MINNEAPOLIS, MN--A new survey reveals that banks are adopting digital signage at a rapid pace, though many banks report difficulties keeping their signage content fresh and relevant.

The survey, conducted by the retail marketing agency John Ryan, included more than 60 leading European and South African banks, representing 44,000 branches across 23 countries.

In the survey, marketing and retail executives from each bank were questioned in detail about the role of the branch, point-of-sale strategies and their experiences and attitudes about digital signage. According to the survey results, digital signage is enjoying widespread acceptance, with eight out of 10 bank marketers expecting the use of digital signage to become widespread in the coming years.

The survey also reveals that early adopters have learned some important lessons from their initial digital signage deployments. Nearly half of respondents reported frustration in being able to localize messages. Difficulty in "feeding the beast" — keeping content fresh and interesting — was also cited as a top challenge.

"We found that early adopters of digital signage are reporting difficulties in creating, localizing and managing content. They are finding that the very promise of this medium — the ability to target messaging to specific branches and screens — is far more laborious than was expected," said John Ryan vice chairman Bob Steele.

"These findings support our long-held belief that a sound messaging strategy, and the tools to execute it, are the keys to success," he said. "Every digital signage effort depends not only on hardware choices, but even more importantly on the 'soft' aspects of the system."