March / April 2013

The Technology and Solutions Magazine for Digital Signage, DOOH, Mobile and Place-based Digital Media

Signage SolutionsMarch/April 2013

FUN AT THE SQUAREVideo technology advertises, engages inside Philadelphia's Commerce Square p12

DRIVING SALES UPArizona auto dealer moves advertising priorities in-house p14

www.signagesolutionsmag.com

BEST

The rise of the social media command center p38

Using digital menu boards, Pizza Hut Express lets the food sell itself

UNLEASHINGNEW MEDIA

IN SHOW

D I G I T A L S I G N A G E S O L U T I O N S

Capital Networks Limited620 Alden Road, Suite 103Markham, Ontario, L3R 9R7

Tel: 905 946-1122Fax: 905 [email protected]

www.capitalnetworks.com

AUDIENCE DIGITALSIGNAGE SOLUTIONS

From simple, very affordable, one screen displays to extensive worldwide networks that include dozens or even hundreds of screens, the Audience platform provides all the software tools needed to create, manage,and play out dynamic digital signage on any display device including LCD, Plasma, large LED displays and projectors up to full HD resolution.

Training

Consultation

24/7 Technical Support

Content and Data

Production

3 Year Total Support Plan

Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android media player and software bundle provides a high performance, low cost alternative for dynamic digital signage displays.

AUDIENCEFOR ANDROID

Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android

Single and Multi-Zone Layouts

Real-Time Scheduling

Support of Live Data Feeds

As Run Logs for Content Verification

Command and Control Capability

And much more

Publisher’s PerspectiveSignageSolutions

magazine

March/April 2013 • Volume Four • Issue Two

Publisher/Editorial Director Ben Skidmore

(972) 587-9064 [email protected]

Subscriptions/Circulation Mia Kinzer


Accounting (972) 782-2490

[email protected]

Advertising Ben Skidmore — East Coast


Kristie Thymes — West Coast (972) 782-9841

[email protected]

Website/Webmaster (888) 284-8334

[email protected]

Editorial Sherleen Mahoney (817) 372-3497

[email protected]

Megan Weadock (214) 918-9908

[email protected]

Design/Production SPARK Publications (704) 844-6080

[email protected]

Home Office

6401 W. Eldorado Pkwy.,Suite 307, McKinney, TX 75070

(972) 782-2490 phone • (972) 692-8138 fax

Signage Solutions Magazine (ISSN 2159-0060) is published bi-monthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec) by Partners Publishing, 6401 W. Eldorado Parkway, Suite 307, McKinney, TX 75070. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices Pending at McKinney TX 75070 and at additional mailing offices. Basic subscriptions rates: one year (6 issues) free to qualified subscribers. Others may subscribe at a cost of $60 for 6 issues. Individuals copies sold for $15, per issue. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Signage Solutions Magazine c/o Partners Publishing, 6401 W. Eldorado Parkway, Suite 307, McKinney, TX 75070

Author’s Guidelines: Signage Solutions will consider manuscripts that arenot offered to other publications. Preferred length is700 words (case studies) or 1200 -1,500 words(Features). Please submit manuscripts to Editorial Director at the mailing address above or send viae-mail to: [email protected]

Find us on Twitter @SignageSolMagFollow Signage Solutions Magazine on Facebook

Better Than EverWelcome to spring, and welcome to another edition of Signage Solutions.If you’re like me, this is the time of year that you’re most energized and most excited about what lies ahead. And in this industry, the future looks sunny and bright indeed.

Digital signage is growing like never before, with rapid great numbers of networks being deployed in a staggering range of verticals. Just look at the recent success of the Digital Signage Expo® (DSE), which was held in February at the Las Vegas Convention Center. In its 10th year, DSE saw more growth than ever before, with a 9 percent jump in attendance over 2012 and a record 211 exhibitors, which was a 22 percent increase over the previous conference.

This record showing at DSE is proof that the digital signage industry is strong and growing ever stronger. More and more businesses are seeking new and innovative ways to communicate to their employees and customers, in the form of technology that can do more than ever before—all while saving them time and money. And it’s not just an American phenomenon. International attendance at DSE also hit a record high, with 11.6 percent more international attendees than 2012’s show. Large, global corporations, like Pizza Hut, are helping to lead the charge, encouraging the growth of digital signage networks into every corner of the world. And, as we discover in this month’s cover story, “Best in Show,” on page 24, this forward progress is often led by the smallest entrepreneurs.

Pizza Hut Express franchisees are now being given the option of installing digital menu boards, as opposed to the traditional static ones. As the benefits of digital are proven again and again, a growing number of the franchisees are opting to invest in the technology.

At Pizza Hut Express and so many other restaurants around the world, digital menu boards are quickly growing in popularity. In fact, some of the largest digital signage deployments worldwide are now digital menu boards. In this case, the proof is in the pizza: Customers are naturally drawn to dynamic, colorful signage. And when that signage is showcasing mouthwatering pizza and breadsticks, digital is really the only way to go.

