ESPN unveils interactive digital signage game to promote Monday Night Football

Posted on Oct 14, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Digital Signage Today.com ’s Bill Yackey has the scoop about ESPN’s new Monday Night Football digital signage GAME!  While you’re on their site, be sure to watch the video about it!

ESPN is creating buzz around Monday Night Football’s 40th season by allowing millions of pedestrians the chance to play on an NFL field using interactive signage.
ESPN is promoting the football season by creating an interactive digital signage experience that allows anyone walking past the displays to engage in a one-on-one challenge with a selected quarterback. The goal of the street-level game is to catch as many footballs as possible, and high scoring game players are able to submit their scores in real-time and see how they measure up to users in other cities.

The quarterback selection capability is paired with real-time updates and shows a countdown to next Monday’s game.

To present ESPN with this digital experience, Monster Media teamed up with Wieden & Kennedy and MacDonald Media. Each display uses the combination of four technologies, including: touchscreen activation, full-body responsive user tracking, real-time application, and a gaming function.

The displays are strategically located in highly-trafficked areas in New York, Boston and Chicago. Users are drawn to the displays by static signage surrounding an interactive custom LCD wall that entices users to approach the unit and interact with the game.

Audience.Campus™ Provides Effective Digital Signage Communication and Emergency Messaging for Educational Institutions

Posted on Sep 30, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

From Digital Signage.com:

Capital Networks Ltd (CNL), a leading global provider of broadcasting and dynamic digital signage software, has announced a new market initiative into the US Education sector. The Audience.Campus™ offering has been designed specifically for educational installations, enabling high schools, colleges and universities to improve communication with students across multi-site campuses, as well as within individual faculties or departments. The solution can run up to 100 channels simultaneously through a single deployment – which ensures that individual departments can control the content on their broadcasts and deliver hyper-local information like room schedules, or class notifications – all of which can be uploaded easily by staff or students.

And from Digital Signage Expo:

Audience.Campus, the latest offering from Capital Networks Ltd., focuses on providing educational facilities with all the tools needed to enhance campus communications and emergency messaging through digital signage.

According to the company, an increasing number of educational establishments hoping to create and display broadcast quality information and emergency channels on a limited budget are looking to take advantage of the Audience.Campus solution. Colleges already using the Audience software platform include Purdue University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Regina, and NAIT – Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. vendor to synchronize emergency messaging. As well as delivering a vast array of day-to-day information, a dynamic digital signage solution can save lives in emergencies by ensuring the students are aware of events and have real-time information about where they should go.”

Crunch Health Club Chain Employs Health Club Media Network’s Digital Signage

Posted on Sep 14, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

The Digital Signage Expo blog has some news about digital signage for health clubs:

Health Club Media Network (HCMN), a provider of advertising and marketing opportunities for national brands in health clubs, recently announced that Crunch has joined its network.

The long-term and exclusive media and marketing agreement begins immediately and will include installation of HCMN’s static and full suite of digital media offerings in all Crunch clubs, including mobile messaging and dedicated video channels that can be viewed by Crunch members during their workouts, according to the company.

“Crunch has long held a unique place within the industry and the marketplace with its forward thinking and innovative group exercise programs,” said Ken Williams, CEO for HCMN, Los Angeles. “We are equally excited that Crunch sees the added value our suite of digital signage and information products brings to their members.”

“[HCMN's digital signage and information system] is much more capable than anything we have experienced or seen previously, and it is uniquely capable of bringing the essence of our brand to life,” said Keith Worts, COO for Crunch. “We also are pleased to see that HCMN is able to deliver high-quality music videos and a Crunch branded video channel highlighting our corporate partners, something we had been unable to do easily with our prior technology solution.”

All Crunch health clubs will utilize Health Club Media Network’s digital media platforms to deliver high-quality music videos and Crunch’s branded video channel highlighting its corporate sponsors to club members.

This announcement follows the news of New York Health & Racquet Club joining HCMN’s network, and also of HCMN’s acquisition of the Alloy Fitness Network, which expanded the company’s network to nearly 4,000 health clubs in 120+ DMA’s across the country, said the company.

Noventri Completes Lancaster County Convention Center Digital Signage Project

Posted on Sep 11, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Digital Signage Expo tells us about Lancaster County Convention Center’s new digital signage project:

Noventri recently completed the installation of the Lancaster County Convention Center’s

Working closely with Mark Moosic, the convention center’s general manager, Noventri mounted screens in selected high-traffic areas such as near escalators and elevators on all levels of the complex. According to the company, the screens are linked to the convention center’s Delphi databases so that visitors are dynamically informed of meeting times, room numbers, speaker names and more. digital signage, which included six 52-inch LCD screens controlled by Noventri SF-3000 digital signage media players and powered by Harris Corp. Infocaster software.

