Guide
How do you manage digital signage across many locations?
Give the screen network a structure before you add content. Group screens the way the business is run, tag them for things that change, build content for each screen shape, plan it by date and time, decide who may publish, and check what each screen is showing. Then each campaign goes out once, to the right screens.
Start with the structure of the network
At one site, someone can walk past each screen and see what it shows. Across many branches, stores or offices, that stops working. A network-wide campaign, a regional offer and a local notice can all be due on the same day, each for a different set of screens. Without a structure, teams update screens one at a time and lose track of which version is where.
Nexus Signage organises screens by group, tag and map. Groups hold the stable structure, such as region, site or department, and content can be targeted at a whole group. Tags cover classifications that change, such as a campaign, an orientation or a maintenance state, and screens can be filtered by tag. Screens with saved coordinates appear on a map, where selecting a cluster lists those screens with their status and current content.
Agree group and tag names before the first screens are registered, and write them down. Names that make sense to a head-office team should also make sense to someone at a site.
Build content that fits each screen
Screens across a network rarely share one shape. An entrance display may be landscape, while a column beside the counter is portrait. Content designed for one will look cramped or stretched on the other.
Nexus Signage provides templates and a designer for landscape, portrait or custom canvas sizes. Opening a template creates an editable draft copy that is independent of the original in the gallery. In Nexus Signage, each save creates a new version of a design, and saved versions are listed for review.
Agree one central layout for each screen shape before sites start designing.
Plan content by time and place
A multi-location plan answers two questions: which screens, and when. A breakfast offer, a branch event and a holiday notice each need their own dates, days and hours.
In Nexus Signage, playlists have per-item timing and preview, and schedules run by date range, weekday and daily play time. Schedules can be viewed on day, week, month and year calendars or on an hour-by-hour timeline, and overlapping items are flagged. A schedule is published first and then assigned to selected screens or groups, as a separate step.
Plan recurring content, such as opening-hours notices or weekly promotions, as schedules instead of manual changes.
Publish once, to the right group
On a large estate, changing screens one by one is slow and easy to get wrong.
In Nexus Signage, content is published to individual screens or to whole groups. Content can be assigned to every screen in a group in one step, and several screens or groups can be selected and handled together.
The players behind those screens often vary from site to site. Nexus Signage runs on Android, Windows, Samsung Tizen and LG webOS players, and in a web browser. Specific models are confirmed for each estate.
Separate who creates from who publishes
In a network with many contributors, the person who drafts a local notice is not always the right person to put it on screens across a region.
Nexus Signage has predefined and custom roles, so people who create content need not be the people who publish it. Each custom role is a named set of permissions. Decide early who can create, who can publish and who can only view.
Know what each screen is showing
Once content is out, the central team needs to know which screens are live and what they are playing, without phoning each site.
Nexus Signage shows every screen's live or offline state and current content, in a list, grid or map view. In-app notifications record device events, such as a player restart or crash, with the device affected. If a Nexus Signage screen loses its internet connection, it keeps playing the content it last received.
Before you roll out: a checklist
- Agree group and tag names before screens are registered.
- List the screen shapes in the estate and agree a layout for each.
- Plan recurring content as schedules.
- Publish to groups wherever a message applies to more than one screen.
- Decide who creates, who publishes and who only views.
- Confirm the player platforms and models for each site.
- Check screen status after each major campaign goes live.
Frequently asked questions
How should screens be organised across many locations?
Use groups for structure that rarely changes, such as region, site or department, and tags for classifications that change, such as a campaign or a maintenance state. In Nexus Signage, content can be targeted at a whole group, and screens can be filtered by tag.
Can different locations show different content at different times?
Yes. Nexus Signage schedules content by date range, weekday and daily play time, and a published schedule is assigned to selected screens or screen groups.
How can a central team see what each screen is playing?
Nexus Signage shows every screen's live or offline state and current content, in a list, grid or map view.
What happens if a screen loses its internet connection?
In Nexus Signage, a screen that loses its internet connection keeps playing the content it last received.
Which players does Nexus Signage run on?
Nexus Signage runs on Android, Windows, Samsung Tizen and LG webOS players, and in a web browser. Specific models are confirmed for each estate.
Book a Demo to see group publishing and screen status in Nexus Signage.
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