5 Reasons Why Branded TV for Bars & Restaurants Is Better Than Digital Signage

Excited group of people watching the game at a sports bar and celebrating a goal with arms up

When you think about engaging with and marketing to customers in your bar or restaurant, what is on your TV? The answer for most bars and restaurants would be digital signage and cable TV.

While these products tend to be the default choice for venue owners and managers, the truth is neither traditional digital signage nor cable TV are engaging to customers or actively maximize the money in your pocket. In some cases, what you’re paying to put on your TVs may actually cost you more money than its worth.

So if digital signage and cable aren’t effective, what is? The answer is branded TV: an interactive, customizable engagement platform that is designed to leverage your bar or restaurants TVs to drive results. Here’s why it works:

Relevant Content

The main reason your restaurant’s digital signage fails to produce meaningful outcomes is because it’s immediately tuned out by guests, who have learned to filter out the advertising they are subjected to all day every day. Cable TV suffers the same issues as national programming schedules are often irrelevant, especially during the daytime. The key to breaking through this filter is to show content that customers genuinely care about.

Branded TV allows you to program customizable entertainment feeds right on your screen. Tailor your entertainment content to your guests’ interests, including local sports teams, news, and special topics.When guests see what matters to them, they’re more likely to keep their eyes glued to the screen -- plus, they’ll know you care about giving them the best experience possible, building loyalty and connection to your brand.

Branded TV beats out cable and signage thanks to its ability to tailor content to your bar or restaurant.

Noticeable Promotions

Since guests watching branded TV pay more attention to the screen, they are more likely to notice the marketing materials you choose to share.

Instead of cluttering your bar or restaurant with ineffective traditional signage or table tents (how often do you see those get pushed aside?), marketing materials displayed on your branded TV can use dynamic animations to become even more eye catching and customizable, increasing recall and keeping your brand top of mind.

Mobile Interactivity

One of the biggest hurdles to customer engagement that digital signage fails to address is the battle between your bar or restaurant’s TVs and your customers’ smartphones. Rather than struggling to get guests to look up from their phones, branded TV incorporates their phones into your in-venue experience by allowing customers to use their devices to interact with what’s on the screen.

Encouraging guests to use their phones to your advantage plays on the natural behaviors and habits of customers (even more so than making them download your app), and makes their mobile usage a connection point to your brand that will stay with them long after they leave.

Digital signage lacks engaging interactive features, like the ability to share social posts, making it more likely customers will tune out your bar or restaurant TV.

Total Control

Nothing is worse than investing in digital signage only to realize it requires you to pay extra for branding and customization. Making your platform look like it belongs in your bar or restaurant is a key part of branded TV (that’s why the word branded is there!) and customization comes standard.

Additionally, TVs that play satellite or cable give you no control over advertising -- meaning you’re increasing the odds that customers will see ads that don’t fit the brand, are distasteful, or advertise for your competitors! Branded TV puts you in control of what you show, when: you decide exactly what marketing materials you want to share, and can optimize when they show for maximum effect.

Memorable Experiences

With the variety and interactivity of branded TV, it’s easy to create a unique, brand-specific, positive experience that guests won’t forget. They’ll be sure to leave with a smile on their face, might even come back more often or even refer friends as new members.

Interested in exploring branded TV? Get a free demo of the above features and more with UPshow, the custom consumer engagement platform built to drive revenue from your TV screens and become your #1 marketing asset.