Live video feeds are integrated within the digital content, offering entertainment value to visitors. Noventri created all the digital content and will continue to update and manage it for a fresh look, the company said.

Conveniently located at Lancaster’s historic Penn Square, the Lancaster County Convention Center showcases its ability to offer the latest in technology and visitor experience and is the ideal facility for groups of up to 5,000.

“Noventri served as a single source for all stages of the project by providing everything from site survey to installation and content creation to technical support,” noted Tim Rollins, project manager for Smithsburg, Md.-based Noventri.

Scala Digital Signage Helps BI Norwegian School of Management Communicate with Campus Audiences

Posted on Sep 4, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

NewswireToday has posted a very interesting article about digital signage in education:
NewswireToday – /newswire/ – Oslo, Norway, 08/17/2009 – The BI Norwegian School of Management, one of Europe’s largest business schools, has launched a digital signage network spanning all five of its campuses.

Working with Scala and YIT Building Systems, a Scala Certified Partner based in Oslo, the school installed a 38-screen network that broadcasts important news and information to students, staff and visiting campus groups.

The Oslo campus features 25 of the screens, seven of which are controlled by student organizations. The screens display different content at individual locations across the campuses, including:

• Entrance areas: Messages welcoming visitors to BI and showing daily information;

• High-traffic areas: Where students and crowds tend to gather, the network displays national and global news, financial information, weather, BI-specific news, exam information, and notices about special lectures, job vacancies, activities and important IT information;

• Library: Screens inform visitors of operating hours, new materials and information about training classes;

• IT Department: Screens at the Helpdesk alert viewers about training classes;

• Student Administration: Select screens display important student information, including details about exams, deadlines and office hours.

BI already has received positive feedback about the digital displays. After using the network to communicate information about its “Career and Recruiting Service” campaign, BI measured a dramatic increase in the number of students who registered via specific Web sites and jobs for which they applied.

“We are really satisfied with Scala Content Manager’s ability to handle different types of content like pictures, messages and videos,” said Stein-Oddvar Evensen, Communication Consultant at BI. “Now that we’ve used Scala for a while, we feel our experience within digital communications has grown tremendously. We are currently looking into new ways to automate the content, which will allow us more time to produce better information campaigns with clearer messages and dynamic effects.”

About BI Norwegian School of Management
BI Norwegian School of Management (bi.edu) is a self-owned foundation whose purpose is to conduct education and research at a high international level within management, administration, economics and marketing. It has become one of the larger Higher Education Institutions in Norway and one of the largest business schools in Europe, with campuses in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Kristiansand and Drammen.

About YIT Building Systems
YIT Building Systems (yitgroup.com) offers design and installation for HEPACE, automation, security and networks technology systems.

About Scala
Driving more than 300,000 screens worldwide, Scala (scala.com) is a leading global provider of digital signage and advertising management solutions. Scala is the world’s first connected signage company, offering the leading platform for content creation, management and distribution in digital signage networks and the first unified platform for advertising management of both traditional and digital signage networks. The company’s digital signage customers include Rabobank, IKEA, Burger King, T-Mobile, Virgin MegaStore, Warner Brothers, The Life Channel, Rikstoto, Repsol, NorgesGruppen, Audi, ECE Flatmedia, Kaufhof (Metro Group) and thousands more. Advertising management customers include CBS Outdoor, Clear Channel Outdoor and Magic Media, among others. Scala is headquartered near Philadelphia, USA, and has subsidiaries in Canada, The Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany and Japan, as well as more than 450 partners in more than 60 countries.

INTRALOT and Nebraska Lottery Launch Digital Signage Pilot Project

Posted on Sep 2, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

According to Digital Signage Expo.net, the Nebraska Lottery and its on-line network provider, INTRALOT, are working with display provider Blast Panel on a digital signage pilot project that will change the way advertisers and retailers reach consumers.

The pilot involves a new digital signage program for qualifying lottery retailers. INTRALOT service technicians have recently installed 32-inch high-definition, LCD screens (referred to as Blast Panels) at select locations in Omaha and Lincoln to determine how much this new technology can help the retailers increase sales.

Headquartered in Athens, Greece, INTRALOT is a supplier of integrated gaming and transaction processing systems, innovative game content and sports betting management to state-licensed gaming organizations worldwide.

