Digital Signage

Black Box’s iCompel boosts potential of digital signage

Posted on Sep 21, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Erich Schwartzel posts about Black Box Network Service’s new product:

Lawrence-based digital communications company Black Box Network Services has rolled out a new product meant to improve on how people view information in the airport. Or the doctor’s office. Or the bar. Basically, everywhere.

The iCompel arrives at a time when the digital sign industry is evolving rapidly. Digital signs are already used to tell people when the movie is seating, or when the plane is landing — any evolving screen of information.

But the iCompel creates signs that look like those boring boards on steroids.

Like Apple’s iPhone, this technology can handle multiple media forms. On one screen, the iCompel — a small box that transmits displays designed through a Web site — can simultaneously display text, live television or video, photos, HTML and constantly updated RSS feeds such as scrolling headlines or weather reports.

When the box is attached to a screen, it transmits what looks like a tricked-out Power Point presentation.

Online controls allow users to manipulate what the iCompel screens look like from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection.

The iCompel starts at around $1,700 and costs up to nearly $3,500 as features are added.

With a presence in 142 countries, Black Box specializes in data and voice infrastructure systems. The public company employs about 5,000, with 500 employees at the Lawrence site in Washington County.

The company reported revenues of approximately $1 billion in fiscal 2009, with a net income of $45 million. The government comprises the largest portion of the client base, at 23 percent. Black Box has more than 175,000 customers.

The new product launch comes at a good moment in the digital signage world. A 2009 study by Arbitron found digital video displays reached 67 percent of U.S. resident age 18 or older.

Most reported remembering signage in airports, bars, convenience stores and even elevators.

Black Box wanted to create a product that would work for businesses that don’t have a creative staff but want expensive-looking signs, said regional sales manager George Borden.

“Anyone half-dangerous with Photoshop can run this product,” he said.

The iCompel is designed to make digital signs more financially and logistically accessible for smaller companies. Mr. Borden said he could envision the signs in venues such as a bowling alley — clearly a departure from such places as PNC Park that typically use such technology.

Black Box already has seen some more unorthodox settings for iCompel-created signs.

It’s been used to replace archaic displays that highlight which bingo numbers have been picked (replete with a live video feed of the announcer’s hand choosing a ball).

The iCompel even has been set up in funeral homes, where directors can run a slide show of memorial photos alongside a movie, or a quote, or some music.

Of course, there are advertising implications. Director of Marketing Brian Kutchma said companies with iCompel screens could sell space to advertisers looking for a targeted audience.

Erich Schwartzel can be reached at eschwartzel@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1455.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09259/998243-96.stm#ixzz0RPv5i4Vl

NHL’s Minnesota Wild to Implement RoninCast Digital Signage At Xcel Energy Center

Posted on Sep 16, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Reuter’s has posted an excellent article about Wireless Ronin Technologies’ contract with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild team:

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 9, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc.
(Nasdaq:RNIN), a Minneapolis-based digital signage provider, announced today
that it has been contracted by the NHL's Minnesota Wild team to provide digital
menu boards throughout its home at the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center.

"We are very excited to be having our technology added as yet another factor
that will enhance the exciting sports and entertainment experience at Xcel
Energy Center," said James (Jim) Granger, CEO of Wireless Ronin Technologies.
"We look forward to delivering a system that will bring excitement to the
concession areas by incorporating branded content customized for specific
events, sponsors and promotions.

89 RoninCast(r) digital menu board displays will be implemented prior to the
Minnesota Wild home opener on October 6th. The Xcel Energy Center maintains a
reputation of being one of the best stadiums in the country. ESPN The Magazine
recently announced it in the "Ultimate Standings 2009" list as the "Ultimate
Crib," "Best Stadium Experience" in the NHL and runner-up for "Stadium
Experience" out of the 122 major league sports franchises among the NHL, NFL,
NBA and MLB.

"With the RoninCast technology, we not only intend to add to the exciting
technology-driven environment for our fans, we also see back-end management
benefits by allowing customized content for each sporting and entertainment
event at the arena," said Jack Larson, vice president and general manager for
the Xcel Energy Center.

The 89 RoninCast enabled displays will be installed across three levels of the
arena including the main concourse which will house 43 screens, the Treasure
Island Resort and Casino Club level with 19, and upper level with 27 screens.
Content for the digital signage network will be maintained through the RoninCast
system by Levy Restaurants, food service partner at the arena. Digital menu
boards will allow Levy and the Xcel Energy Center the flexibility to adjust menu
offerings and provide different options depending on the time of day or event.
Wireless Ronin will provide RoninCast software, custom software development,
content development, networking, hosting and training.