I can’t wait to see how the rest of the year will unfold in our industry. I envision continued growth, especially in digital menu boards, as the year progresses. And here’s hoping we’ll wrap it all up with another banner year at DSE 2014, which will be held February 11-13, 2014, in Las Vegas.

In the meantime, let us know what you think will be the year’s biggest trends and successes in digital signage: billboards, menu boards, wayfinding, smaller-scale digital advertising? Email me at [email protected] and let me know your thoughts.

Until next time,

Ben [email protected]

1MARCH/APRIL 2013Digital Signage Technology for Today’s Applications

Vertical Views - Retail

The Space BetweenFurniture showroom beams content to 30 screens using white-space channels

Vertical Views - Public Spaces Fun at the SquareVideo technology advertises, engages inside Philadelphia's Commerce Square

March/April 2013

Signage Solutionsmagazine

The Technology and Solutions Magazine for Digital Signage, DOOH, Mobile and Place-based Digital Media

Contents Technology@WorkA brief look at company/industry news within the digital signage industry.

10

12

18

6

24

14

38

Driving Sales UpArizona auto dealer moves advertising priorities in-house,with near-immediate benefits to sales and customers

Best in ShowUsing digital menu boards, Pizza Hut Express lets the food sell itself

Unleashing New MediaThe rise of the social media command center

Signage Solutions & ProductsDigital signage products and solutions, along with the technology which runs them, make the industry what it is today. Every issue of Signage Solutions magazine features new products and solutions.

30 Vertical Views - Public Spaces

Culture on the Center StageEsplanade Arts and Heritage Centre installs Audience for Android digital signage solution

Vertical Views - Public SpacesThe Fairest One of All

Orange County Fairgrounds uses digital signage to keep guests informed

features

20

2 www.signagesolutionsmag.com

Commercial-grade, LCD and LED monitors from Mitsubishi are setting the new standard in high definition, digital signage. Ranging from 32” to 70” diagonal sizes, Mitsubishi professional grade monitors are a great fit for virtually any installation.

With optional RISC based media players from IAdea, as well as available touch screen integration, Mitsubishi’s digital signage monitors let you handle your digital signage easily and bring your application to life, all you have to do is simply JUST ADD GRAPHICS!

Call us today for a demo and see how Mitsubishi displays are setting the new standard.

WWW.MITSUBISHI-PRESENTATIONS.COMTOLL FREE 888.307.0349

CANADA: WWW.MITSUBISHIELECTRIC.CAPHONE 905.475.7728

DIGITALSIGNAGEMADE SIMPLE

DIGITALSIGNAGEMADE SIMPLE

Visit the NEW

www.SignageSolutionsMag.com

Breaking News

Featured Articles

Downloads/ White Papers

Hot New

Products

Industry Videos

Lyle BunnPrincipal & Strategy Architect

BUNN Company

Jason CareyVice President,

Retail Digital Signage Network DirectorWells Fargo

Andreas ClausDirector, Production Services

Vanderbilt University

Linda HofflanderDirector Vertical Marketing

Samsung Electronics

Garry McGuireChief Executive Officer

RMG Networks

Stephen NesbitManaging Director

Prestonwood Trail Holdings

Judd NorrisGeneral Manager,

Legends Entertainment District,Phoenix Suns / Arizona Diamondbacks

Patrick QuinnPresident & CEO

PQ Media

Pedro Andres Sanchez Senior Vice President,

Creative TechnologyMonster Media

Hugh SinnockDirector, Customer Experience

Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority

Dave TaylorAudio Visual Engineer

American Eagle Outfitters

Daniel TrigubVice President, Business Development

Chief Financial OfficerBlue Bite

Donald Van BurenDirector, Interactive Media

Torrance Memorial Medical Center

Brian GorgExecutive Director

Digital Signage Federation

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD


EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

create dynamic video walls -

without the wall.

Chief’s new Fusion® Series freestanding solution makes it possible

to construct video walls in prominent locations for temporary digital

signage needs, or when wall mounting is not an option. Three

configurations are available and can be combined with accessories to

create eye-catching video walls up to three displays high and any length.

Visit chiefmfg.com for more information.

800.582.6480 n www.chiefmfg.com

Are you A Chief Certified PArtner? Register at www.chiefmfg.com/certification

©2012 Milestone AV Technologies, a Duchossois Company. Chief is a division of Milestone. SignSol_OCT12.

lvm3X3U

lvm3X2Ulvm2X2U

FEATURES

• Compatible with 40” - 65” displays

• Tool-free Microzone adjustments for perfect

display alignment

• Fully integrated cable management

• Multiple accessory options

& U

pdate

sIn

dust

ry N

ews

Technology @ Work

Go to www.signagesolutionsmag.com to read full version of articles found in the Industry News & Updates section of Signage Solutions Magazine.

