AUTO SHOP KEEPS THE CONVERSATION GOING WITH LED MESSAGE DISPLAY

12^th Street Auto Care Center is a NAPA AutoCare Center based in Sioux Falls, SD. Daktronics recently sat down and asked owner and manager Shane Copeland about his experience with his new Daktronics LED message display.

What sign did you replace with the Daktronics LED display?

We had a typical reader board, so we had to put letters and numbers in manually with a long pole. We couldn’t change it quickly or do designs, and we were limited with the amount of letters we could put in. This is a much better option.

Did you consider any other displays or companies? Why did you choose Daktronics?

We considered some others, but we like to keep it local, and since Daktronics is in South Dakota we see that as a benefit. The sales and service is great. They helped us through all the setup, and they’re right here if we need help.

The Daktronics board is higher quality than the competition. It’s a big price tag, but there’s a reason for that. It’s a higher quality product and a better display.

How has the Venus Control Suite been to use? How do you handle content?

VCS is working great. We had a staff member go through training, and he got it from day one. He can look at the display image before putting it up there. Anybody can go through the training and get it. It works great, and it’s not overly complicated.

We put a little of everything up there. We download a lot from our vendors like Continental and Cooper. We use NAPA content from Daktronics on the Venus Control Suite every month. It works great, and we don’t have to log in to the NAPA Auto Care website, download content, transfer content and all that. It’s easy, convenient and quick.

We’ve also found stuff online and put it up there. Also, we upload ads from our local branding agency, so we have the same ads on social media. We want the same ads on all our digital platforms everywhere. So we’re consistent with what people see on Facebook and on our digital sign.

What has customer response been?

We haven’t specifically measured that, but new customers come in and fill out a little form. When we ask how they found us, they say they saw our sign. We get compliments from new and existing customers and friends, so I know people are seeing it.

What else would you share with a company that is considering a Daktronics digital display?

If you’re going from no reader board at all, it’s a no brainer. We can run a special right now, we can run ads in a queue. It’s simple to run and very visible, day and night.

It’s another marketing source. If you have 30 thousand people going by, they’re going to see it. You can run radio or newspaper, but this is a more effective way to spend a marketing budget. It works. It’s an investment, but a good investment, especially in a high traffic area.

Daktronics customer service has been great. There’s good communication at the front end with sales, but someone is always ready to walk us through any issues, too.