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Restaurants and cafes can use a digital sign all year by putting seasonal dishes up front, scheduling content for breakfast, lunch and the after-work crowd, adding a QR code for bookings, and planning around local events such as the footy finals and school holidays.
The big dates are easy to plan for: Christmas, Easter, Chinese New Year, Diwali. A digital sign can work just as hard in the weeks between them. Because you can change it in a few clicks, your sign can follow the seasons, local events and even the weather. Here are seven ways restaurants and cafes use digital signs through the year.
1. Put seasonal dishes up front
Swap the chalkboard for a digital sign and show what is in season: soup when the weather turns cold, an iced chai on a hot afternoon, hot cross buns at Easter, a Christmas menu in December. A photo of the dish does more than a line of chalk. When it runs out, change the sign from your phone in seconds, with no rubbed-out gap on the board and no staff repeating the news to every table.
Scheduling saves the morning rush, too. Set up the day’s dishes the night before, from home if you like, and let the sign change over through the day.
2. Use the colours of the season
Colours, graphics and simple animation can say “summer” or “Christmas” before anyone reads a word. Keep it clear, though. The best signs get the point across in a second or two, because people walking past are busy and have plenty else to look at.
3. Put the screen where it does the job
- A sign in the window or out the front brings in passing trade.
- A screen at or behind the counter suggests extras while people order. See digital menu boards for cafes and restaurants.
- A fine dining venue may prefer a screen in the window, away from the dining room. A busy takeaway can put screens where everyone sees them.
4. Add a QR code
A QR code turns the sign into a doorway to more: your full menu, bookings, upcoming events or your website. One screen can only hold so much, and the code takes people further.
5. Schedule content ahead
Set the sign to change on its own: breakfast for the early crowd, lunch from late morning, and something for the after-work crowd. Do the same across the year. Make your Christmas content in winter, set it to start in December, and get on with running the restaurant.
6. Link your social media
The photos and reels you post online can do a second job on your sign. Show your best posts and your handles, and ask diners to tag you when they share a photo of their meal.
7. Plan around local events
Seasons are more than the calendar. Beach season, festival season, the footy finals, ANZAC Day and the school holidays all bring different customers. Christmas is also the time to fill tables early: a message such as “Book your Christmas party now” can go up weeks ahead and keep working until the bookings are in.
What can a restaurant show each season?
- Summer: cold drinks, salads and longer trading hours.
- Chinese New Year and Easter: dishes and treats for the occasion.
- Mother’s Day and Father’s Day: bookings for family lunches.
- Winter: soups, roasts and hot drinks, and a photo of the fire if you have one.
- Footy finals: group bookings and match day menus.
- Spring: fresh menus, and outdoor tables as the weather warms up.
- Christmas: function bookings, Christmas menus and holiday trading hours.
The weather counts too. When a hot day is forecast, switch the sign to cold drinks. When it rains, show the soup.
Can you hire a sign for the busy season?
If you don’t need a sign all year, hire one for the weeks that matter, such as the lead-up to Christmas. We deliver hire signs anywhere in Australia, for anything from half a day to months.
Less printing every season
Printed seasonal signs last one season and go in the bin. A digital sign just gets new content, so it keeps paying its way year after year, and it is kinder to the environment.
See LED signs for restaurants and cafes, our indoor LED displays and our full colour LED screens. You can buy, finance or hire. Talk to us, or call Aaron on 0416 053 335 or the office on (08) 9335 7944.