DSE 2013 Shattered Records, Announced Move in 2014

Digital Signage Expo® (DSE), the world’s larg-est and longest running International Conference and Tradeshow dedicated exclusively to digital signage, interactive technology and digital out-of-home networks (DOOH), announced that its tenth anniversary show held in February at the Las Vegas Convention Center has officially shattered previous records, set a new attendance milestone and reinforced DSE’s position as the digital signage industry’s preeminent show. Show management has confirmed that a new all-time benchmark established at DSE 2013 includes:

• 4,080 qualified attendees (excluding exhibitors) – a 1.4% increase over 2012

• Record conference attendance – a 9% increase over 2012

• Record international attendance from a total of 77 countries – an increase of 11.6% over 2012

• Record 211 exhibitors – an increase of 22% over 2012

• 68,895 net square feet – a 10.3% increase over 2012

NOTE: DSE 2014 will be held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas February 11-13, 2014.


Barco LiveDots lights up Johannesburg with 20 million LEDs

Barco LiveDots, a Barco company, recently delivered its largest LED solution to date: a 2,650 sqm. LED display com-posed of 2,880 TF-20 tiles. Designed by Herring Media Group, the display covers all four sides of the Absa Tower in Johannesburg, home to Absa – a member of the Barclays Group. It is yet another milestone project for Barco LiveDots, scarcely six months after its groundbreaking realization at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Featuring nearly 20 million LEDs, this amazing LED display will be used for branding and marketing purposes. It was chosen on account of its reliability and impressive image quality, achieved through the combination of Barco LiveDots’ TF-20 LED display system and unique image processing technology. Furthermore, Barco LiveDots’ dedication and its worldwide reputation as a trusted supplier of large-scale, extraordinary LED display installations won the customer over. "A project of this scale demands the full attention of an integrated team that works with vision and precision at all times. Our collaboration with Barco was true to this require-ment and brought great confidence to the program," says Marc Herring of Herring Media Group.

One of the unique features setting the Barco LiveDots solutions apart is the ability to run, control and monitor the complete 2,650 sqm. display as one single image, by one single operator. All four sides of the LED display form a unique large canvas, where video and images can easily move from side to side. At the heart of the installation is Barco’s market-leading DX-700 video processor, one of the most powerful video processors on the market today, and the brains residing inside Barco’s remote management software.

2012 Partner of the Year

deel( mediaD��!M��, LLC.

Leader in Digital Menu Board DesignDeveloper of the Innovative CARBON™ Digital Menu Board Platform

for excellence in digital menu board design, technology, and customer service in the U.S., Europe, and Asia

selected YUM! Brands Express

Full Service: Food Styling, Food Photography, Graphic Design, Animation, Software, Integration, Management, Installation, Support

DEEL! Media 12395 Morris Road, Suite 100, Alpharetta, Georgia 30005 (770) 619-1225 [email protected]

Congratulations

www.deelmedia.com

Technology @ Work

NBA’s San Antonio Spurs Communicate with Digital Signage Solution by Muzak Texas and 11Giraffes

11Giraffes, smart business media and Muzak Texas were pleased to announce a new digital media partnership for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Muzak Texas is providing digital signage services, utilizing the 11Giraffes digital media platform, in the Spurs’ practice facility.

This digital media solution was designed specifically to accommodate the team’s desire to internally communicate up-to-the-minute daily team activities, team announcements, travel schedule with local city weather conditions, and timely press information relevant for player’s agendas. Multiple displays, located throughout the Spurs’ practice facility work in concert to effectively ad-dress the team’s requirements.

“We’re proud to be supporting the Spurs organization, which is recognized worldwide for its track record of excellence.” says 11Gi-raffes Vice President of Business Development, Jim Laughridge. “Muzak Texas continually partners with best-in-class businesses through-out South Texas as an opportunity to provide innovative multimedia solutions from beginning to end – and even beyond that, with their reli-able follow-up support.”

Freshëns Rolls out Digital Signage in 700 US Locations

Videotel and Freshëns Company announced the rollout of digital signage in 700 locations using Video-tel's industrial media player, the VP70 for it's reliable 24/7/365 continuous play with a lifespan of four plus years. Videotel, a manufacturer of industrial video products and Freshëns, the largest frozen yogurt and smoothie company in the United States joined forces for in-store digital signage to build a solid foundation of high-performing, popular locations with a new brand design and digital menu. The decision by was made by Freshëns to move forward with Videotel's products due to its positive reputation in the market for the last 32 years. Based in San Diego, CA Videotel serves the food and beverage, hospitality and retail markets with it's leading industrial video products and solutions.


