CrownTV on the Evolution of Personalized Store Signage

A retail screen needs relevant content and reliable operation to earn its place in a store. In this Retail Refined interview, originally published in 2023, the host visits CrownTV’s NRF booth and speaks with its CEO, introduced as Jacob, about digital signage and personalized store experiences.

The interview starts with practical deployment choices: sourcing an appropriate screen, installing it and managing what it displays. Jacob then walks through examples of product-section videos and checkout content before discussing a longer-term goal of tailoring messages to individual shoppers. His examples show how the screen’s location changes the job its content needs to do.

Retail signage is a systems problem, not just a screen

Jacob describes CrownTV as a digital signage company focused “mostly retail,” and he emphasizes that putting screens in stores is difficult enough that retailers often need more than a content playlist. In his telling, CrownTV is responsible for the software that lets people manage what appears on screens, along with installation and the sourcing of the screens themselves.

He highlights screen sourcing as a key decision because consumer-grade displays aren’t necessarily suited to store conditions. Jacob contrasts buying a screen at a consumer electronics retailer with choosing a screen that is bright and crisp enough for retail, sized appropriately, and paired with “the right content.” The point is that hardware, placement, and content all interact to determine whether signage works in the aisle.

Customization means matching content to time, location, and intent

For Jacob, customization is the operational lever that turns digital signage into something closer to responsive store communication. He gives a simple example: holiday or promotional messages must appear on the correct date—Black Friday content should run on Black Friday rather than on another holiday—because mistimed content undermines credibility and usefulness. He also includes wayfinding and product information as baseline, practical use cases.

Examples at NRF: from digital “art” walls to section-based product video

At the booth, Jacob points to digital artwork displayed across multiple screens in a video wall. He contrasts that presentation with artwork on paper. The example shows one use of the display format before the conversation turns to content tied directly to products and shopping decisions.

He describes a TravisMathew example in which screens show videos relevant to the products in a particular section. A shopper looking at an item might see it being used or worn by an athlete. Jacob’s emphasis is on matching the video to the product the customer is considering, rather than showing the same material everywhere.

Checkout is a captive moment—and a test of relevance

Jacob also points to L’Occitane as an example where placement changes the job the screen is doing. He describes a video wall behind the cashier, aimed at people waiting while they check out. Because shoppers are already paused in that line, the content can highlight other videos or items they may not have noticed earlier while browsing the store.

Jacob suggests that checkout content can prompt shoppers to notice another product they missed. He also warns that broken systems and black screens can make the store experience worse. The host describes that as wasted retail space, and Jacob agrees. The example connects the ambition to show useful content with the basic need for dependable operation.

Where personalized signage is headed: right content, right person, right spot

Asked in the 2023 interview about the next three to five years, Jacob identifies a more difficult challenge: adapting content to the right person at a specific location in the store. He describes existing messaging as broad and sees more precise targeting as a future direction. The episode distinguishes that ambition from the section-based and checkout examples he discusses as deployments.