That boost came in the form of a double-sided FocusColor 19mm LED display. The Focus Digital Display model FC19-32112 was installed in front of her carwash in February 2012.

Her new sign has had a dramatic impact on her carwash—in March she saw a 34% increase in business and in April a 21% increase.

Dr. Myshka’s Experience with Focus Digital Displays

Dr. Myshka wanted a new sign for her business. She searched the internet for a cost-effective sign, where she found Focus Digital Displays and decided to contact us.

She was sold on purchasing from Focus Digital Displays after hearing our detailed explanation of the technical differences between an imported LED sign and our American-made LED sign. 

 “It led to the logical conclusion that if Focus Digital Displays has taken the time to educate me, an amateur, on video signage, then they will take time after the sale to provide great customer service,” Dr. Myshka said.

And she has seen her conclusion come true. From choosing her FocusColor 19mm LED Display to this day, Dr. Myshka said Focus Digital Displays educated her, executed the sale with a competitive price, and enthusiastically provides customer service—like how we patiently help her over the phone with the use of  the computer software.

She recommends Focus Digital Displays to others because of our competitive prices and our desire and commitment to always please the customer.

If you would like to learn how Focus Digital Displays can help you find the perfect sign for your business and experience our customer service, contact us today. 

Watchfire is engineered to stand up, designed to stand out, and proven to perform, so together with Focus Digital Displays we make digital sign communication simple.

Watchfire History

About 80 years ago, Watchfire began under the name Time-O-Matic. It first created sign flashers that lit up Broadway and New York City. Then in 1953 it created and manufactured the first electro mechanical time and temperature controllers. In the 1990s the factory expanded to 72,000 sq. feet and began using LEDs in message centers as well as time and temperature signs.

Since 2000, Watchfire’s LED signs have become one of the most sought out LED signs available and will continue to be for years to come.

Some advancements over the years include:

• 2001: Converted all LED products to oval wide angle ALInGap LEDs
• 2003: Introduced multi-color LEDs (35mm) that are 40% brighter
• 2004: Introduced Ignite graphics software
• 2005: Upgraded to a deeper color palette of 281 trillion colors
• 2010: Deployed higher efficacy LEDs to reduce power consumption 25-40%

Why Focus Digital Provides Watchfire Signs

Watchfire conforms to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and the International Sign Association’s criteria for brightness standards for outdoor LED signs. These guidelines were created to make sure LED digital displays are the appropriate brightness, conserve energy, support community goodwill and ensure that signs have a long life expectancy.

In 2011, Watchfire was the first LED sign manufacturer to acquire the UL-Energy Efficiency Certification.  This means they are in compliance with strict US efficiency requirements and are the most energy efficient LED displays in existence.

Contact us today if you would like to learn more about Focus Digital Displays outdoor LED signs manufactured by Watchfire and how we make digital sign communication simple!

Times Square is known worldwide for its hundreds of bright, beautiful LED digital displays above the walkways and on every corner that dazzle tourists. But digital displays weren’t always lighting up Times Square.

History of Times Square’s LED Signs

Times Square was named after The New York Times newspaper. Times Square advertising was at first on wooden signs. It wasn’t easy to change ads back then. It took a few months to paint an ad onto a sign.

But quickly Times Square became a pioneer area to use billboards with electronic lights. The scrolling ticker for the stock market was installed in 1928 and was one of the first types of signs that produced dynamic changing content every moment, like LED digital displays do today.

Times Square’s massive amounts of animated LED signs are now a symbolic image of New York. Times Square is the only neighborhood with zoning ordinances requiring building owners to display illuminated signs. The LED digital display density in NYC is now greater than that of Las Vegas.

But of course advertising a LED sign in Times Square comes with a price. The owner of the One Times Square building leaves his building empty and instead sells ad space on the structure for $300,000 a month.

The LED signs in Times Square are called spectaculars, which is a great name for any LED digital display. Some popular Times Square spectaculars are the Toshiba digital billboard directly under the New Year’s Eve ball, the curved seven-story NASDAQ sign and the curvy Coca-Cola LED sign. The first environmentally friendly digital billboard was powered by wind and solar energy and first lit in 2008.

You don’t have to advertise your business in Times Square to have effective marketing, but you can take some tips from successful businesses that advertise there by purchasing a Focus Digital Displays LED sign. You should contact Focus Digital Displays today to learn more about our spectacular digital displays.

