The challenges in this ever-changing world have led to an accelerated demand for digital transformation in recent years. Now more than ever, there is a strong need to adapt to and evolve alongside multiple waves of disruption.

In fact, many business leaders whom I have spoken to said that the volatile business climate has not reduced the appetite for organizations to transform. On the contrary, businesses are finding greater urgency for change across a broad spectrum of activities, from redefining their service offerings to uplifting customer experiences.

Samsung Kiosks integrated into KFC Philippines’ restaurants

Another example is KFC Philippines, a quick service restaurant serving its secret recipe fried chicken at close to 400 stores nationwide. In 2017, its digital transformation journey first started with the integration of more than 1,000 Samsung large-format displays pre-installed with the MagicINFO platform, for digital menu boards across all stores. This helped KFC improve customer experiences by catering more visually appealing images, whilst ensuring their operations teams could continually update their menu board and promotions effectively and efficiently.

In 2022, KFC accelerated its digital transformation journey by integrating Samsung KM24A kiosks in restaurants and OM55B outdoor displays in drive-thru stores. By the end of 2024, 800 kiosks and over 150 OMB55B outdoor displays will also be deployed to minimize queues and increase order accuracy, and further elevate customer experiences.

A New Era of Innovation

The successful deployment story of KFC Philippines is a reminder of the risk-taking and innovation that are needed in today’s dynamic and competitive marketplace, whether in the F&B, retail, hospitality, or other sectors.

Staying ahead of the curve with our customers and partners means:

• Having the urgency to take digital transformation to another level: With dynamic market conditions, agility is needed more than ever, with technology providing the crucial breakthrough in unlocking new value. As KFC discovered, digital technologies could radically open opportunities not possible before, enabling further growth.

• Meeting the need for integrated solutions: While point solutions are attractive short-term options, larger and more complex challenges such as meeting sustainability goals require a more strategic and integrated approach. Similarly, to meet big market opportunities, such as winning over customers in the Gen Z and Gen M demographics, businesses have to redefine and transform their processes in a holistic rather than piecemeal fashion.

• Not compromising on sustainability and security: Sustainability is now central to everything businesses do, from procuring to using energy efficiently and finally recycling their products from customers, post-purchase. Similarly, security has to be integrated into all parts of a digital business, ensuring that best practices are incorporated seamlessly to minimize risks while undergoing rapid digitalization at scale.

These sentiments were also shared amongst participants at the Samsung Display Tech Summit 2023, which was awarded Bronze for the “Best Brand Experience – B2B” event, at the prestigious Campaign Asia Pacific’s Event Marketing Awards 2024.

Held in October last year, the Summit was an immersive 2-day program in Seoul, South Korea, attended by enterprise customers and partners across the Southeast Asia and Oceania (SEAO) region. Here, we shared our technology vision while showcasing our latest display, IT and industrial solutions and services to help enterprises become more agile and competitive in the fast-evolving digital world.

An Integrated Approach to Big Challenges

With these same priorities in mind, Samsung is ready to help enterprise customers overcome their challenges and meet business goals with an entire ecosystem of products, services, and partners.

Through Samsung’s unifying offering for integrated IT and devices solutions and services, it is our company’s vision to help businesses in this region push the boundaries of what they can do and to enable the next dimension of digital transformation for organizations. The key here is seamlessly integrating end-to-end offerings in devices, services, and solutions to connect people and enable them to be more productive. In each area, Samsung is bringing its market leading expertise in technology and solutions.

Samsung has a wide range of devices such as the well-loved Galaxy series smartphones and devices that with industry-leading security innovations like Samsung Knox Matrix, infrastructure offerings from system air-conditioners to mobile networks as well as strong leadership positioning in display technologies. For the past 14 consecutive years, we have been an industry leader in the global signage market[1] by pushing innovation in LED and Micro LED technologies and also, developing a product strategy with a focus on sustainability that was recently recognized by System Contractor News, a leading audio and visual publication, through the Installation Product Awards for Most Innovative Sustainable Product Strategy in June 2023.