Daktronics Selected to Provide New LED Technology for Sports Authority Field at Mile High and Denver Broncos

Daktronics of Brookings, S.D., announced that they have been selected by the Denver Broncos and the Metropolitan Football District to design, manufacture and install an integrated LED display system at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

“Broncos fans deserve to have the best in-stadium experience we can possibly provide. These improvements will benefit fans on each level and in every section of the stadium,” said Andy Gorchov, General Manager of Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

New video displays featuring the latest in LED technology will replace the original systems at Sports Authority Field with a high definition

display with 952 lines of resolution, measuring 40 feet high and 220 feet wide. Featuring a Daktronics HD pixel layout, all displays will have excellent image clarity and contrast, multiple levels of protection from the elements and a more robust cabinet design with an im-proved ventilation system. These new displays are capable of showing one large image to highlight live video and instant replays or can be divided into separate windows to show a variety of vivid graphics, colorful animations, up-to-the-minute statistics, scoring information and sponsor advertisements with outstanding brightness and wide-angle visibility.

Surrounding fans along the club level fascia will be a new 1,424-foot long LED ribbon display providing up-to-the-minute statistics and game information.

Technology @ Work

Universal’s NEW Q-Can LED

driver is designed to simplify

installation and provide long

dependable life in tough

applications. With its corrosion

resistant aluminum housing,

the Q-Can is IP67 and meets

UL’s requirements for dry,

damp, and wet locations.

the Q-CanIntroducingthe Q-CanIntroducingthe Q-CanIntroducing

No Separate EnclosureRequired & IP67 Rated

NanoLumens Helped Twitter Project The Right Image At 2013 SXSW

Cutting-edge solutions providers tend to gravitate toward one another. Nowhere is this more evident than the convergence of social media titan Twitter and digital display pioneer NanoLumens® at SXSW Interactive (SXSWi). There, NanoSlim® DS and NanoFlex® displays were used inside #FEED, powered by Twitter, to provide guests with an engaging offline experience that projects the reach and power of social media into the physical world. #FEED launched with a private press event on March 8 at the Austin Museum of the Arts in Austin, Texas.

Twitter has partnered with Learned Evolution for the second year in a row to throw a series of high-tech, high-energy @Night parties featuring performances by world-class electronic DJs, AV artists, VJs and very special guests, as well as host yoga classes, bootcamps and spin classes during the day with live DJs.

According to Learned Evolution’s founder Justin Bolognino, NanoLumens and Twitter form a perfect symbiotic partnership. “For #FEED at South by Southwest Interactive 2013, Twitter asked us to come up with an even bigger, better and brighter high-tech, high-energy environment than last year,” Bolognino said. “I was so excited when I was intro-duced to NanoLumens because everything about their technology is representative of innovative, outside-the-box thinking, and Twitter knows a thing or two about innovation itself, so they come together perfectly to provide Twitter’s @Night party with an incredible crowd-commanding digital canvas.”

Admerge Media Launches a National Health Care Media Network

Admerge Media Inc. announced that they are using ScreenScape to launch a state-of-the-art medical media network, which will connect industry partners and educate patients across Canada. Emergency room physician, Hany Demian, is the Founder of Admerge. “Place-based media is new to healthcare,” says Demian. “And the benefits are becom-ing more obvious every day. Our mission is to help healthcare professionals and brands to strengthen their relationships with patients and provide value-added healthcare information where it matters most.”

Demian sees an opportunity to capitalize on a growing trend in the healthcare industry towards paperless waiting rooms.

“Physicians know that magazines and brochures, once a mainstay of patient waiting areas, are an easy means for germs to spread,” Demian said. “At the same time, the delivery of effective healthcare services has become more knowledge-based, more infused with the shar-ing of good information. So, we need a new way to educate and entertain patients that is both safe and smart. Intelligent digital displays will become an indispensable feature of waiting rooms in healthcare facilities across Canada over the next few years. Admerge Media, in collaboration with our technology partner, ScreenScape, will lead the way, enabling more than 700 venues this year alone."

MultiTouch Creates Massive Interactive Aquarium

MultiTouch Ltd. announced the world’s largest fully interactive, unlimited multi-touch installation with the biggest continuous array of touch displays at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia. The installation includes an incredible 48 individual 55-inch Ultra-Thin Bezel MultiTaction dis-plays to create a continuous wrap-around arrange-

ment in The Cube, the centerpiece of QUT’s new $230 million Science and Engineering Centre.

The Cube comprises several educational zones, including a two-story Virtual Reef that delivers a fully immersive marine life experience. By simply touching each animal as it appears on the display, users can learn and expand their knowledge about animals in the reef over the entire 46-foot wall.


Vertical View Retail

The Space BetweenFurniture showroom beams content to 30 screens using white-space channels

Gardner-White furniture showroom beams content to 30 screens with a single wireless Peerless-AV PeerAir pico broadcaster.

As Michigan’s Gardner-White Furniture prepared to open its ninth and largest store in 2012, manag-ers faced a digital signage dilemma.

