Spread Christmas Cheer for All to . . . See!

Last week, we posted a special Countdown to Christmas blog showing how to create a countdown in Venus Control Suite while using our new Building Blocks so you could all start preparing for the big day!

To keep the spirit of Christmas going this week, we want to share some ideas with you. We’ll talk about using your display to celebrate the holidays, spread some good old-fashioned Christmas cheer and take advantage of the shopping situation!

Celebrating the Holidays!

During this time of the year, most people tend to have the most holiday spirit, feel the most generous and enjoy a larger sense of community and family.

Are you feeling excited for the holidays? Are you looking forward to spending time with friends and family? Are you planning on sending 2017 out with a bang and starting 2018 off with a clean slate?

If so, then you are like many of us! Just remember, you couldn’t have made it through this year without those around you supporting you, cheering you on and giving a helping hand. Well, maybe you could have, but it wouldn’t have been as fun!  Now is the time to celebrate those people and truly give thanks to those who make a difference in our lives.

Don’t get me wrong, you could, and probably should, be doing this all year long, but for now we are not going to dwell on the past. Instead, we are going to focus on the present and the future.

Trainer Tip: Last month we posted about how you can use your display to build a sense of togetherness and goodwill in your community. We shared a recent survey* that revealed 55% of shoppers believe a message board shows the store cares about the community.

So, it’s important to look at your city’s calendar to tie in specials with local tournaments, meets and events. We highly recommend reading that blog post so you can continue spreading that Christmas cheer with your display! Have fun with it!!

Spreading Christmas Cheer!

Speaking of having fun, did you know that Daktronics Creative Services has created many pieces of content for the holidays? You can get much of this content for FREE and use it to spread joy and important messages/announcements over the holidays.

Our online store features hundreds of animated and still designs that will make your LED sign look great all year long.

Featured above (from left to right):

1. Winter Vacation:  Available as an animation as part of the School Bundle 5. Price: $99
2. Mountain Dew:  Available as animation or still as part of the Sodas 2. Price: Free!
3. Hot Deals:  Available as animation or still as part of the Retail 2. Price: FREE!
4. Exercise Facility:  Available as animation or still as part of the Hospitality 2. Price: $75-99
5. Soups:  Available as animation or still as part of the Salty Snacks 2. Price: Free!

If you want to add even more holiday cheer to your display, then visit our e-commerce site where we offer tons of content for you to buy and even a whole bunch of free content to download!  In fact, right now we have a special free New Year Winter Wonderland catalog that you can download!

• New Year Winter Wonderland Download: Full Color | Monochrome

And don’t forget about the Holiday content included in your FREE Daktronics Media Kit! You can find Christmas and New Year’s content for this holiday season, as well as many other pieces of content for different holidays throughout the year!

Taking Advantage of the Shopping Season!

Give customers a reason to pull into your establishment. One way to increase foot traffic is to create a call-to-action campaign. Including a call to action captures customer attention and propels them to act immediately. That action can be to stop in, call, visit your website, or like your Facebook page. Build a call to action campaign around:

• Time-sensitive specials
• New products
• Seasonal items

The call to action should be short and easy to understand. Don’t use multiple options and words, such as, “Call our office to obtain an appointment, or pay a visit to our website.” Instead, use a phone graphic and the call to action, “Call Today.”

Here are some examples of an effective call to action:

• Hungry? Stop In!
• Limited Time Only
• Buy Now!

Discount days are another classic way to attract customers. Many consumers save up for sales, and retailers not participating in high-volume days and discounts may suffer from lower foot traffic.

The highest-volume shopping days are the ones during the holiday season. Plan to take advantage of different times of the year, over holidays or even different seasons:

• Hot Deals
• Sunny Discounts
• Blizzard Sale
• Back to School

Use our media kit content to get started. Let your imagination run wild! The graphics below show how the idea of a Blizzard Sale works for different business.

We added “Blizzard Sale” to the media kit background in the example on the left. The example on the right is the same video background but with different content, depending on the business.

Daktronics Holiday Hours

We would also like to provide the following online resources for you to use over the holiday season:

• Contact-A-Trainer
• Daktronics Support
• Venus Control Suite blog

Like we always say, thank you for taking the time to read our blog! We truly hope that you find it helpful and useful. Enjoy the holidays!  Stay warm and drive safely.

* The Economic Impact of Exterior Electronic Message Boards, April 2014