Combined with its solutions for device, display, content and smart building management, and enterprise grade Knox security services, Samsung can provide a holistic portfolio of seamlessly integrated offerings such as eco-conscious innovations showcased at CES 2024, to create the modern digital enterprise founded on commitments to security and sustainability.

Such an integrated approach would benefit, for example, an organization that wants to create a new company-wise workspace and is considering various options to not just optimize spaces but also enable new hybrid work experiences. A prime case study is the Jeju Dream Tower, where Samsung has provided smart signage for lobbies and rooms, TVs for all hotel rooms, central air-conditioning solutions, room management and mobile device systems.

For Every Business Need

Technology is crucial but only one part of the answer. To ensure that the various pieces of the puzzle come together to produce the desired results, Samsung works with trusted and experienced partners to transform products and services into end-to-end solutions.

Each industry is different and so are the needs. This is why Samsung also provides an array of solutions, products and services specifically designed for various verticals, ensuring that they are tailored to deliver results desired in each industry.

[1] Samsung Electronics achieved a 31.1% share of sales in the commercial display market in 2022, according to market researcher Omdia, ranking first. With this, Samsung Electronics proves that it is the strongest player in the commercial display market, and maintained the No. 1 position for 14 consecutive years from 2009 to 2022.” (Note: Consumer TVs, along with Commercial Lite and Hospitality TVs used for signage are excluded.)

In case you missed the event, take a look at some of the highlights from Samsung’s showcase at ISE 2023 below.

▲ ISE 2023 was held at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. This was the second year in a row ISE was held in Barcelona.

▲ ISE 2023 was held at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. This was the second year in a row ISE was held in Barcelona.

The guiding principle for Samsung this year was “Everyday Sustainability.” Through its new AV products and solutions, Samsung hopes to highlight sustainability across the entire product lifecycle, including sourcing, production, distribution, using and recycling.

▲ Visitors learned about Samsung’s eco-conscious efforts across all five stages of the product lifecycle.

▲ The theme of “Everyday Sustainability” showcased at Samsung’s booth attracted the attention of visitors from all over the world.

Redefining Hybrid Work and Learning

The “Samsung Kiosk” Windows version (Model Name: KMC-W) allows businesses and retailers to optimize the customer experience with expanded support for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS. With its enhanced capabilities and all-in-one functionality, the Samsung Kiosk won an ‘ISE Best of Show’ by AV Technology. While exploring the booth, one manager from the retail industry said the Kiosk “is a great solution to attract customers and create a seamless experience.”

▲ Visitors were drawn to the “Samsung Kiosk” and had the opportunity to experience the display’s usability. Samsung incorporated use of the Kiosk as part of their own booth experience at ISE.

The Wall (Model Name: IWB) and The Wall All-in-One (Model Name: IAB) provide awe-inspiring, immersive screens for businesses. The Wall All-in-One was honored with the ‘ISE Best of Show’ by Installation and ‘Top New Technology (TNT) Awards’ for Video Wall Hardware showcasing its impressive and beautiful display features. While discussing The Wall, a professional from the European signage industry noted, “The photo quality is brilliant thanks to the incredibly small pixel pitch.”

▲ Visitors to the booth watched and listened intently while learning about The Wall IAB’s striking features and easy installation.

The Samsung Flip Pro makes it easier than ever to collaborate with a seamless environment. Users can connect to the Flip with multiple devices at once, edit documents and share content in real time. The Flip Pro’s industry-leading features earned it three awards at ISE: ‘ISE Best of Show’ by Tech & Learning, the ‘Top New Technology (TNT) Awards’ for Interactive Whiteboards and the ‘2023 INAVATION Awards’ for Communication & Collaboration Display Product. Visitors to the booth enjoyed testing the whiteboard and expressed satisfaction with the interface’s usability.

▲ Visitors to the booth tested the Flip Pro interactive whiteboard in person and commended its intuitive user experience.

▲ A mirrored PC screen with the Flip Pro makes collaboration easier for businesses and educators, even in remote environments.