Digital Signage-oriented Tradeshows Make Tradeshow Week Magazine’s 2009 Fastest 50

Posted on Aug 12, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

According to editor Bill Yackey of Digital Signage Today.com, . . . digital signage-oriented tradeshows have made the list of Tradeshow Week Magazine’s 2009 Fastest 50.

JD Events and Exponation both announced today that their digital signage-oriented tradeshows have made the list of Tradeshow Week Magazine’s 2009 Fastest 50, which recognizes the 50 fastest-growing trade and consumer shows in North America based on total net square footage and percentage growth between 2006 and 2008.

JD Events operates KioskCom Self Service Expo & The Digital Signage Show, and Exponation operates Digital Signage Expo. Both companies will be honored on Nov. 15 at an awards ceremony in Houston, Texas.

“To be recognized by a publication that is so well-regarded by our peers and professionals in this industry is truly an honor,’ said Joel Davis, CEO of JD Events, the organization behind KioskCom Self Service Expo & The Digital Signage Show. “We are thrilled to be included as one of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 shows and now with our fourth award honoring the shows, we are excited to join an extremely elite group of less than 20 events that have received this award four or more times.”

“We are honored to have again been selected as one of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 shows,” said Angelo Varrone, CEO of Exponation, LLC, which produces Digital Signage Expo. “We won this award in 2007, which was the first year we were eligible. We are thrilled that our show has joined this select group of winning events for the second time in three years.”

Digital Signage Expo, which includes the Interactive Technology Expo, the Out-of-Home Network Show, The Digital Content Show, and The Mobile Marketing Show, will be at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas to run February 23-25, 2010. KioskCom Self Service Expo & The Digital Signage Show is scheduled for November 10-11, 2009, in New York City.

Cabela’s Wins 2009 Self-Service Excellence Award for Interactive Retail Kiosk Program

Posted on Jul 29, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

From Digital Signage Expo.net comes the news that Cabela’s has won a KioskCom 2009 Self-Service Excellence Award for Netkey’s digital signage software in its retail stores:

Cabela’s won a KioskCom 2009 Self-Service Excellence Award for the comprehensive software solution Netkey provided for the interactive kiosks in the outfitter’s retail stores.

Netkey announced that its customer Cabela’s Inc. recently won the KioskCom 2009 Self-Service Excellence Award for “Best Overall Software Solution” for its in-store interactive kiosk program, powered by Netkey software.

Known as “The World’s Foremost Outfitter,” Cabela’s operates 30 retail superstores in the U.S. and Canada, some as big as 250,000 square feet. It also has a popular mail order catalog. The company’s Web site offers more than 200,000 items and is considered one of the leading online sites for outdoor retailing.

Cabela’s has moved aggressively to synchronize its retail channels and enhance the customer experience by extending online e-commerce capabilities into its stores using interactive kiosks. Powered by Netkey software, the kiosks also support several other customer-facing applications including product information, inventory availability, promotional registration and the ability to join Cabela’s CLUB, its popular loyalty program and Visa credit card.

“Our customers have told us they want more convenience and more options in their shopping experience at Cabela’s, and that’s exactly what the kiosks give them,” said Kari Blankenship, retail programs manager for Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela’s. “We are now able to extend our entire product selection to customers at any location, regardless of store size.”

More than 250 kiosks have been installed in Cabela’s retail stores. Kiosk application and remote management software is provided by Netkey, offering Cabela’s customers a rich interactive user experience and giving the company the ability to remotely monitor, track and update all kiosks in its stores nationwide from a single PC.

“Cabela’s is demonstrating the power and value of multi-channel retailing by bringing their online assets into the store using kiosks and giving their customers access to more products and services,” said V. Miller Newton, CEO of East Haven, Conn.-based Netkey.

To view a video demonstration of the Cabela’s kiosk, click here.

Digital Signage Display Revenue to Grow at 20 Percent CAGR to 2016

Posted on Jul 20, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

FrameMedia’s SignChannel was mentioned in this article from Digital Signage Expo about both digital signage and digital picture frames:

Digital Signage Display Revenue to Grow at 20 Percent CAGR to 2016 07/11/2009

Despite a slowdown in the worldwide growth of flat panel displays (FPD), digital signage (i.e., public displays) is forecast to grow at a compound average growth rate of 20 percent to 2016 (Table 1), according to the latest results in the “Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report” from Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch.

Table 1 & 2 Source: DisplaySearch “Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report”

In contrast, after rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 percent from 2000 to 2008, total flat panel display (FPD) sales revenues may rise only 1 percent each year from 2008 to 2016, according to the report (Table 2).

