BrightSign Unveils Touchless Engagement Solutions

Andrew Neale

BrightSign, LLC, the global market leader in digital signage media players, has announced BrightLink and BrightMenu to help retailers, restaurants and other businesses safely operate in the face of new health regulations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

BrightLink is a new touchless solution that eliminates the need to physically engage with touch-interactive digital signage. By simply scanning a QR code, customers transfer control of the experience to their phones to browse or interact with content as they normally would, eliminating the need for physical contact.

BrightMenu uses very similar BrightSign technology, but delivers a one-way experience whereby patrons scan a QR code and receive the restaurant’s menu on their mobile device – no internet connection, no app to download, and no printed menus.

Ann Holland, VP of Marketing at BrightSign told us “Safely resuming operations requires businesses to reimagine the experience they offer customers, particularly as it relates to any sort of physical engagement. We all want to get back to work, and at BrightSign we especially want to help our partners – retail, higher ed, corporate, hospitality and more – open up for business in as safe a way as possible.”

The BrightLink solution announced addresses many of the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19 – retailers in particular, but also higher education, museums, amusement parks and other settings where touch screens were previously in use. As a phased re-opening of the economy takes shape, customers will bring a heightened awareness of safe hygiene, gravitating to proprietors that take steps to curtail pathogen spread in their places of business.

BrightSign CEO Jeff Hastings said “COVID-19 gave us pause to think creatively about how our platform and our core technologies can be applied to help businesses operate under today’s very unique circumstances. Allowing customers to browse and control content via their phones is a natural way of empowering them to enrich their shopping and leisure experiences, while slowing virus spread by eliminating contact with high-touch surfaces.”

In recent years, many retailers have invested heavily in interactive signage that customers will now be very reluctant to touch. BrightLink enables customers to scan a QR code and remotely control the display via their mobile phones. The custom interface lets customers access detailed product information, discount coupons, wayfinders and even interactive product demonstrations – no app or internet connection required. And once a customer connects with the display, the retailer can then invite them to opt-in to the store’s loyalty program, or even complete a sale via the retailer’s mobile e-commerce platform.

Restaurants face their own unique set of challenges as they resume dine-in operations. With communal menu usage now discouraged or prohibited, proprietors seek alternatives to reduce the cost and waste of single-use printed menus. BrightMenu makes it possible for customers to scan a QR code with their mobile phone and browse the full menu. Additionally, restauranteurs can promote daily specials and invite patrons to join the restaurant’s frequent diner program, all from within the menu interface on the customer’s phone. This complete, affordable menu solution does not require an internet connection, a digital display or even an existing website menu.


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