Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
With Digital signage increasing in popularity in food industry, Danville, Illinois-based Watchfire Signs is attending the National Restaurant Association Show as an exhibitor for the first time this year.
The show runs May 5-8, 2012, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Ill. With digital electronic message centers popular and cost effective advertising tools for restaurants and hotel operators, Watchfire booth 5640 will showcase a variety of digital LED signs, including Watchfire’s XVS 12mm and XVS 16mm signs, for those markets.
Watchfire is an approved vendor for several national restaurant chains that will also be at the conference. Thanks in large part to quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, Watchfire has experienced a 33% increase in restaurant sign sales since 2009.
“We are at this show to give the foodservice industry the opportunity to ask questions and learn how we can help their business,” says John Kunze, Watchfire’s director of eastern division/national account sales.
Watchfire designs, engineers, and builds outdoor digital advertising displays in Danville. The company says that recent customers in the food industry have increased sales by as much as 15% soon after installing Watchfire LED signs.
Businesses that upgrade to advertising on digital signs are part of a larger trend of replacing traditional media with new advertising methods. Digital signs give business owners much more flexibility to change ads, compared to static signs.
“More businesses are interested in digital signs for advertising because they are more effective than other methods,” says Steve Harriott, Watchfire’s president and CEO.
Watchfire, which is currently expanding its production capabilities to meet increased demand, has installed signs at bakeries, delis, cafes and restaurants across North America. Franchisees and independent restaurants have improved sales with features such as:
- Dayparting messages to sell specific food at different times of the day;
- Customized art that accurately displays corporate logos and product images;
- Sign networking for easy content management across a broad geographic area;
- A specially trained network of sign dealers to ensure an easy installation process.
In addition to 12mm, 16mm, 19mm, 25mm, 35m color signs, Watchfire manufactures 19mm and 35mm monochrome signs. Customers can order custom sizing to fit any restaurant location. The company exhibited at the National Association of Convenience Store show in addition to sign industry and digital billboard trade shows (ISA, TAB/OAAA) in the past year or so.
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