News 2008

Can digital signs in the workplace improve employee morale and productivity? - (25/06/08)

ESRC to fund the first-ever study into the psychological impact of digital signs in the corporate environment

Bangor University and Pixel Inspiration secure funding for pioneering 3-year study

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), one of the UK's leading research-funding bodies, has awarded money for a series of pioneering studies into the psychological impact of Digital Signage (DS) within the corporate environment. Under the award, the ESRC provides a graduate studentship: three full years of funding to a PhD candidate who will research DS in corporate environments. Jointly supervised by digital agency Pixel Inspiration and by Dr James Intriligator, co-director of Bangor University's Centre for Experimental Consumer Psychology, the researcher will aim to quantify the effects that specific DS content has on employees, focusing on areas such as employee morale, retention, and job satisfaction.

The findings will be used to form a set of best practice guidelines, regarding the style, content, and delivery of effective DS content, which could then be applied to virtually all corporate environments.

"This funding represents a real breakthrough," said Intriligator. "The ESRC is the science establishment in the UK, so for it to decide to fund studies into DS, that shows that the field is coming of age. A PhD studentship means three years of work - that will create real knowledge that will impact many lives."

Nikk Smith, technical director, Pixel Inspiration. "In today's age of information overload, many corporate organisations still rely on email as the primary channel for communicating with employees. But DS can do so much more. We believe that this research project will allow us to demonstrate, in scientific terms, the benefits that DS can deliver to a business. The ESRC has recognised the value of research into the use of DS in the corporate environment and we're excited to be given the funding needed to support the first meaningful study in this area."

Pixel Inspiration will be working closely with its corporate DS clients, developing and producing all the digital content for the study, using the latest research in cognitive psychology to guide improvements.