They wanted to be able to deliver pre-recorded content to 30 TV screens located throughout the 70,000-square-foot, 350x242-foot showroom, move TVs periodically to refresh store displays and avoid having to use a DVD player at each TV. And they wanted to accomplish this without long cable runs and high installation costs. The answer was to go wireless, yet even the best wireless content distribution systems on the market at that time had only a four-screen multicasting limit and a maximum signal range of less than 150 feet.

That changed with the mid-2012 introduction of Peerless-AV’s PeerAir™ Pico Broadcaster, the first wireless HD delivery system to use over-the-air broadcasting over open “white-space” channels. With a reach of 350 feet—nearly triple the trans-mission distance of most WiFi-based solutions—this FCC-approved personal broadcast system has the industry-first ability to stream content from a single transmitter to an unlimited number of digital TVs equipped with an ATSC tuner and over-the-air antenna to receive the broadcast signal on an open white-space channel.

In September 2012, with the help of long-time technology partner Best Buy for Business, Gardner-White’s new Auburn Hills flagship store, located north of Detroit, became the first commercial installa-tion of the PeerAir Pico Broadcaster.

The system is saving thousands of dollars in cabling costs, overcoming the range and scale limi-tations of earlier-generation wireless digital signage solutions, and eliminating the need for IT interven-tion to ensure wireless connection whenever screens are moved to accommodate shifting store layouts. It is also paving the way for Gardner-White’s market-ing department to expand the promotional use of digital signage by allowing seasonal sales, client testimonials and other content to be assembled digitally without burning and distributing DVDs.

Breaking the DVD HabitGardner-White stores began using digital

signage in 2009 primarily to play commercial movies, add entertainment to select stores and encourage customers to linger. The movies were delivered on DVD or Blu-ray players connected to each TV, avoiding the expense of running cables to each display as well as providing the flexibility to relocate screens as merchandising needs changed

without being tethered to hard-wired connections. Over time, however, the shortcomings of the

DVD strategy became clear. With 10 to 30 screens per store, loading new DVDs into players took hours of work. Content running in a given store was always out of sync because there was no way to start all the DVDs simultaneously. The DVD/Blu-ray players had to be replaced regularly because of continuous use. Most painfully, the need to produce and disseminate DVDs discour-aged the marketing team from using digital signage for in-store promotions, resulting in lost marketing opportunities.

In 2011, Gardner-White decided to cut the DVD cord by moving to wireless technology. Sever-al stores deployed a Wi-Fi-based wireless system, which was state of the art at the time, enabling one transmitter to broadcast to four receivers. At a store with 12 screens, for example, the installation required three transmitters, each connected to a source device (in this case, DVD players, since the store was already using them), plus one receiver per display. Nine of the previously used 12 DVD players and multiple copies of DVD movies at that store were eliminated.

This approach lightened the content manage-


ment load, but key drawbacks remained. First, the technology had a maximum broadcasting reach of only 60 to 130 feet, depending on obstructions. Second, it could support no more than 12 receivers within 260 feet, making it unsuitable for Gardner-White stores with more than 12 screens. Third, transmitters and receivers had to be repositioned by IT technicians whenever a TV was moved to ensure a proper wireless connection.

Broadcasting BreakthroughThe 2012 release of the PeerAir Pico Broadcast-

er eliminated all of these sticking points by harness-ing the power of over-the-air broadcast technology. Signals are broadcast over the UHF 500-700 MHz frequency to any open local white-space channel left unused when the United States converted from analog to digital television in 2009, unleashing never-before-possible wireless content distribution capabilities with HD-broadcast-quality resolutions of up to 720p or 1080i.

The PeerAir Pico Broadcaster’s over-the-air broadcasting strategy removes the point-to-point distribution restrictions and signal interference problems of Wi-Fi and the associated limits on scal-ability, enabling content to be sent to any number of screens within the system’s 350-foot radius. Using the 500-700 MHz spectrum instead of higher-frequency Wi-Fi solutions lengthens the signal range and improves through-the-wall transmission.

Another benefit is simplicity. The only hardware required is a single laptop-sized personal broad-cast station that receives content from a PC or media player, plus a standard over-the-air antenna

connected to each TV. No additional receivers or associated power sources are needed at each screen, reducing costs and complexity while also eliminating the need to adjust transmitters or receiv-ers if a display is moved or added.

The system also features:• Drag-and-drop conversion of virtually any

video file (MPG, MOV, AVI, WMV, etc.) to the MPEG2 transport stream format required for broadcasting, using Peerless-AV’s stream-ing media server software bundled with the package

• Easy FCC registration and system configura-tion to an available white-space channel based on the facility’s geographical location, all with online tools provided

• High-speed data transfer to the PeerAir Pico Broadcaster, via Ethernet, from any laptop, desktop PC or media player with IP transport output capabilities

Going Live With these specifications precisely matching

Gardner-White’s needs, the PeerAir Pico Broadcast-er was rolled out at the chain’s 30-screen Auburn Hills store a few days before the new location was scheduled to open in September 2012.