Eco-Conscious Outdoor Signage That Shines

The new model of the Outdoor LED Signage XHB series delivers a peak brightness of 8,000 nits and can be installed in Concave, Convex, S shape, Fascia or 90 °L type shapes. The new XHB series has also been upgraded to be more eco-conscious, with power consumption reduced by over 15% compared to the previous model. One viewer commented that the LED signage “marks a new chapter for Samsung and is one of the standout features of the booth.”

▲ Visitors to the booth, particularly those in the sports industry, marveled at the XHB series.

▲ Viewers explored the XHB series display’s different form factors, enabling flexible design and installation.

▲ Viewers explored the XHB series display’s different form factors, enabling flexible design and installation.

EV charging stations are an emerging area for advertising and upselling opportunities. Samsung’s latest smart signage for outdoor EV chargers (Model Name: OH24B) offers unmatched connectivity and UL-verified visibility to display crystal clear content — leading the signage solution to win the ‘ISE Best of Show’ by AV Technology. One visitor to the booth commented on “the efficient operation and upselling opportunities” that are made possible by solutions like the OH24B.

▲ Business representatives visiting the booth were intrigued by the outdoor signage for EV chargers.

Reducing On-Site Visits With Remote Management

Samsung’s cloud-based MagicINFO makes ‘Remote Management’ easy. Through Remote Management function, users can monitor a number of connected signages and manage settings like volume and screen brightness, plus troubleshoot from a single online portal. This leads to fewer site visits for an efficient management of multiple signage, on top of preventing the energy wastes by easily dimming or turning off signage when they’re not needed.

▲ Remote Management makes it easy to control multiple displays at the same time from one cloud-based platform.

▲ It was an exciting year at ISE 2023, with a record number of attendees visiting the event.

“We are committed to ensuring everyday sustainability throughout our signage portfolio and finding meaningful ways to minimize our environmental impact as part of our journey toward a more circular economy,” said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to showcase our vision for how smart signage can help enable everyday sustainability while unlocking incredible new opportunities for businesses at ISE.”

Building Technologies that contribute to Eco-Conscious Digital Signage

At ISE this year, Samsung will highlight the company’s sustainability initiatives based on its new environmental strategy announced in September 2022. Pre-registered visitors will be able to see Samsung’s environmental vision come to life, with the sustainability zone at the booth showcasing the eco-conscious practices applied to digital signage products. These practices are based on the five stages of the product lifecycle – sourcing, production, distribution, using, and recycling.

Samsung’s 2023 smart signage products (QHC, QMC, QBC) are approximately 40% slimmer than previous models at 28.5mm thickness. Through this, the number of shipping containers required for logistics after production can be reduced by more than 20%[1] compared to the previous model. In addition, smart signage products support automatic screen brightness adjustment by adopting an illuminance sensor which reacts to surrounding light conditions, helping users manage their power consumption automatically. Plus, the resin used for the rear covers contains 10% of Post-Consumer Materials (PCM).

▲ The Remote Management function will enable users to simply monitor the number of connected devices and easily manage different devices, as well as remotely control settings such as power ON/OFF and screen brightness.

Samsung’s cloud-based MagicINFO solution enhances Remote Management and helps to manage multiple signage displays and a variety of content efficiently. The Remote Management function will enable users to simply monitor the number of connected devices, their types and errors, and easily manage different devices, as well as remotely control settings such as screen brightness. Plus, this solution will offer other features including device health diagnostics, informing users of issues related to cable connection, device temperature and network disruption.

At ISE 2023, Samsung will also be running a separate solution seminar zone, introducing visitors to the company’s new and differentiated technologies. Its soon-to-be-announced cloud signage platform will offer a wide range of energy-saving solutions that empower users to manage and reduce their energy usage. New solutions include real-time power consumption monitoring, timed luminance scheduling, remote brightness adjustment and automatic device management. This comprehensive platform will integrate and connect LCD signage, LED signage, and B2B TVs to provide a seamless user experience.