Additionally, the Q2 ‘09 forecast indicates FPD revenues will decline 20 percent from 2008 to 2009, as slack demand affects end-product markets in developed countries. Despite this, the outlook for 2010 is more positive, with an annual revenue growth of 13 percent in 2010, Display Search said.

“Despite the overall flat outlook for FPDs, there are some bright spots in the long-term for flat panel displays,” noted David Barnes, vice president of strategic analysis. “Hot applications such as OLED TV, eBook, mini-note PC (netbooks), digital picture frames and public displays (digital signage) are all driving demand.”

“We expect electrophoretic and OLED technologies will experience more growth than other display technologies will over the long term,” he added.

Flat panel revenue for the five FPD applications will provide strong growth opportunities for display manufacturers (Table 1). The “Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report” forecasts:

• OLED revenues from TV applications will increase at a CAGR of 140 percent from 2008 to 2016.
• Demand for electronic books will lift revenue of electrophoretic and similar display technologies at a 49 percent CAGR.
• Several technologies, TFT LCD in particular, support public display applications such as out-of-home advertising, which is forecast to grow 20 percent a year — reaching almost $3 billion in 2016.
• Mini-notes have become a hot new application, and DisplaySearch expects panel revenue for such products will rise 15 percent a year to more than $2 billion in 2016.
• Digital picture frames became a hot market in 2007, and this application may still support revenue growth of 11 percent per year. (Though the digital picture frame market is dominated by consumer demand, Scala entered into a partnership in March 2009 with Frame Media to provide software support for the company’s SignChannel, a platform designed to supply businesses with content for digital frames used for digital signage applications. — Ed.)

The DisplaySearch “Quarterly Worldwide FPD Forecast Report” details shipments of 23 display technologies for 36 applications by quarter from 2007 through 2016. Pivot tables provide clients with measures of display area, units, prices and revenue for each combination. The summary report evaluates trends from 1998 onwards.

(Crossposted at Wireless Picture Frames)

Peabody-Essex Art Museum Sports New Scala InfoChannel Digital Signage

Posted on Jun 24, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

From the Digital Signage Expo website, we read about the new Scala InfoChannel visual messaging solution, and how, thanks to Scala, the Peabody-Essex art gallery’s information system can change faster than any other museum in the world.

Art Museum Expands With 21st Century Displays
Extensive Digital Sign Network Updated From Central Control Room

SALEM, MA – Before the Big Dig engineering marvel was finished in December, Boston went through another major transformation… but of culture, not transportation. After a huge three-year expansion, the Peabody-Essex in Massachusetts is now one of the 25 largest art museums in the nation. The suite of new galleries dedicated to changing exhibitions is among the largest on the East Coast… and now sporting a new Scala InfoChannel visual messaging solution, the gallery’s information system can change faster than any other museum in the world.

InfoChannel has alleviated the need to replace constantly changing posters or videotapes. Now curators can show a wealth of information through scheduled multimedia playback on a low-profile screen instead of having to plaster walls with a bulletin board or worry about replacing degrading or outdated VCR cassettes.

The information display system shows content from Scala’s InfoChannel Player 3, a networked solution that can be updated remotely and run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Content is changed by periodic or exact schedule, so the museum can easily adjust to the expected audience depending on the season or even the time of day.

The main admissions desk signage includes a high-resolution 42″ plasma screen that shows information about the latest museum exhibits. The ticket counter is the perfect place to educate new visitors about ongoing exhibits as well as daily events, and it can all be continuously updated behind the cashier without interrupting customers or his workday.

Additional infrastructure for adding other displays in the network is located throughout the museum, such as the small orientation theater next to the Yin Yu Tang Chinese exhibit. Visitors can view a video on a 60″ plasma display panel, complete with a theater sound system. Several other exhibits such as the Idea Studio have large flat panel monitors, too.

The screens can all be tied into the same Scala electronic signage system and administered centrally by InfoChannel Network Manager 3 in the museum’s control room. Creative work and textual updates are also conceived in the same room via Scala’s InfoChannel Designer 3. When published, changes can either be seen instantly or scheduled to appear later throughout the building.

The high-resolution images are transmitted over standard CAT5 cable using special Extron CAT5 transmitters and receivers. The changing exhibits area was designed with the future in mind for transmitting computer graphics, video and audio to produce a truly interactive exhibit space.

As the oldest continuously operating museum in America, it has held countless historical objects since opening in 1799. Now, the remodeled Peabody-Essex is a prime example of cutting edge technology helping curators to stay modern and work efficiently in a traditional setting.

Visit http://www.pem.org for more information on the Peabody-Essex expansion project.