In addition to music, the content shown on the screen plays an important role. Mr Gavran, what is the value of visual messages on the monitors at the POS?

As always, it’s about adequate communication with the customer: the visual channel appeals to many people. When I install the latest technology in a store, that’s one thing, but I have to ask myself the right question before I spend a lot of money: Who do I want to communicate with in the first place and what is the content of that communication? The goal is to create a marketplace where the customer is digitally and visually connected to the product and the producer, enabling relevant communication for consumers.

Digital signage as tool of the future. What is behind this technical term?

This refers to the use of screens at the point of sale or in the employee area, which are installed at critical points, i.e. where a certain length of time is spent, such as at the delicatessen, checkout or in the employee area.
The aim is to communicate with people in different life situations, and the best way to do this is to use attractive content. An employee in a break room has different needs than a mother of two children in front of the deli counter. However, both target groups have one thing in common: if the communication is not perceived as relevant, it is disruptive.

BILLA is an early adopter of digital signage from and with MAXFIVE for communicating with store employees. What sets MAXFIVE apart in this area?

MAXFIVE sees itself as an innovative, multi-sensory communication expert at the POS. We have long since ceased to be “just” a shopping radio, but address consumers and employees via different channels. Through our 30 years of experience at the POS, we have learned a lot – what works and what does not work.
I don’t know of many competitors who have been in the market for almost three decades. With our new digital signage products, we demonstrably support sales promotion on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can emotionalize messages and thus enhance their impact. As I said, we know how to communicate with the customer and that is why our customers rely on our expertise.
But the most important reason why our customers trust us in the digital signage business is this: for us, the focus is not on the technology, but on the content we communicate. In principle, it is relatively simple how we at MAXFIVE understand and live digital signage.

There are three points:

+ the relevance of the content

+ the positive surprise (the ‘wow’ effect) for media consumers

+ the visual presentation that motivates

Let’s take a look at the future. How is digital signage going to continue to develop at MAXFIVE?

We are working on media convergence between radio, digital signage and mobile devices, and in the future we want to be able to synchronize audio and video content across the board. At the digital signage program level, we are pushing the “branded entertainment concept”, which allows us to convey the relevant message to the consumer in a more entertaining and thus more attractive and appealing way.