensors for contextual display, and measures campaign performance.

For large screen networks, where every minute of downtime means revenue loss, reliability is critical. Software must therefore provide centralized remote management, high availability (99.9% uptime), and proactive monitoring to prevent failures and ensure continuous broadcasting.