The Xcel Energy Center, with configuration capabilities to accommodate more than
20,000 guests, is also home to the Minnesota Swarm National Lacrosse League
team, Minnesota State High School League tournaments as well as more than 150
entertainment events annually, including well known acts like the Rolling
Stones, Prince and Billy Joel, among many others.

About the Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild recently completed its eighth NHL season after bringing
hockey at its highest-level back to Minnesota for the 2000-01 campaign. The Wild
claimed its first-ever Northwest Division title in 2007-08, has sold out every
home game in franchise history (365 in all), set an NHL record for attendance by
an expansion team and created a buzz across "The State of Hockey" with its run
to the 2003 Western Conference Finals. For more information, visit www.wild.com.

Xcel Energy Center

Regarded as one of the finest arenas in the world, Xcel Energy Center is home to
the NHL's Minnesota Wild, the NLL's Minnesota Swarm and a multitude of premier
sports and entertainment events annually. The one-of-a-kind, multi-purpose
facility is located in the heart of downtown Saint Paul, owned by the City of
Saint Paul and managed by the Saint Paul Arena Company, an affiliate of
Minnesota Sports & Entertainment. For more information, visit
www.xcelenergycenter.com.

About Wireless Ronin Technologies

Wireless Ronin Technologies (www.wirelessronin.com) is the developer of
RoninCast(r), a complete software solution designed to address the evolving
digital signage marketplace. Wireless Ronin provides clients with a complete,
turnkey digital signage system which allows the ability to manage a digital
signage network from one central location. The RoninCast(r) digital signage
software suite allows for customized distribution with network management,
playlist creation and scheduling, and database integration. Wireless Ronin
offers an array of services to support RoninCast(r) software including
consulting, creative development, project management, installation, and
training. The company's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under
the symbol "RNIN."

The Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc. logo is available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3208

-0-
CONTACT:  Wireless Ronin Technologies
          Holly Heitkamp, Marketing Specialist
          (952) 564-3560
          hheitkamp@wirelessronin.com

          Xcel Energy Center:
          Kathy O'Connor, Director, Public & Media Relations
          (651) 265-4819
          koconnor@xcelenergycenter.com

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.

Frame Media Becomes Thinking Screen Media!

Posted on Sep 7, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Xconomy.com’s Wade Roush has posted a wonderful article about FrameMedia’s new name and additional new goals! As Thinking Screen Media, the former FrameMedia is still the leader in content delivery to connected screens worldwide.

Wireless digital photo frames, considered one of the hot new categories in consumer electronics back in 2006 and 2007, haven’t taken off as quickly as expected. People love digital frames, but they’ve tended to buy them as gifts pre-loaded with photos they uploaded to the Web, meaning many frames still don’t come with their own connection to the Internet. That’s a problem for Wellesley, MA-based Frame Media, whose whole business, when I last profiled the startup in 2007, revolved around providing fresh digital content for the frames, such as news and sports headlines, weather, and photos shared by friends.

But while Wi-Fi-equipped frames are still playing catchup, another channel for the company’s programming is emerging: so-called “connected screens,” meaning a whole variety of Internet-ready displays that are turning up in homes and offices. As a result, Frame Media is rechristening itself Thinking Screen Media, and going after what CEO Alan Phillips calls “a whole category [of displays] defined primarily by the fact that, unlike PCs, they are limited in their ability to easily search and configure content.” That includes not just digital frames but high-definition TVs, cable set-top boxes, game consoles, Internet radios, and even printers.

Through its FrameChannel platform, Thinking Screen works with publishers such as Time magazine, the New York Times, People magazine, and Weatherbug to offer more than 1,000 channels of content customized for such screens. (Users choose and configure the information feeds at Thinking Screen’s website.) The company is also partnering with virtually every consumer-electronics company on the block—names like Kodak, Motorola, Nintendo, Philips, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba—to make it easy

“Most of the connected screens haven’t hit the market yet, but they will over the next six months,” says Phillips. In particular, Phillips says, “We’ll see an aggressive push by TV manufacturers to enable TVs to go beyond video.” A taste of what he’s talking about already familiar to millions of video game fans is the home screen of the Nintendo Wii, which, in addition to games, offers links to news, weather, shopping, and photos.