A 10-year-long survey of businesses that installed new signs saw that 45% of new customers said they came to the business for the first time because of the sign. Here are 4 tips on how to make your Focus Digital Displays sign stand out in the sea of signs and bring in more new customers:

1. Big and Bold

If you think of any popular stores, their signs are big and as a result they attract your attention. Your digital display should use large text, and be a noticeable size to outshine those around it. Look at the signs near your business and make sure yours is large enough to compete against the rest.

2. Gives a Benefit

When writing your sign’s message, it is important to include a benefit. Benefits can range from discounts, to free consultations, to contests, etc. Think about who you are gearing your LED sign to and what promotions would attract them to make your LED digital display stand out. This helps people remember your company since you are offering something special that others aren’t.

3. Remember Time is Ticking

The customers who view your digital display usually don’t have much time to take it all in. This is why your LED sign must be easy to read and get to the point quickly. The wordy signs you see on roadways won’t keep attention, but your sign can if it has a simple message that connects to the viewer immediately. Try to use short phrases which will spark the curiosity of the reader.

4. Use Your LED Sign Functions

You already are a step ahead if you buy a LED digital display. If the signs around you are static billboards, they will become boring to the viewers and after while blend into the landscape. Yet with a LED sign, you can always keep it fresh, by changing your text, graphics and images, so it isn’t boring to your customers and instead is more appealing than those around it.

Buying a LED sign is the perfect way to ensure that your sign is distinct from the rest. Contact Focus Digital Displays today to learn more about getting your own LED digital display. 

Here are 3 tips for how to apply less is more to your LED digital display:

1. Know Your Audience

Before writing the message, think of specifically who you are writing to: moms, dads, retirees, working professionals, students, etc. This streamlines your message so instead of writing to many groups of people at once you are only writing to one. To determine your audience, think about the time of day and who might be passing by and reading your sign the most. If you focus your sign on that demographic, they will feel connected and want to contact you to learn more.

2. Think Twitter

Tweets must be 140 characters or less. Even though it is hard to get everything into that short amount of space, it is easy for viewers to quickly digest the information before they start losing interest.  When deciding what to put on your sign, try to make it the length of a Twitter post, and you will see how viewers really do stay plugged in. Some even recommend sign advertising to use six words or less. Try it out and see what you come up with.

3. Let your Sign Speak to Your Customers

Don’t load up your sign with formal language, but keep it casual so it’s easier to read. Plus, informal conversation uses fewer words than formal and relates more with customers. When writing the text, envision that you are speaking with a customer. Perhaps try saying what you want to write out loud to determine if it would fit in an ordinary conversation.

LED digital displays are the ideal way to advertise your products and one of the best, cost-effective methods you can use to increase revenue—especially when you use a clear, simple message. If you would like to learn more about how to employ the less is more principle on a LED sign, contact Focus Digital Displays today.

In Pompeii a wall painting was preserved that shows a baker distributing bread to portray the shop’s products. Even outside of the temples were signs that stated, “Sacrificial Bread Sold Here”.  After the Dark Ages, trade increased and so did advertising displays. Merchants would compete like some do now to see who could have the most elaborately, carved, gilded and brightly painted sign in front of their shop.

In 1393, King Richard II of England stated that all alehouses must post a display to help official ale tasters know who they were, but then the idea caught on and those signs became popular for promoting alehouses.

In the mid-1800s catalogues, newspapers, and other advertisements began, which continued into this century. The neon tube was also created, which brought new color and life to advertisements, but LED digital displays eventually even surpassed that.

The First LED

Nick Holonyak, Jr., who worked at General Electric Company, created the first practical LED in 1962. LEDs were commercially produced in the late 1960s, but only in a red light source that humans could not see in the day light. The military first used them as indicator lights. They were also used in laboratory and electronic testers. Then in the 1970s a variety of colors were created and new uses for LED lights arose.

At first they were put in only calculators, digital watches, test devices, etc. In the 1980s technology came that helped make LEDs brighter, more stable and cost efficient, so the industry began to grow tremendously. Now they are used in traffic control lights, car equipment, and of course LED digital displays.

Since time began people have been using signs to advertise their products. If you want to be part of the newest advancement in sign advertising, contact Focus Digital Displays to learn more about LED digital displays and how they have transformed the world of advertising.

Here are 4 reasons why you should choose a LED sign over a billboard every time:

1. Non-Static Images: Digital displays change every second, minute, hour or day if you want them to compared to billboards, on which you display one stationary message or image that eventually loses its meaning. Digital displays will keep customers’ attention since you can switch the text, image, graphics, etc., so your customers are always eager to see what’s new on your sign.

2. More for your Money: Typically you have to pay thousands of dollars a month to rent a billboard that doesn’t bring in much company profits. With a digital display, you do have an initial investment, but digital display advertising connects so well with customers you will see your company gain revenue and quickly make a return on your investment.

