Lucit vs Watchfire Ignite¶
Displaying Lucit Content on Watchfire Ignite¶
The comparison information below is a comparison between the native / built-in features of Watchfire Ignite, versus, WITHOUT a Lucit integration enabled, versus WITH Lucit enabled (the Lucit Column is the features you will get if you integrate Lucit into Watchfire Ignite).
The Watchfire Ignite column is the feature set if you DO NOT integrate Lucit.
This is designed to help you understand how Lucit can help you with your dynamic creative delivery.
If you wish to use Lucit and get all the features of the Lucit platform, while using Watchfire Ignite as your primary CMS - You can integrate Lucit into Watchfire Ignite by following the guide at How to Schedule Lucit Campaigns in Watchfire Ignite.
Overview¶
Watchfire is an LED display manufacturer that produces outdoor LED signs, digital billboards, scoreboards, and video displays with integrated content management solutions. With 70,000+ installations since 1932, they focus on businesses, schools, sports venues, and OOH operators who need reliable LED hardware with content management, emphasizing quality, reliability, and "white glove service."
Does Lucit work WITH Watchfire?¶
No - Watchfire is an older software system that does not support third-party integrations for dynamic creatives.
Please see below for the the features that Lucit provides that Watchfire does not
Note: You can take advantage of the Watchfire RSS interface to pull in Lucit Creatives, but, this is not officially supported
Key Comparison Points¶
Technology & Platform¶
| Feature | Lucit | Watchfire Ignite |
|---|---|---|
| API Access | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes (Android and iOS) | No |
| Web Based | Yes | Yes and No |
| White Label Capability | Yes | No |
| User Security | Strong, Requires 2fa | Weak / Password only |
| User roles / permissions | Strong and granular | Yes |
| Client Login | Yes | Yes |
| Agency / Multiple Account Access | Yes | Yes |
| Community Engagement Account Tools | Yes - Build publicly accessible campaigns for community members to post to | No |
Creatives¶
| Feature | Lucit | Watchfire Ignite |
|---|---|---|
| Works on Any type of Screen / Player Software | Yes | Limited - Primarily Watchfire hardware |
| Sizing / Grouping | One creative, contains multiple sizes | 1 ad per size |
| Responsive | Automatically resizes to screens without distortion | No |
| Dynamic Elements | Unlimited dynamic elements from unlimited data sources | No |
| On Screen Proofs | Real-world screen proofs / mockups with Lucit XR | No |
| Auto Generated from Data | Generate unlimited creatives from data | No |
| Data based triggers | Unlimited data triggers from any data source | No |
| Custom Data Sources | Build custom data sources using Lucit tools | No |
| Date / Time scheduling | Yes, date, day of week, time of day | Basic scheduling |
| Screen Targeting | Yes - Select or via data / filters | Yes |
| Size / Format Support | Unlimited | Limited to Watchfire displays |
| Layer based Templates | Yes | No |
| Template - Fonts | Unlimited | No |
| Template - Colors | Unlimited | Some |
| Template - Shadows, Borders | Yes | No |
| Template - Object rotation / transform | Yes | No |
| Template - Transparency | Yes | No |
| Template - Single design multiple size | Yes | No |
| Template - Image position options | Yes (Fixed, fill, stretch, positioning) | No |
| Template - Font Stroke | Yes | No |
| Template - Opacity | Yes | No |
| Template - Object Borders | Yes | Yes |
| Template - CSS Support | Support ALL CSS Features | No |
| Template - HTML Based | Yes | No |
| Template - Renders to JPEG | Yes | No |
| Template - Can render to HTML | Yes | No |
| Template - Use rules to apply template to different data | Yes | No |
| Template - Custom Field / Function Support | Yes | No |
| Template - Javascript Support | Yes | No |
| Template - Library of pre-built content | Limited / small | Yes - Extensive |
| Elements - Countdowns | Yes (Day, Hour, Minute) | Yes |
| Elements - Social | Yes - via Taggbox integration | No |
| Elements - Weather | Yes - screen or destination | Yes Screen only |
| Animation Support | Yes | Yes |
| Video Support | Yes | Yes |
| AI Assisted Moderation | Yes | No |
Data Sources¶
| Feature | Lucit | Watchfire Ignite |
|---|---|---|
| Supported Types | Unlimited | No |
| Multiple data sources on a single creative | Yes | No |
| Bespoke Apps for specific data | Yes - See 100's at Lucit Apps List | No |
| Authenticated data sources (oAuth, etc.) | Yes | No |
| First party / Private data sources | Yes | No |
| Create custom data sources | Yes | No |
| Data sources can generate ads | Yes | Yes |
| Data sources as triggers | Yes | Yes |
| Data source data filtering and rules | Yes, unlimited and easy to setup | No |
| Data source automated triggers | Yes - When generating a creative, specify the triggers that are attached | No |
| Data source limits | Yes | Yes |
| Data source update frequency control | Yes | Yes |
| Built in Sports Scores data for all major sports | Yes | No |
| Built in Weather data | Yes | Yes |
| Social Data Feeds | Yes | No |
| Automotive Data | Yes | No |
| Real Estate Data | Yes | No |
| Google Sheets / Docs | Yes | No |
| RSS | Yes | Yes |
| JSON | Yes | Yes |
Campaign Operations¶
| Feature | Lucit | Watchfire Ignite |
|---|---|---|
| Multi operator campaigns | Manage multiple campaigns across multiple billboard operators from a single interface | No - Limited to Watchfire displays |
| Individual screen targeting within campaign per creative | Yes | Yes |
| Individual screen targeting based on screen data, location, weather, etc. | Yes | No |
| Auto-Post to campaigns from Data Sources | Yes, unlimited | No |
| Frequency control among creatives in a campaign | Yes - Via percentages | No |
| Bulk Edit / Update | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule / Timeline View | Yes | Yes |
| Share a campaign with multiple child accounts | Yes | No |
| Brokers share real-estate campaign with all agents | Yes | No |
Analytics & Reporting¶
| Feature | Lucit | Watchfire Ignite |
|---|---|---|
| Real time analytics | Yes - plays report in real-time | No |
| Historical data | Yes - Up to 3 years | No |
| Charting | Yes | No |
| API Access | Yes | No |
| Plays and Impressions | Yes - Both | Plays only |
| Analytics for every dynamic creative change | Yes | No |
| Third Party Impression Trackers | Yes - DV360 and custom | No |
Summary¶
Lucit and Watchfire Ignite serve different needs in the digital signage ecosystem. Lucit provides platform-agnostic creative management with advanced dynamic capabilities and multi-operator support, while Watchfire Ignite offers integrated hardware-software solutions primarily for Watchfire displays. Choose Lucit for flexible, multi-platform creative management, or Watchfire Ignite for integrated hardware-software solutions with Watchfire displays.
Want to learn more about how Lucit compares to Watchfire Ignite? Contact our team for a detailed comparison and demo.