The 15-employee startup collected $5 million in Series A funding from Longworth Venture Partners and CommonAngels in May 2008, and there are plans to raise a Series B round this fall, Phillips says. When it comes to supplying content for tomorrow’s connected screens, Thinking Screen has both technical and strategic advantages over existing and potential competitors, he says.

San Diego-based Chumby, whose interactive media player displays information through “widgets” analogous to Thinking Screen’s channels, is the company’s closest competitor, in Phillips’ judgment. But he thinks Chumby will have a hard time delivering content to devices other than its trademark soft-sided appliance, since the widgets depend on Adobe’s Flash video format, which most other connected screens can’t handle. Thinking Screen’s data, by contrast, is delivered using the Media RSS format, created by Yahoo in 2004 and used by thousands of content publishers.

Thinking Screen also has a network of content and manufacturing partners that would be hard for any other company to match, Phillips says. “The barrier to entry is about partnerships on the content side and more importantly on the screen manufacturer side,” he says. “As we create a critical mass of users, the revenue from advertising is shared with both content providers and screen manufacturers, so there is a stream now that encourages the screen partners to make sure that FrameChannel is enabled on their devices.”

Two new products set to emerge from Thinking Screens in the coming months are designed to widen the service’s appeal to consumers. One is a line of inexpensive digital frames dedicated to a single type of content—examples might include a frame that just shows celebrity news from People magazine or news and scores for the Boston Red Sox.

The other is a selection of 35,000 channels aggregating local information. For example, Phillips says, “You could have a Hopkinton, Massachusetts channel, where we’ve licensed content from local news sources, traffic, weather, relevant sports scores, stock quotes for companies, lottery numbers, a Twitter feed from your state representative—everything to do with Hopkinton. So you can imagine watching the Today show at seven in the morning and as a picture-in-picture experience you’re also getting your local town’s feed.”

Wade Roush is Xconomy’s chief correspondent. You can e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com, call him at (617) 252-7323, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wroush.

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.

Vanten And Quividi Team Up in Japan

Posted on Aug 31, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Chris Phelan at the Daily DOOH has posted an article about the first integrated digital signage  measurement service in Japan:

Vanten K.K. (Tokyo, Japan, CEO: Neil van Wouw) and Quividi (Paris, France, CEO: Olivier Duizabo) recently formed a strategic partnership where Vanten will act as an integration and sales partner to assist Quividi’s entry in the Japanese Digital Signage market with its automated audience measurement solution.

As part of this strategic partnership, Vanten will add audience measurement metrics to the existing Ad reporting in EngageMedia, Vanten’s Intelligent Signage Platform. The new service will be available starting Sept. 30, 2009. Both technical teams will work together to increase their competitive advantage in the market and investigate further options such as localizing and jointly operating Quividi’s VidiCenter service in Japan.

EngageMedia currently stores playback information in a database for all content and includes location, time, and actual duration as well as a time-stamped screenshot of each content playback. Customers can easily create reports for any content, time period, or group of displays. New functionalities will add information from Quividi’s VidiReports, keeping track of how many people looked at each content item and for how long. It will also record how many people in the vicinity of the displays have an Opportunity To See (OTS) the screens and how long they remain in range (dwell-time).

Vanten started testing Quividi’s audience measurement system at Yodobashi Camera’s in-store media, YodobiTV, in December 2008. The test period showed impressive results with a very high data collection accuracy and remarkably low requirements in terms of computing resources.

Until recently, audience measurement systems have been slow to detect faces and have used significant amounts of computing power, often requiring special, dedicated computing hardware. The accuracy was also insufficient for producing reliable metrics or quality customer reports. The high price tag also proved to be a major barrier to widespread adoption of the technology. Whereas alternative systems are usually deployed only in key locations, Quividi’s affordable pricing model makes it possible to consider audience measurement with each and every display.

“We’re very excited to be working with Quividi”, said Neil van Wouw, CEO of Vanten , “Our evaluation showed them to be a best-of-breed solution. Quividi showed commitment to standardization by quickly demonstrating consistency with the OVAB audience metric guidelines, and in our estimation, Quividi is currently the only practical way to bring true audience measurement to every display in a large scale deployment. Together we can leverage EngageMedia’s ability to bring more content and advertising variations than ever before, and Quividi’s ability to provide automated and precise metrics at fine grained, single content play level. This is the vision we are striving to realize.”

“Vanten is rapidly emerging as the leading player in Digital Signage in Japan, and we’re delighted to be teaming up with a such a visionary company”, said Olivier Duizabo, CEO of Quividi. “Vanten’s plan to include audience measurement in its standard offer is perfectly tuned to our own vision: ubiquitous real time metrics will generate trust and sharpen the execution of marketing campaigns to ultimately boost the performance of Digital Signage networks. We’re confident that, jointly, we will deliver a superior solution to the Japanese market”.

