It’s planning and strategy season, which means that financial institutions and retailers are all evaluating business strategies for the following year. Whether it’s revitalizing and re-evaluating branches or completely building a new facility from the ground up, everything has to be budgeted, planned, and accounted for. However, one element that can often be overlooked is digital content planning, despite how critical its role in planning can be.

There’s a Lot to Digital Content Planning

Digital content isn’t something that should be added as an afterthought, and it’s more than just screens with logos. Digital content can encompass display screens, computers, tablets, or any piece of media on location that your consumers interact with. For digital content to be best incorporated into new facilities or renovations, it should be considered from the start of strategy. For NewGround, our digital specialists begin at the time of conceptualization and consulting. They ask themselves questions such as:

• What kind of digital content is the client wanting to portray?
• Do they want the content to be customizable?
• Are they wanting to utilize digital content to help solve a problem for consumers?

When properly integrated, digital content can uplift and showcase ideas and branding for the organization. NewGround’s digital specialists have firsthand experience utilizing digital content to help uplift a financial institution’s brand and facility. They begin right at the start of planning to communicate and collaborate with key client members.

“Typically, when consulting clients, we show them conceptual work based on their branding,” says Ben Churchill, Digital/AV Coordinator for NewGround. “If they decide they want to work with us, then we assess what their brand standards are, how rigid they are, and what service offerings we could highlight, among other things. Sometimes this is branding, logos, or even QR code development. One client even had us display a breakdown of their mobile app since consumers were complaining they didn’t know how to use it.”

Just like with the client utilizing a mobile app display, digital content can be a creative way to showcase features to consumers. With more and more consumers interacting with digital content on a daily basis, financial institutions have to keep up or be left behind.

Digital Content is Easier with an In-House Firm

When planning for digital content integration and development, communication should also be at the forefront. Improper communication can lead to costly problems, repairs, and mistakes down the line. However, working with an in-house firm means in-depth collaboration and communication from the beginning of the planning stage. Planning with digital content from the beginning allows for a more streamlined approach. Working with a third-party digital company alongside the main project can slow things down and result in added costs and confusion. Rather than wasting precious time communicating back and forth to third-party digital content people, an all-in-house team can have problems resolved through one simple phone call.

“Take, for example, a firewall,” says Ben Churchill. “The client may want to include a digital display on the firewall, but the construction teams know that would go against code. We can clear up those issues much faster because we’re all in-house.”

Digital content planning with an in-house team can lead to better solutions as opposed to increased problems. With the interior designers, architects, engineers, environmental specialists, and digital content specialists all working together, designs and displays can be built with unity and overall branding in mind.

Digital Experts are the Difference in Quality

Building a new facility can feel overwhelming. Even planning and budgeting for a new facility can feel stressful. The key to quality is making sure you have experts alongside you during the planning process. The difference between a $10,000 television and a $100,000 television may seem like just a cost issue, but there’s more to consider than price. Digital content experts will be able to plan accordingly and understand the limits of the technology. Digital content can enhance the branding and overall look and feel of a space.

NewGround is the expert in planning, designing, and building branded spaces, and that includes digital content. Our specialists are available to help from the beginning of the planning and strategizing period. With our help, digital content can enhance your space instead of taking away from it.

Interested in learning more about our digital content offerings? Click here to see our work with First State Community Bank!

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