Quality vs. Quantity

When it comes time to light up the screen for the big day, you want your display to dazzle the crowds, not leave them feeling under-hyped. But when it comes to showing game day content, what do fans want more, quality or quantity? We sat down with an account content manager, Brad Bonde from Daktronics High School Park & Rec department who knows content inside and out.

Q: How much content should schools consider?

Brad: It depends on the comfort level of the operator with the technology. Some people will want to use it as much as possible while others might be new to the technology and learning the ropes. Oftentimes in high schools, we see that an operator has had it tacked on to their regular position, so they’re learning as they go. It may just depend on how much time they have to invest in determining how much content they need. This is where incorporating the students in a classroom can be very helpful for creating new content and laying out a game day schedule.

Q: What do you see schools needing the most?

Brad: Our most popular selling packages is Team Spirit which has content for all sports. The content is personalized for the school with school colors and the school’s mascot. Most content packages contain 20 graphics. A popular item is our Team Spirit Cheer package which may be used for all sport applications.

Q: There are content packages available to consumers with hundreds of graphics. What amount is feasible?

Brad: Honestly, it’s not feasible to use all those graphics. Your operator will probably be overwhelmed, and there’s not enough game time to use them. Many are repeats. We’ve found that when you invest the time to personalize a core group of graphics to the school, they serve their purposes quite well and provide the best impact. When graphics are offered in mass like that, nothing is customized to the customer.

Q:  What is a good mix of content for schools to use?

Brad: We’ve put together content packages for users. This helps pull some of the pain out of the decision-making process for them and provides a good idea of what other schools out there are using. Our goal isn’t to try to inundate them with graphics they don’t need. We want to set them up for success so their display looks its best, they enjoy using our product and are happy with the results.

Templates are very useful, especially for player headshots. Operators simply take a picture of the player, plug it in with their name and it’s ready to go. Sponsor feature packages are a nice option as well. You can do a game start countdown with “Brought to you by” with your sponsor’s information on there.

Additionally, helpful hints accompany the email with the content options so user “how to” information is all located in one convenient spot. Schools always want to keep up with the most recent, coolest trends. That’s one way we can help keep them looking sharp.

Q: If people have the inclination and time, what content do you suggest they create?

Brad: They could take a look at what we have in our different content packages. We’ve spent a lot of time figuring what would make a good show. The end goal, whether it’s content we’ve created or operators make themselves, is to create the best game day experience. We do find many users are glad to have a templated product to plug and play that is customized to save them some time.

The content you use on your display is what makes it come alive.
Is content important?
Absolutely.
You want your display to not only work, but to wow.