About Vanten

Vanten has been operating since September 1998, and currently delivers a full suite of digital signage services and solutions. Vanten’s Intelligent Signage Platform, EngageMedia, offers world class digital signage advertising and content management, data network management, security and dynamic content feature modules. Vanten also makes award winning content for Digital Signage, and with its AdChoice division, is a leading DOOH Agency in Japan.

The Maturing of Digital Signage

Posted on Aug 28, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

SelfService.org posted an article about how the digital signage industry is now considered “mainstream.”  Author Ajay Chowdhury, the CEO of EnQii, has done a great job explaining this:

There has been a great deal of talk over recent years that the digital signage industry is finally “crossing the chasm” of early adopters and pioneers into the mainstream. We believe that this process is now underway and that the growth in the industry that has often been predicted is materializing.

We believe that this is based around five key factors:

a) Clearer understanding of the benefits of digital signage by sector.

When any new medium arises, it tends to use paradigms from old media to launch the new medium. For example, television borrowed from theatre and the Internet borrowed from magazines. This continues for a while until the new medium begins to create its own vocabulary and changes things in line with the way consumers use the new medium.

Similarly the DOOH space initially used the paradigms of billboards and television when it first launched. While these paradigms may be appropriate in certain situations, it is only now beginning to re-invent itself as its own medium meeting the specific needs of consumers in a place-based way.

There is now a much clearer focus on understanding the role and objectives of the network it is an advertising, merchandising and information network with clearer metrics on measuring the ROI.

This also spills through into understanding how the signage network will work in different environments and how the customer should be addressed. Advertising has classically gone through four phases: interruption, entertainment, engagement and dialogue. In the first phase, the ad interrupts what the consumer is doing and often forces them to watch the ad. This was the classical television advertising model of the seventies where consumers had no choice but to view the ad.

The eighties marked the start of entertaining advertising where the consumer wanted to see the ad and received a payoff from it. The Internet moved things along in the nineties towards an engagement model where the consumer focused on ads that interested them and they became more engaged with the products. Finally in the last few years brands have realized that advertising is about a dialogue with the consumer. Mobile and social networking technologies facilitate this ongoing dialogue.

Digital signage can also use these models effectively in different environments. For instance, in environments with a fast moving audience (outdoor, transport hubs, malls), the interrupt model still dominates the out of home space. In areas with a higher dwell time (cinemas, beauty salons), you start seeing more of an entertainment and engagement model while in other specific areas of healthcare, some retail environments and food services you can now move towards an engagement and dialogue model.

The dialogue model is being used effectively by some digital signage providers. For example, EnQii partner with Ping Mobile, who link the digital signage software to their mobile marketing infrastructure. This allows viewers of digital signage ads to respond and interact using their cellular or mobile handheld technology.

This type of strategic analysis of the networks allows the operator to ensure the best content is delivered in the most appropriate fashion to get the desired result.

b) Maturing of the technology and content

Another area that is driving the industry forward is the maturing technology. Historically, the industry has moved from unconnected DVD based networks to simple connected networks to more complex networks with sophisticated advertising scheduling.

Going forward, it will be important that the network owner has technology that utilizes the basics – it needs to be scalable, reliable and secure. But it also needs to be an open platform that allows third party and internally developed applications to link to it to provide cost and revenue benefits. EnQii, for example, has always been a believer in open API’s (Application Program Interfaces), which allows customers to create front ends that link to the software so that they can link into their own workflows. This also allows linkages to “best of breed” systems such as ordering systems for digital menu boards, wayfinding, ePOS and queuing systems on an as needed basis.

Finally, the technology needs to be easy to use, but complex enough to perform all the key tasks needed. This is no mean feat, as the software has to be used by marketing professionals as well as systems administrators. The wrong design fill frustrates both types of users, whereas the right design will ensure neither of them notice the complexity.

The content has also matured. Initially networks often put up TV or stills that they had available. However, current networks such as Footlocker, Care Media, Harley Davidson, and the WHEN network are realizing that ultimately what matters is that what is seen on the screen and a deep understanding of customer behavior will allow the networks to get the best results.

c) ‘Serious’ companies beginning to invest in signage networks

As is typical for companies “crossing the chasm”, network operators have gone from an entrepreneur with a dream and some family funding to large multinational companies beginning to invest as well as financial companies putting serious investment behind networks.

