If you are approaching LED display content creation for the first time, you are probably wondering where to start. For those with a solid marketing background, you may be covered, but most likely, you will need a little help. We have compiled some suggestions for creating quality content specifically for LED to point you in the right direction.

Whether you have an LED display, or are thinking about buying one, the following tips may be useful for you (or your designer) when creating content to run onscreen.

DURATION
Make sure that your copy length is well suited for the viewing time of your audience. In large venues suited for digital out-of-home advertising, this is typically 10 to 25 seconds. Longer content does not work well because your target either sees the beginning but not the end or vice-versa. You want them to see the entire piece, from start to finish, while passing by. What good does it do to create wonderful content if the call to action will not be read because the ad is too long?

FORMATTING
The First Rule of text formatting for an LED display content creation is to make letters BIG! For a 6mm pixel pitch display, you want your text to be at least 2-2.5” tall. Small text might look nice on your PC monitor or 40” LCD when created, but it’s not good when broadcast on a large LED.

1: Do Not Apply Shades or Glossy Effects on Text
These effects look nice on your monitor, but they just don’t show up on an LED display that has fewer pixels.

2: Use Sans-Serif Fonts
Sans-Serif fonts such as Verdana or Tahoma appear much more readable on LED  than Serif fonts (i.e. Courier, Times New Roman, etc.). Eliminating Serif fonts will eliminate the “noise” in the text and will make it clearer for your viewers.

3: Use Contrasting Colors
The basic principles of the color wheel still hold true in the digital signage era. The best matches are contrasting colors such as: Black on Yellow – Black on White – Yellow on Black – White on Blue – Yellow on Blue – Green on White – Blue on Yellow – White on Green. It is best to use text colors in such combinations, and try to avoid concepts such as Pink-on-Red.

DESIGN
As you can imagine, the KEY role in content creation for LED is your designer. If you have a good designer who understands the ins & outs of LED, your piece will stand out among your competition.

1: Worth The Expense
Installing an LED screen is quite a financial investment. I know at this point you may not want to think about further expenses, but investing in a good designer is an absolute worthwhile expenditure.

2: Test Your Content On The Actual Display
Have your designer review their content on the display every week to check in person how it looks. Seeing the piece as your viewers see it provides an essential perspective with which to create the right experience for them.

CONTENT
1: Complex vs. Simple
Balance is always the best solution regarding the question of complex vs. simple content. Creative content may grasp the viewers attention but making a piece that is funny or memorable without a clear call to action could fall short of your intent. This happens when people concentrate too much on creative content and forget the purpose of the content. Remember what you want your viewer to do once they’ve seen your piece.

2: Fresh Is King
There must always be fresh, updated, curious or useful content on your LED display. Not just ads. Otherwise, people will get accustomed to the LED screen and stop looking at it.
You must constantly provide updated content: ideally you should upload new useful content every day. Yes, every day. Fresh content holds audience attention and allows you to drive customer interaction to action in a dynamic, compelling way.

As you dive into content creation for your LED you will no doubt settle in to your own best practices but these guidelines should get you started.  Remember, LED displays are incredible tools for communicating your message but they are only as good as the content you run on them.