Grab their attention

Employee communications channels

TV Screens

Purpose	Typical audience	Pros	Cons	Can you do it yourself?	Thinking points
Big messages for the big screen can get you big attention - provided TV screens are available, of course	All DSM colleagues – although site-specific content is especially suited to production workers	A high-impact, free channel that’s ideal if you have video content to share	Not everyone sees the TV screens, plus you have limited space for longer messages	Yes – although you need to connect with the relevant TV screen owners	This is a self-contained message with no opportunity to link to complementary content

What is this channel?

Some DSM sites have TV screens in public areas (reception, the canteen, etc) showing continuously rotating DSM content, sometimes broadcast via narrowcasting (ie, specific content for a specific site). Each topic is displayed for a few seconds, sometimes with a short video to spice things up.

It’s a striking way to grab attention - provided colleagues are paying attention, of course. Those deep in thought (or conversation) don’t always notice the screen - or study it in detail. But if you make your content concise and compelling… who knows?

What and when is it typically used?

Think about your audience; can you share your messages properly and reach them via this channel? Check out the comparison notes below and weigh your pros versus cons. This will help you decide how to spend your time/ money for the best result.

Benefits

It’s free!
A great attention-grabber.
Sites with a local channel can add site-specific content easily.
An ideal channel to celebrate success.
Information and communication is much appreciated - especially by blue-collar workers.
Ideal for showing videos.

Challenges

Not all DSM sites have narrowcasting installed (yet), so adding content may mean manual work for the TV owner.
Narrowcasting can be perceived as ‘too high end’.
You cannot measure who - or how many people have seen your message.
Limited space and time to convey a message.
You cannot link-through to a website.
Audio can’t be played everywhere, so subtitles are needed for videos.
Technical issues are a risk (eg, some screens are no longer state-of-the-art).
You need to establish who oversees screens management.

How to use this channel

General advice

Static post
Write your message using a maximum 40-50 words and find a suitable image to accompany it.
Video post
The shorter the better, with a maximum of one minute (which is already very long). Always use subtitles, ideally in local language.
Many sites have standalone TV screens featuring rotating news (slides and video). First check with local site management for their guidelines and the format your content needs to be delivered in.
When submitting an article for one of the News Center channels, you’ll see a field that asks you to develop your text for a TV Screen. This means that your message will feature automatically on all TV screens where this channel is installed.

Things to keep in mind

Your content needs to be standalone. Users can’t click through for ‘more’.
It’s therefore essential that you focus hard on your key message.
Ask a colleague to check if your message is clear - and if they understand the significance of the accompanying image.
Be aware that getting content live can take up to a week (depending on the availability of the person uploading your content!)

KPIs for this channel

How will you know ‘what success looks like’? Measuring the response to this channel /tool could give you a better understanding of whether you’ve reached your communication objective. KPIs can be qualitative or quantitative. Here are some ideas:

Bottom line: It’s difficult to gauge who watched your message and how much attention they paid to it.
Check how many working days it has been playing, and then check the average amount of people in the facility over that period. This at least gives you a maximum potential number of viewers!

Final thoughts

If this a stand-alone initiative, then go ahead! However, if this is part of a wider initiative, you might want to take a step back and look at the broader communications perspective. A good starting point is our 9-step approach to creating your communication plan - which includes an overview of all the internal channels and tools.

Downloads

News Center

Our own virtual daily newspaper network is great for communicating your news!
Images

They say a picture is worth a thousand words – and for good reason - the smart choice of imagery can help you create a compelling and memorable message.
Handouts & posters

A well-designed poster has real stopping power and with our specially designed templates you can easily create attractive and professional posters.