This is important because a lot of early failures in the industry’s experimental years have been from entrepreneurs who secured a good estate and some financing, but they made the mistake of assuming that they could build advertising revenues as they rolled their network out. Typically ad revenues come in on a stepped basis over time. Ideally, networks need a certain critical mass which is dependent on the advertising strategy (national, regional, local) and the desirability of the demographic before receiving any revenues. Hence, there is a need for adequate funding to bridge the gap to that critical mass as opposed to assuming ad revenues will flow as soon as just a few locations are installed.

In the last six months we have seen companies like McDonald’s and well-financed companies like Care Media and Zoom all invest in the space. These rollouts bode well for the industry, especially in recessionary times. The food services sector, healthcare, hair salons and a few others continue to do well in a soft economy as the network operators realize the importance of staying close to the consumer and influencing their purchases when dollars are tight.

Finally, the ad agencies have also started to set up dedicated divisions for digital out of home with Kinetic and Posterscope taking the lead in this area.

d) ‘Serious’ suppliers providing a full service

The flip side of serious network owners is that of serious suppliers. Historically the digital signage industry was a bit of a cottage industry. Over recent years this has changed and EnQii was set up specifically to create a leadership position in the space. The focus moved from hardware to communications – having a deep understanding of what signage works and what does not and how to get the best return. Operating as a global player and being well funded became the focus in order to be able to invest in the best technology for the customers. It became about creating the best partnerships and offering a full service solution to large networks. The idea is to let the networks do what they do best – monetizing their customer by offering the best service and content while allowing the service provider to do the rest and minimize the risk of the venture.

e) The view from China

Finally, the growth of DOOH in the Chinese market has proved that there is a real business there. Focus Media is generating close to $400m a year in revenues and has bypassed many of the agencies to go directly to advertisers for a large portion of this money. AirMedia had revenues of $119m and Vision had revenues of over $100m. While some dynamics in China are different – for instance, there is a higher propensity for out of home consumption – it proves that there is real money to be made in these businesses.

In summary, optimism remains about the growth of the DOOH sector and the belief that it will continue to accelerate as all involved learn more about the medium and how the consumer interacts with it.

EnQii wins 10 major new accounts in the first six months of 2009

Posted on Aug 26, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Digital Signage Today has listed EnQii’s major new accounts for 2009:

NEW YORK — EnQii has announced that it will be rolling out significant digital signage networks with the following new clients in the food services, health, retail and leisure sectors.

1. McDonald’s has completed its trial and is expanding the digital signage network in their restaurants in the U.K. to enhance the in-store experience and raise sales through digital merchandising. Initial results have shown a positive uplift for their sales and impressive ROI.

2. Care Media is one of the largest healthcare operators in the U.S. with screens in pediatric and women’s health centers. They are following an advertising model as pharmaceutical companies are finding DOOH an effective way to reach their customers.

3. EWI Worldwide, one of the leading U.S. designers and manufacturers of in-store merchandising and retail environments, has selected EnQii as their digital signage solution partner. EWI Worldwide’s Digital Media Solution is being deployed in major retailers, financial services and other shopping venues.

4. AMF Bowling is a leisure operator in the U.K. and chose EnQii to develop their digital merchandising strategy and provide screens in their bowling alleys to promote merchandise products available for their clientele.

5. DC Lottery is a major lottery operator in Washington DC and selected EnQii to deliver digital signage to promote their lottery products.

6. Sports Display is a company that runs activity and information centers in sports and retail locations in the U.S. They chose EnQii to launch advertising based screen products.

7. Health Media Network has screens in hospitals in the US and is using EnQii to deliver an advertising based network.

8. Prime Digital Media is Australia’s number one digital out–of–home media company and has joined forces in a comprehensive partnership with EnQii designed to employ EnQii’s EnGage technology across its DOOH media networks.

9. Village Roadshow is Australia’s largest operator of cinemas and theme parks and chose EnQii for advertising and merchandising screens in their cinemas.

10. Gloss Media has appointed EnQii to roll out their digital signage network in beauty salons, initially across the New York area.

Capital Networks Targets Campus Markets

Posted on Aug 21, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Gail Chiasson at the Daily DOOH has an excellent post up today about Capital Networks LTD’s new market initiative:

Markham, Ont.-based Capital Networks Ltd., a major provider of broadcasting and dynamic digital signage software, has launched a new market initiative into the Canadian educational sector.

