These signs are becoming more prevalent in common areas such as student recreation centers, campus centers, and eating areas. The possibilities are endless. Some signs can promote student activities, various clubs, or vendors for the day. Other signs can feature interactive campus maps that help students locate their classrooms, professor’s office, or gymnasium. Third party clients can even purchase advertising to scroll across these large screens that specifically targets higher education demographics.

Imagine an emergency causing chaos across campus. Instead of students not being informed in time, imagine these digital screens changing to a campus alert with safety instructions. Many of these digital signage companies offer integrated features such as synching the screens with a campus emergency alert system. For instance, any time a campus alert was sent via text, the message will also display on these interactive screens. Suddenly, what was once a source of information is now a potential lifesaver.

As a university or college, you are continuously trying to recruit students to your programs. These interactive screens can also act as a source of advertising. The State University of New York did just this. Information about the 64 college system is now prominently displayed on 12 kiosks along the Thruway Travel Plazas in New York.

In today’s world, connecting with this demographic is more difficult than ever, simply because you can’t pull them away from their digital tech devices. Advertisers are having a difficult time maneuvering into an online space. Spreading the message via technology seems to be a perfect fit. It offers a medium that students are familiar and comfortable with. It seems that digital television screens are more likely to catch a young person’s eye than a simple flyer tacked to a corkboard.

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Take, for instance, Top of Waikiki. This revolving restaurant sits high above the streets of Waikiki. People cannot easily walk up to the host or hostess and ask to see a menu or find out what the catch of the day is. To combat this problem, Top of Waikiki had a digital menu placed on the street below. The bottom part of the kiosk offers the night’s menu complete with photos and a touch-screen option to make reservations on the spot.

Pretty convenient for you, right? Imagine how management feels. If the unthinkable happens and the restaurant runs out of a side item, management can simply log on to their network and substitute a dish on the menu for new guests. Instead of having different inserts for the menu that showcases the catch of the day, the screen is simply updated with the touch of a few buttons. Running a special? Then simply update the screen while the special is going on and within minutes the special can be taken down.

Can you think of other great ways restaurants can use digital signs?