It turns out waiting rooms don’t have to be boring. In healthcare practices, companies like IDS Media are innovating the waiting room and reception area experience by introducing digital signage to the mix. Creating and displaying educational content with these screens has helped doctors across France keep their patients informed while modernizing their medical practice in a manner suited to today’s world.
A DOOH network with a mission
Based in France was founded in 1993 with the mission of helping people take their health into their own hands through informative content. In the nineties and early-to-mid 2000s, the company sourced traditional media like pamphlets, wall-mounted displays and posters to build a reputation in the space. In 2015, IDS Media shifted its focus towards establishing a robust digital signage network in clinics across France, capitalizing on opportunities that traditional media couldn’t match.
The digital signage advantage
For both healthcare providers and their patients, the arrival of digital screens in waiting spaces has been a welcome change. For doctors, it has meant extra support, allowing them to connect and share important information with their community and reinforce their expertise. Meanwhile, prominent digital signage offers patients an opportunity to learn and absorb useful information about their health through compelling content like videos, quizzes, tips, and more.
Example: This video distributed by IDS Media provides advice to help patients with sedentary lifestyles find little ways to be active throughout the day.
France’s rural regions, areas with a larger proportion of senior citizens, are home to a large portion of IDS Media’s DOOH inventory. This demographic has perhaps benefitted the most from these digital screens, as they can supply helpful information intended on improving seniors’ quality of life.
Digital has also proved beneficial to IDS’ business. The vibrant nature of digital content makes IDS’ locations more attractive to customers, and is also helping to create a shift in the conception of what healthcare media can be. In the past, with static inventory, the space was thought to be good primarily for medical content. With digital, healthcare DOOH is increasingly becoming a venue for advertisers to engage with health-conscious consumers at the audience level. This makes for a larger, more diverse pool of potential buyers for IDS.
IDS Media’s response to COVID-19
DOOH use quickly became a matter of public health and safety in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020. The IDS Media team halted its regularly-scheduled content, replacing it instead with guidance on how to control the spread of the virus courtesy of public health agencies and the minister of health. With full control over its network, IDS Media could update information in real-time, staying up-to-speed on the continually-evolving situation.
Example: This video was distributed by IDS Media to inform audiences about COVID-19.
During France’s initial lockdown, IDS Media noticed a drop in traffic and, as such, prioritized messaging from charitable organizations to help the communities weather this unprecedented storm.
An additional benefit of DOOH has been its role in providing a more sanitary solution for distributing information out of home. The exchange of physical media can present vectors for contagion, but with DOOH, content can be changed remotely across an entire network. In a post-COVID 19 world where patients and healthcare practitioners alike are more conscious than ever of the possibility of contagion, digital signage is a valuable asset in getting messages out in a safe and hygienic way.
A look at what’s next
IDS Media has big plans for aggressive expansion, hoping to triple its network size and reach more clinics across France. Additionally, the company wants to continue broadening its technological offering to create more interactive experiences and help healthcare providers share their expertise with patients. Over time, they hope to roll out even more screens across their vast network and continue with their awareness efforts to ensure the best, most informative patient experience possible.
Watch: IDS’ audience offers their thoughts (in French) on the content they’ve seen on IDS’ waiting room displays.
Another exciting upcoming move is IDS Media’s entry into the programmatic DOOH space. It is currently onboarding Broadsign Reach, which will open its network to a global community of digital advertisers who can then access IDS’ inventory from more than 30 DSPs. It’s a great way to unlock an entirely new market of buyers used to operating in a typically digital environment, plus will make it much easier for all kinds of buyers to deploy omnichannel and multichannel campaigns that incorporate IDS’ DOOH inventory.
IDS Media and Broadsign
In order to increase their digital presence in clinics across France, IDS Media needed a reliable partner, one that could empower them to create and customize their content without any limitations. They also sought an affiliate that would offer technical support and provide them with superior network security features — critical where sensitive medical information is concerned. With Broadsign, they found the solution to support their ambitions and help scale their operations while delivering on required security.
Since launching their DOOH network in France, IDS Media has implemented Broadsign Control and Broadsign Publish to empower their clients to push, schedule and modify their content as needed. These platforms have proven to be game changers for healthcare professionals, many of whom are doctors who have just launched their medical practices. With Broadsign, healthcare providers have control over the type of content they produce and spotlight and have the freedom to schedule and monitor it as needed. With additional features, IDS Media can create customizable content based on the specific needs of the end-user.
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