CNL’s 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 Audience.Campus solution can run up to 100 channels simultaneously through a single deployment which ensures that individual departments can control the content on their digital screens and deliver local information such as room schedules, or class notifications – all of which can be uploaded easily by staff or students.

“While the university may want to control the general and emergency notices on screens, many university departments want to control their own information,” says Blake Reeves, CNL’s manager of business development. “They also often each control their own budgets so the system has to be flexible as well as powerful.

“Our system works on a contentious scheduling module, so all content is ready to go at a certain time. Emergency messages are ready to run and preempt as necessary whether in one building or right across a campus.”

CNL already has a range of high profile clients in the education sector, including the University of Waterloo, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, UCLA and University of Regina.

“We know CNL has a good product for the the campus market so decided to specialize on the educational vertical sector as one of our key targets,” says Reeves.

Among others, CNL also works with the BBC, the US Marines, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,Pan Pacific Hotels in Singapore, Cablevision and OBN.

Reeves says, “The digital signage market now stands at over US$800 million according Digital Signage Resource, and is the broadcasting method of choice for a range of industries. It’s not surprising that it’s also becoming popular in large educational institutions, like colleges and universities, because it is designed to cope with the complex layout of the buildings and the wide-reaching audience. “

CNL, founded in 1991 and a privately held company headed by Bill Trainor, president, provides its broadcasting and dynamic digital signage software to 35 countries worldwide through authorized re-sellers. educational, broadcast, cable, retail, digital signage, hospitality, military and medical applications.

The convergence of digital signage and Twitter

Posted on Aug 17, 2009 by Jane Goodwin at 12:05 am

Editor Bill Yackey at DigitalSignageToday.com posts about the increased presence of digital signage on the social media site Twitter:

Like many industries, digital signage is seeing an increased presence on the social media site Twitter. Just by searching the term “digital signage” or the #digitalsignage hashtag, users are exposed to candid conversations about trends, news and products that previously only occurred in one-on-one phone calls and tradeshow floor chatter.

Twitter, and its 140-character messaging style, is also beginning to find its way on to digital signage screens, opening up a new way of engaging audiences and providing user-generated digital signage content.

Perhaps the most forward-thinking company in this area has been LocaModa, which has integrated Twitter into its digital signage social media tool Wiffiti. Previously, Wiffiti served as a platform where users could text messages to a short code and have them show up on screens in bars, restaurants, cafes, etc.

Now, LocaModa president Stephen Randall says the company is “tagging” Twitter terms, allowing Twitter to automatically send relevant messages to the screen which users can respond to. Take the term “weather,” for example:

“The most mundane topics like weather can be brought to life with Twitter,” Randall said. “Many digital signage screens feature a weather banner. If you tag Twitter with weather and display it on a Wiffiti screen, you can connect people all around the world. It could be raining I Massachusetts, and you could see messages from people in California talking about how sunny it is or from Japan talking about how it’s freezing. It can still tell you today’s weather, but tell you in a way that makes you feel connected.”

There are other approaches to integrating Twitter into digital signage content without launching an entire platform. Gavin Stark, VP of product development for Real Digital Media (RDM), said that since Twitter offers several RSS feeds per account, they could be integrated into content similar to the way news and weather feeds are:

1) Create a server somewhere that pre-processes the Twitter feed for certain formatting or exclusion rules

2) Take the RSS data straight in as a ticker.

3) Develop a flash page to read the RSS stream and jazz it up

4) Create a Web page (either as a Web archive or live from a server), use Javascript to read the RSS feed.

Stark said that for the BarCamp 2008 convention, he wrote a Web page that pulled Twitter hashtags on an RDM player and showed it on a 42-inch screen with a sidebar showing sponsors and RDM company info.

How is your digital signage company using Twitter?

@signagelive: To keep a regular dialogue with users and followers and fill the gaps in info between blog posts. Also adding to signagelive software for alerts etc. (Remote Media)

@ghigliotty: We are using it extensively for our digital merchandising division; driving traffic to the YouTube channel among others. (Artisan Complete)

@stephenrandall: LocaModa tags Twitter on Wiffiti screens for DOOH and events. Also active Twitterers. (LocaModa)

@Keywest_Tech: Keywest Technology is using Twitter to connect to the DS community and for public relations. (Keywest Technology)

@NEOCAST: Try to use Twitter to create a point of view for our company. Try not to “overpimp” the brand. (Real Digital Media)

@devinimamura: We use twitter to send us messages on what our software is doing or any errors that occur. (.AdvancedMethod)