Is your restaurant struggling to bring in customers outside of peak hours? You’re not alone. However, you can boost off peak numbers by capturing people’s attention. Many restaurants use traditional ads, such as flyers, billboards, or online ads to reach potential customers, but those traditional methods don’t always deliver immediate results. What if you could advertise right outside your restaurant in real time and catch the attention of people already nearby and hungry? That’s exactly what Watchfire’s digital signs can do.
At Tupp Signs, we install custom digital signage solutions from Watchfire to help restaurants attract more walk-ins, promote specials, and drive consistent traffic throughout the day. Interested? Here’s what you need to know.
Key Takeaways
- Traditional advertising methods lack the flexibility and immediacy needed to attract nearby, ready-to-eat customers, often resulting in delayed ROI and missed promotional opportunities.
- Watchfire’s digital signage allows restaurants to update messages in real time, making it easier to promote daily specials, events, or sudden changes instantly and effectively.
- Digital signs are highly visible and attention-grabbing, using motion graphics, bright colors, and video to stand out—especially in low-light conditions or busy locations.
- Digital signage targets people who are already nearby, increasing the chances of converting foot traffic into customers compared to broader, less-targeted ad channels.
- With 24/7 visibility and content versatility, Watchfire’s LED signs serve as ongoing marketing tools that drive traffic, reinforce your brand, and help fill seats all day, every day.
Why Do Traditional Ads Fall Short for Restaurants?
Traditional ads works slowly and indirectly. Sure, traditional advertisements, like billboards, flyers, magazine ads, and even radio spots, have a purpose. You can build brand awareness and make people curious. However, that’s only one part of the buyer’s journey. You need a method that is immediate, targeting those who are looking for a solution right now.
Here are some reasons traditional ads are less beneficial than digital signs for restaurants:
Long Lead Times
Whether it’s a print ad or a static roadside billboard, traditional media takes time to create, approve, and launch. By the time your promotion goes live, the opportunity may have passed—or your menu may have already changed.
Limited Flexibility
Restaurant specials often change daily or even hourly. With static ads, there’s no easy way to promote real-time updates like flash sales, sudden changes in hours, or last-minute event promotions. If you need to change your message, you’re often stuck starting from scratch.
Broad, Untargeted Reach
Many traditional ads are seen by people who aren’t close enough to act on them. You might be advertising your dinner specials to commuters who are already on their way home or to readers who live too far away to visit your location. That means wasted impressions and a lower return on your advertising dollars.
Higher Costs with Delayed ROI
Between design fees, printing, and placement costs, traditional advertising is often expensive—and it’s hard to measure immediate results. You could spend hundreds or thousands of dollars without knowing if your campaign actually brought new customers through the door.
How Do Watchfire’s Digital Signs Help Fill Seats Fast?
LED digital displays are eye-catching, engaging, and versatile. For restaurants, such signs are a win-win. Being able to engage with hungry customers around the clock directly ensures that they are going to find you when they need you—and you need them—the most.
Here are some benefits of Watchfire’s digital signs:
1. Real-Time Messaging
Want to reach the workers who just got out on lunch break? Need to promote your happy hour that starts in 10 minutes? LED displays make it easy with cloud-based controls. You never have to get stuck advertising the same thing for weeks. Now you can let passerby know about daily specials, limited-time offers, and last minute minute changes as the day goes on.
2. Eye-Catching Displays
LED signs are hard to miss. Bright, colorful visuals with motion graphics or video stand out from the static signage around them—especially at night or in bad weather. They help you get noticed by people driving or walking by who might otherwise miss your storefront entirely.
3. Reach Hungry Customers Already Nearby
Traditional ads reach a limited number of people, as do digital ads, as those are limited to someone’s social feed. Digital signage, however, reaches those who are already close by. There is always a higher chance of snagging someone who is looking for some place to eat now than someone at home who’s browsing TikTok. When someone’s debating where to eat, a mouthwatering image of your signature burger or sushi special may be all it takes to get them through your door.
4. Promote Events, Build a Buzz
Make your restaurant the place to be. Promote holiday menus and special events, like karaoke night or fight night. Make your digital signage an event board that encourages the community to come out and have fun together. Watchfire displays can showcase all kinds of engaging content, include reviews, images, partnerships, and feeds. Use these signs to reinforce your reputation and build even more trust.
5. Consistent 24/7 Marketing
Your digital sign doesn’t take a day off. Whether you’re open or closed, your sign can advertise upcoming events, promote online ordering, or build anticipation for your weekend brunch. It’s always working, even when you’re not.
Get a Watchfire Digital Sign from Tupp Signs
Hungry for more business? Upgrading from traditional ads to digital signage from Watchfire is one of the fastest methods for getting more seats filled. Dynamic LED displays provide flexibility to communicate with customers in real time and around the clock. At Tupp Signs, we’ll help you choose the right Watchfire display, handle a seamless installation, and provide long-term support to keep it running strong. Whether you’re running a family diner, café, or upscale eatery, we’ll help you turn your signage into a powerful marketing tool.
Call Tupp Signs at 866-324-7446 today to learn more about digital signs for restaurants—and start filling those empty tables faster.