3. Always in Control: With a billboard, it is a long process to choose the perfect message, have it put up, and then take it down at a set time. But with a digital display, at the click of a button when you decide, you can change your message or graphics to match a new sale, or even give support to a community event. The sign is in your control, and not another company’s.

4. Keep Up with the Trend: Static billboards are getting phased out as digital starts to become the norm. Companies are realizing how billboards are losing their value with this society that connects more with the digital world. Don’t let your company be one that is left behind and still using billboard advertising. See why so many companies are choosing LED signs and noticing a significant growth in their revenue.

Contact Focus Digital Displays today to learn more about how you can get your own LED digital display.

Behind the Screen of a Digital Display

Pixels: A pixel is a light point or a LED. It is the tiniest unit of a picture that can be controlled. The pixels in a LED display are fixed in rows by columns in a two-dimensional grid called a pixel matrix. The more pixels you have in your LED digital display, the higher your resolution will be.

Pixel pitch: This is the distance between LEDs or pixels. It is measured in millimeters, which is where the 16mm to 35mm comes from on our product descriptions. Our 16mm signs have the highest resolution since the pixel pitch is the most condensed.

Focus Color: This is one of our sharpest, most vibrant displays and incorporates deep color palates that show high resolution videos, graphics, text and animations.

Focus Mono: This communicates all you need in a simplified way through grayscale shading, and amber or red pixels with animation and graphics abilities.

How We Price Our LED Signs

When you request a quote for one of our Focus Digital signs, the price is determined by all of the factors above. The more pixels or LEDs and the smaller the pixel pitch, the price will increase because of the higher amount of LEDs in the sign. The fewer the pixels and the higher the pixel pitch, the lower the price. But every cent invested in any digital display is worth it for how it increases your company’s revenue, and enhances your advertising and communication with your clients.

Plus, Focus Digital Displays provides numerous financing options and can work with any budget. Contact us today to learn more about buying your own cost-effective LED digital display.

Las Vegas is a city full of lights and sound, but Freemont Street stands out with a light show on a LED digital display that attracts more than 25,000 visitors each day. The LED display canopy is 1,500 feet in length, or five football fields long and held up by 16 columns. This famous LED screen has 12.5 million synchronized LED lamps, plus 180 strobes and eight robotic mirrors per block, which work together to create a six minute long light show that daily dazzles and wows visitors from all over the world.

There is one LED digital display on the list still waiting to be built in Dubai and will be the largest LED display of all time. It will be constructed on a commercial office building—The Podium. It is being designed by UAE development company Tameer Holding, and will be implemented as the building’s façade, and will even allow the flow of natural light into the building. It will be visible up to a mile away and 33-stories high.

A little closer to home, for the popular South by Southwest festival in Austin,TX, there was a huge LED screen on 4^th and Congress Ave. Nike has been advertising its new NikeFuel wristband on the extra-long and large digital display screen and piquing the interest of many SXSW visitors through its massive, bright and colorful sign.  Did you know that Nike’s LED sign uses the same technology as our digital displays sold at Focus Digital?

We make LED signs of all sizes, so if you would like to learn more about one for your own place of business, contact Focus Digital today. 

True or False: LED displays are very expensive.

FALSE: LED displays have an initial investment, but in the end save you much more money than if you used other advertising venues. They also use less electricity than standard lights, so they help your utlity bill costs. Also, LED signs last a long time, so you don’t have to worry about replacing them.

True or False: Digital displays can be used for schools, churches, businesses, realtors and funeral homes.

TRUE: Funeral homes are now using LED displays to commemorate loved ones by showing his or her picture, information about the funeral service and where to find the obituary. Realtors are also using digital displays to advertise their home listings. Schools, churches and businesses employ them to connect with the community.

True or False: Most small towns will not allow you to use LED digital displays.

FALSE: Many smaller communities do have regulations about what kind of LED sign you can use, such as how often your sign changes, and its brightness, but as long as you follow those rules you are permitted to advertise with a digital display. If you are unsure if you are allowed to put up a LED sign, Focus Digital can help you determine if you are in compliance with your local laws.

True or False: Outdoor LED signs increase sales 15-150 percent at 10 percent the cost of other advertising.

TRUE: One of the best ways to increase your revenue is through an outdoor digital display. Since most businesses get half of their sales or more from signage, LED signs are the way to go if you are looking for an opportunity to boost your sales.

Contact Focus Digital today to learn more about LED digital displays and how they can benefit your place of businesses.