Introducing New 2023 Outdoor Signage — Large LED Screens and Small-Sized Displays Unveiled

Samsung is announcing new signage products at ISE 2023. Firstly, the company will release its 2023 outdoor LED signage[2] (Model Name: XHB series), built for the sports industry and spectacular landmark locations.

The XHB series is available in four models: P6 (6mm pixel pitch), P8, P10 and P16, all of which produce light at an astonishing peak brightness of 8,000 nits exceptionally clear and stunning picture quality – even when in direct sunlight. Furthermore, the standardized module design of the XHB guarantees flexible design and installation, including Concave (maximum of 2500R curvature), Convex, S shape, Fascia, and 90 °L type.

With a design twice as thin as the previous model, the XHB series can be installed in a seamless way, with the installation time also reduced by more than half for improved convenience. Furthermore, improved energy efficiency means the XHB reduces power consumption by over 15% compared to its predecessor and can reduce approximately 2,492 tons of CO2 emissions every year, which is equivalent to the amount of CO2 sequestered by about 290,000 30 year old pine trees in one year[3].

The XHB series will be available for ordering starting from ISE 2023, with some of the first models already being installed as electronic scoreboards at the home stadiums of globally recognized US Baseball teams, the New York Mets and The World Champion Houston Astros ahead of the 2023 season.

Finally, Samsung is introducing a small-sized, 24-inch outdoor signage display (Model Name: OH24B) to cater to the electric vehicle (EV) charger market. As demand for EVs continues to rise, it is important to provide solutions that enable a more connected, enjoyable charging experience, while providing upselling opportunities for businesses and retailers.

The outdoor signage excels in both durability and outdoor visibility across a wide range of diverse conditions. This high resilience and versatility are provided by peak brightness of 1,500 nits, and a slim, metal design, as well as water, dust and liquid resistance (IP66, Ingress Protection), and IK-10 Level glass protection. A high temperature, rigid liquid crystal panel is also applied to provide further durability even under strong sunlight. In addition, the display offers removable Wi-Fi/Bluetooth accessories which

can optimize the receiving rate based on installation conditions. Finally, the small signage boasts unparalleled energy efficiency with the industry’s lowest power consumption[4] (a maximum of 90W) above 20-inches, perfect for an EV charging station which requires 24/7 operation and information delivery.

New Kiosk and Flip Pro’s Exclusive Solution Deliver Enhanced Device Compatibility

Samsung is also announcing the latest model, ‘Samsung Kiosk’ Windows version (Model Name: KMC-W). In addition to the existing model operating Tizen (OS), ‘Samsung Kiosk’ Windows version is compatible with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise OS to expand customer choices.

This new Kiosk adopts Intel’s 11th generation Intel Core Processor. It is equipped with 8GB DRAM and 256GB SSD, providing fast processing and ample storage space to meet the fast-evolving industry demands beyond healthcare, hospitality, and retail.

The company will introduce a new solution, exclusive for the ‘Samsung Flip,’ meeting the demand of both educators and businesses to be connected to various devices simultaneously. It enables users to bring the content or applications in their PC to the Flip by connecting a PC with the Flip. Especially, users can write over content brought from their PC on the screen of Flip and share in real-time. The new solution enhances usability for remote work and provides a seamless work environment by allowing users to optimize and utilize the screen to connect with other device screens.

For more information about Samsung’s impactful SMART signage and solutions, please visit https://displaysolutions.samsung.com/ise2023.

[1] Based on the number of boxed devices per-40ft container. Based on annual sales volume of indoor smart signage in 2022.

[2] Product availability and specifications may vary by country.

[3] The amount of carbon emissions for XHB was compared with that of its predecessor (XPR) based on sales in 2022. 

XHB’s annual carbon emissions were calculated via Carbon Footprint Calculator (https://www.kcen.kr/tanso/intro.green) in January 16, 2023. (high voltage, summer).

XHB’s carbon reduction effect equivalent to planting trees was calculated based on The Average Amount of Carbon Absorbed by Forest Trees Devised by National Institute of Forest Science, Korea (ver. 1.2) on July, 2019.