Installers first configured the PeerAir Pico Broad-caster to sit on the local network using two static IP addresses—required for controlling and streaming the content—and selected an open white-space channel to broadcast to. Next they strapped the Broadcaster to the rafters in the middle of the show-room, adjacent to an IT cabinet from which the network connection would be made. They tested the reception by wheeling a cart containing a TV tuned into the selected white-space channel with a connected antenna from one end of the showroom to another.

The test showed that the TV received a strong signal throughout the showroom regardless of the

distance or obstructions. The content came through even in a conference room 160 feet from the broadcast antenna with three full walls in between, and in the warehouse located behind a metal stud wall and several showroom-dividing walls. The next day, the IT administrator installed Peerless-AV’s soft-ware onto a computer in the IT server room at the far end of the facility. The system was then ready for opening day, complete with remote access to load and control the content even via a smartphone.

Today the Auburn Hills store uses the PeerAir Pico Broadcaster to feed movies and seasonal and/or evergreen promotional content to the majority of its 30 screens, while continuing to rely on local DVD players to promote spot sales and other current information on other TVs. Gardner-White’s other stores are expected to transition to the PeerAir Pico Broadcaster solution in 2013, when a new Peerless-AV software option will allow content to be delivered to all sites from a central location.

“Digital signage is a powerful tool for us, but the size of our stores and the number of screens made it difficult to find an efficient management strategy,“ said Barbara Tronstein, vice president and owner of the third-generation business. “Cabling was ex-pensive and inflexible, local DVD players required too much busywork and our first wireless system didn’t have the signal reach or scalability to meet our needs. Peerless-AV’s PeerAir Pico Broadcaster is solving those problems, opening the door to expanded use of our TVs for marketing messages, and allowing us to focus on managing the busi-ness instead of managing technology.” SSM

White-space ChannelsWhite-space channels are a legacy of

the conversion from analog to digital televi-sion that took place in the United States in 2009. These open channels sit on vacant frequencies that are not being used by licensed TV broadcast channels. Every geographic area in the United States has available white-space channels, with the number varying from one to 10 or more depending on the number of TV stations in the market.

For PeerAir Pico Broadcaster users, finding an open channel is a simple matter of visiting an online database of TV white-space channels and entering the installation site’s geographic location. The website will identify available FCC-licensed white-space channels. The cost of the first-year FCC license is included with the product.

Vertical View Retail

Deployment highlights• 30 screens in a 70,000-square-

foot showroom• Complete coverage with one

wireless transmitter • No standalone receiver units needed• 350-foot signal reach• Clear through-the-wall transmissions• No cabling costs• No DVD burning or distribution• Easy content changes• Auto connectivity for screen

moves and additions

PeerAir Pico Broadcaster: Ad-vanced Wireless Media Delivery

With a 350-foot omnidirectional transmis-sion range, the PeerAir Pico Broadcaster wirelessly broadcasts HD media to an un-limited number of digital TVs that have an ATSC tuner and over-the-air antenna. Uses include marketing, advertising, entertainment, educational content and more for:

• Retail stores• Restaurants/bars• Patios• Hotels• Schools• Football stadium suites • Airports• Outdoor sporting events• Offices• Factory floors• Car showrooms• Hospitals


Vertical View Public Spaces

Fun at the SquareVideo technology advertises, engages inside Philadelphia's Commerce Square

Philadelphia's Commerce Square, a 1-acre, open-air courtyard with cascading fountains and dining areas, recently installed a new, dynamic Daktronics outdoor LED video display.

Owned and developed by Thomas Proper-ties Group Inc., Commerce Square, a two-tower office and retail complex, occupies an entire city block in Philadelphia's downtown dis-trict. The new video board measures approxi-mately 16 feet high by 22 feet wide, features 10-millimeter pixel spacing and was designed and manufactured by Daktronics Inc.

"The Daktronics video display has exceed-ed all our expectations in terms of its image quality and reliability," said Randall L. Scott, executive vice president of Thomas Properties Group. "It has opened a door to a world of opportunities for entertaining and informing

guests and tenants at Commerce Square."The display is located above the seating

area inside Commerce Square's Central Plaza and regularly broadcasts live television feeds and up-to-the-minute news and informa-tion. Decker Construction, a commercial contracting company completing work in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland areas, installed the new display, which can easily be seen above Commerce Square's trademark fountains in any direction.

Daktronics' robust outdoor LED video module design combines complete weather defense with multiple contrast-enhancing details. Built for high performance in any environment, Daktronics outdoor LED video offers long life, minimal maintenance and low-power consumption, providing value and quality video for years down the road. SSM


Arizona auto dealer moves advertising priorities in-house, with near-immediate benefits to sales and customers

By Brian Galante

14

DRIVING SALES

www.signagesolutionsmag.com

Automotive dealerships are highly effective at capturing consumer attention, although most of us can live without the stereotypical screaming salesman we’ve all seen on television.

