Do high-tech signage systems help businesses lure customers and increase sales? The answer to that two-pronged question could be "yes," at least according to two consumer research studies commissioned by AdSpace Networks Inc. (Burlingame, Calif.), developer of updateable signage systems.

"Installing a digital display system represents a fairly substantial investment on the part of a business," says Lou Giacalone Jr., AdSpace's executive vp of product development and marketing, "and we wanted to show potential clients that they do get a return on that investment."

AdSpace had created CoolSign, a software system for managing content on digital display networks, including plasma screens, video monitors, digital projectors and large-scale LED panels. It hired Next Century Media (New Paltz, N.Y.), a third-party market research firm, to perform two consumer surveys designed to determine the impact digital display systems have on consumer behavior.

In the first study, two sets of signs advertising selected restaurants and stores were installed for a week apiece in the Forum Shops Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The first set of signs consisted of traditional static ads; the second involved CoolSign digital displays featuring motion and sound. Researchers stationed at mall exits surveyed 400 mall visitors each week.

The research found the digital displays were recalled by 37 percent more people; caused 51 percent more respondents to say they might visit one of the advertised businesses; and resulted in 103 percent more people patronizing one or more of the stores or restaurants involved.

The second study gauged the impact of digital displays on patrons at four different Loews theater complexes across the U.S. Running on digital screens in the lobbies were 11 modified TV commercials, ranging in length from 7.5 seconds to 30 seconds. A total of 874 people were surveyed as they entered the lobbies and again as they exited. A day later, 405 of the same respondents were interviewed. Finally, a month later, 323 of the respondents were again questioned.

Comparing the results of their survey with an entertainment-industry benchmark study by Nielsen Media Research on how prime time TV ads affect buying decisions, researchers came to the following conclusion: 5 percent of those exposed to the digital ads recalled the products or services a day later, as compared with a 4 percent recall rate for those exposed to the same ads on prime time TV.

In addition, based on responses from those surveyed 30 days after seeing the digital displays, 19.1 percent of those who said they had been persuaded by a message on the display ultimately bought an advertised product or service, as compared with a purchase rate of 12 percent by those who said they were not persuaded by the display.

Thus far, CoolSign systems have been installed in shopping malls, trade shows, casinos and theaters. But the company recently recruited merchandising veteran Jayne Spiegelman as its senior vp of enterprise system sales, to convince retailers that investing in digital signage is worthwhile. Spiegelman's career includes stints as president of women's apparel merchandising at Macy's West and as senior vp, merchandising and marketing, at Good Guys, a West Coast electronics retailer.

"Now more than ever before, shoppers are making their buying decisions at the point-of-purchase," says Giacalone. "That's why digital signage, with its colorful moving images and sound capabilities, can be so useful to retailers. I think we've proved it helps draw shoppers in and gives them targeted information designed to motivate them to buy something."