[4] Internal market analysis

The retail environment is highly competitive, with retailers constantly looking for better and more efficient ways to catch the eyes of potential customers. Amid this climate, the benefits of digital displays are well-established, with their impact seen across retail providers from shopping malls to quick service restaurants (QSRs). In the restaurant sphere in particular, digital displays have been found to deliver improved visibility and an elevated overall brand experience compared to analog displays.

But digital signage is good for more than just the consumer. The technology has also been shown to reduce costs for businesses. Below, we explore the wide-reaching benefits of going digital.

Putting the Benefits Into Numbers

When we compare using analog and digital menu boards in restaurants, it becomes clear that utilizing Samsung SMART Signage provides a significant advantage over the use of static lightbox menus. While installing digital signage causes businesses to initially incur slightly higher upfront costs, it has been shown that those businesses receive a higher return on investment within two years of installation. Five years on from the installation of digital signage businesses stand to save around USD10,000 per store according to Samsung’s ‘Improving ROI with digital menu boards’ white paper.

In Samsung’s whitepaper, it is shown that if a QSR brand with 250 stores nationwide were to utilize static signage, it would require a total of six lightbox-style analog menu boards at each location, in addition to six printed menu boards. These boards typically need to be replaced every two months, while the fluorescent lamps for lightboxes and electrical ballasts must be replaced every 18 months. In addition to the annual maintenance fee this all adds up to a considerable cumulative cost. However, the use of digital menu boards immediately eliminates maintenance costs as well as the expenses related to creating new printouts for static menu boards.

Digital Signage for Versatility

But the savings are only the beginning, with Samsung SMART Signage able to deliver a variety of content from images to dynamic videos, all in vivid, vibrant colors. SMART Signage is also engineered to operate 24/7, providing night and day visibility that is unmatched by analog displays and ensuring that customers are deeply engaged with content. These stellar displays are supported by Samsung’s powerful MagicINFO content management solution, which enables users to conveniently manage all of their visual signage from one centralized location. This increased flexibility allows businesses to quickly and conveniently update promotions, offerings and messages to reflect consumer trends and important events, alleviating the slowdowns and missed sales opportunities brought about by businesses having to have their static assets made and delivered.

As outlined above, while the initial installation cost for digital signage is slightly higher, it has been shown that businesses that upgrade from analog to digital signage save around USD 10,000 per store after five years. For a business that operates 250 stores, this equates to an estimated USD 2.5 million in savings from using digital menu boards. And that is before the benefits from potential increases in sales and improved customer experiences are taken into account.

Beyond the Money

But the benefits of digital signage go far beyond just savings and better-looking menus. Digital displays equip a business to evolve and create opportunities that just aren’t possible with analog alternatives. Consumers are constantly looking for the most up-to-date information and best promotions, and the ability of digital menu boards to be updated in real-time to reflect demand, trends and unexpected events allows businesses to act quickly and efficiently.

What’s more, the time required to update menus and other forms of content is drastically reduced with SMART Signage. The time between starting design planning for content and actually seeing it displayed to customers can realistically be as short as two weeks with digital signage, while simpler modifications such as updating product information or complying with new calorie count posting requirements can be made in as little as two hours. Best of all, once these changes are finalized they can be distributed across the entire signage network instantaneously.

This dynamic, in-the-moment approach provides more engaging experiences for customers and drives both satisfaction and sales. In QSRs in particular, purchasing decisions are often made on the spot. Thus, customers in this environment must be equipped with the most up-to-date and accurate information to ensure that they make purchasing decisions that they are happy with. Digital signage allows them to do just this.

Samsung SMART Signage installed at McDonald’s stores in Korea

The benefits of digital displays go far beyond better looking signage. SMART Signage is the most efficient and effective solution when it comes to saving on costs, introducing versatility into the signage and fostering genuine and mutually beneficial consumer relationships. As the age of information continues to progress, Samsung SMART Signage is providing the platform to ensure that the retail sphere is equipped to be a leader when it comes to consumer communications.