A similar argument can be made for inside the dealership. Well-intentioned managers and employees have long worked to inject excitement into the dealership, with varying degrees of success.

“For years, we would spend all this money on balloons, clowns and jugglers—anything to make the dealership look like a carnival atmosphere,” said Christopher Zamora, executive manager at Honda of Superstition Springs in Mesa, Ariz. “But that’s all it was at the end of the day.”

Zamora certainly isn’t alone. Like most dealers in the country, he has experienced ups and downs with advertising, both inside and outside the dealership. Intuitively, he knows some of his efforts have worked, but he is uncertain of which ones.

“The old saying is that everybody knows half of your external advertising works and half doesn’t—you just don’t know which half,” he said. “I looked at all the dollars I was spending on outside media, from billboards and print advertising to electronic and digital. And it made sense to pare down some of those outside dollars and bring them in-house.”

Wow FactorHonda of Superstition Springs planted the seed for its current in-house

advertising solution in 2008, when the company launched programming from the Automotive Broadcasting Network, or ABN. Earlier that year, ABN launched its Dealer TV service to enhance the automotive retail experience for customers and better control sales environments. Much of the content was entertainment-based programming from CBS and other broadcast and cable networks, along with customized, dealership-specific advertising.

In 2012, ABN transitioned from its broadcast satellite platform to an


Internet-based architecture to execute a more dynamic content strategy. The company is using the InfoCaster suite from Harris Digital Out-Of-Home to create content, manage the network and play all the media. The InfoCaster platform gives ABN far more flexibility to communicate targeted messages not only to different dealerships, but to various departments at each network location.

“To date, we have more than 600 media players deployed, powering more than 1,000 screens in 42 states,” said Jerry Daniels, president and CEO of Automotive Broadcasting Network. “And we are hearing plenty of success stories, from building positive customer relationships to driving transactions.”

Honda of Superstition Springs is certainly one of those success stories. Zamora reports that there was an initial “wow factor” with the

new digital signage-driven rollout, injecting new life into the 8-year-old dealership.

“This facility was the latest and greatest when it was built in 2005, but we’re now competing with new players and these Taj Mahal-like dealerships,” Zamora said. “We wanted to freshen up the atmosphere and make it look lively. Now when you walk into our showroom, you have these beauty shots of a cars going down the road on a large videowall and screens around the dealership. It is as close to a remodel as we can get without putting money into the brick and mortar.”

Zamora has nearly 30 screens across the dealership now, including digital menu boards in the service drive. And the targeted content tailored to each department has noticeably translated into bigger sales.

“We just had our best January on record

for auto sales,” he said. “Our parts and service departments also each had a fantastic month. And we’re just getting started.”

Targeted ContentDaniels notes that the dealership’s

specific business objectives are the first thing ABN discusses with new dealerships. These objectives can vary but typically focus on some combination of increasing sales, controlling environments and improving the customer’s experience at the point of sale.

The advantage of the Harris Digital Out-Of-Home platform means that ABN can now do all three very effectively.

“Each of our dealers have unique content demands,” said Robert Orndorff, vice president of operations for Automotive Broadcasting Network.


“InfoCaster allows us to facilitate those unique requirements, delivering relevant content and managing the network with greater efficiency.”

Orndorff adds that ABN’s network look has improved since moving to InfoCaster, notably on the graphics side. He notes how InfoCaster allows his creative staff to include more animations in the screen designs, which he said makes the network more engaging for the retail consumer.

“There aren’t many digital signage systems that can mimic the broadcast-quality graphics you see on television,” he said. “We receive a lot of positive feedback from dealerships on the graphic quality of our network. Prior to InfoCaster we were limited in the amount of movement we could incorporate. Everything

is livelier, everything is moving and everything has a transition. So we’re using this medium to communicate in a very creative way.”

This connects to the “wow factor” that Zamora describes when referencing the content on his screens, notably the large showroom videowall comprised of four 47-inch display screens.

“We call it our Honda Superstition Springs Jumbotron,” Zamora said. “The quality is crisp and clear, and the ABN provided content is very professional.”

Customer ExperienceThe content changes upon moving from the

showroom to other departments. The showroom screens remain focused on the joy of buying a

new car versus the drag of changing your oil.“We don’t want to sell customers on our

services while they are making decisions about buying or leasing a vehicle,” Zamora said. “This is supposed to be the fun time up in the front of the house. We want people to see beauty shots and learn about accessories instead of repairs.”

Still, Honda of Superstition Springs has been very effective at utilizing the targeted capabilities of InfoCaster for its parts and service departments. The dealership added digital menu boards in their service drive, where customers can clearly see available services, discounts and comparison prices. Screens hang underneath the canopy as customers drive their cars into the space. Customers can also see price lists on digital menu boards near the service advisor station and the parts boutique.

Daniels notes that the setup at Honda of Superstition Springs has been very successful at driving the customers from the service waiting area into the showroom. This includes offering test drives and trade-in incentives through car appraisals.

In the bigger picture, it represents the power of in-store advertising when properly executed.

“Dealers have been using television and radio advertising since the beginning of time to drive customers from their living rooms into the showrooms,” Daniels said. “It’s far more intuitive to leverage your captive customers when they are sitting in the service waiting area, just 10 feet away from your showroom. And it’s certainly more cost-effective.”

Zamora agrees, noting that the proof is in the numbers.

“We track how many customers we sell from the service drive,” he said. “We were averaging about 40 to 45 a month since installing ABN in 2008, we have since increased that to between 50 and 60 a month since adding the additional digital signage screens. I can spend a lot of money advertising to the general public, or I can advertise directly to the people that trust me and are doing business in the dealership. That is the most compelling reason to come in-house.”

Social IntegrationThe additional revenue generation is a

clear and tangible benefit, but there are other benefits less obviously tied to the bottom line. This is especially noticeable on the social front.

“It’s amazing to just walk around the dealership and see customers moving around with a cup of coffee, looking at the screens and getting the feeling that they believe this a cool place to be,” Zamora said. “We didn’t see that before. People don’t notice static posters on the wall, but they are looking at our moving displays.”

ABN is also leveraging social media integration with InfoCaster, incorporating Facebook and Twitter functionality in its latest software update.

SIMPLE · RELIABLE · SCALABLE

Call 877.450.7808 to learn about the HDN and all of Seneca’s Media Player Line-up

www.senecadata.com | 877-450-7808

SMALL FORM FACTOR INTERNAL POWER SUPPLYThe HDN is an exclusive media player from Seneca,® inspired by Intel’s Next Unit of Computing (NUC) platform. This ultra compact form factor (UCFF), with low power consumption, has a built-in power supply for easy mounting and cabling. This custom design is powered by the 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i3 processor improves thermal efficiency, and provides powerful performance.

Intel, the Intel Logo, Intel Inside, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

SS_Magazine_7x5b_030613.indd 1 3/6/2013 2:53:22 PM

“This facility was the latest and greatest when it was built in 2005, but we’re now competing with new players and these Taj Mahal-like deal-erships,” Zamora said. “We wanted to freshen up the atmosphere and make it look lively.


One new feature delivers tweets, posts and other social feeds across the bottom; the data sticks and rotates instead of a moving across the screen as a simple scroll. This is especially popular in service areas, where dealerships can easily communicate service messages to waiting customers.

More interestingly, a new mobile app allows a salesperson to take a photograph of a customer with his new car, and quickly post a congratulations message to the dealership’s Facebook page.

“We’re really trying to integrate these screens with business processes at the dealerships while truly leveraging social media at the same time,” Daniels said.

This is a message that absolutely resonates with Zamora.

“As dealers we all operate off of profit and loss,” he said. “We ask how many dollars can we keep after everything else is paid, which we

call retiring an expense. So far, the result I have received from moving more of my advertising and promotions in-house to digital signage is far greater than I could have realized. We are just out of the gate, having had the screens up for four months, and I am definitely looking to add more.” SSM

Brian Galante is a seasoned freelance writer working within the professional AV market under Dimension PR. Brian can be reached at [email protected].


Culture on the Center StageEsplanade Arts and Heritage Centre installs Audience for Android digital signage solution

To promote current and upcoming events, the Es-planade Arts and Heritage Centre, located in down-town Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, recently installed a new digital signage network powered by the award-winning Audience for Android.

The Esplanade is a unique, multi-use cultural facility that includes a museum, theater, art gallery, archives, discovery center, gift shop and café. Its purpose is to bring the work of artists, curators and archivists together with their audiences. It also provides a focal point for art, performance, history and archives, exhibitions and programs, as well as a venue for professional and community-based programs and activities. As part of a cultural service network, it engages in presentation, exhibition, research and education and attracts a diversity of audiences.

Looking to the Future“We were looking for a solution that would allow

us to modernize our venue and work to promote our events to the public that passes through the building,” said Trampas Brown, cultural facilities supervisor at the Esplanade. “We wanted a way to provide timely, current information about the exhibits currently in the building as well as digital wayfinding to people less familiar with our space.”

Advertisements, program descriptions and event listings are displayed on a network of 40-inch LEDs installed in the main and upper lobbies, as well as on a portable solution that can be moved depending on event needs, with the ability to update content network-wide or on individual screens as needed. “Another thing we’ve done is linked the Audience

software with our facility booking program to auto-mate the daily-events listings,” Brown said.

Capital Networks Limited, a leading provider of dynamic digital signage content creation and management software, introduced the Audience for Android solution to the digital signage market in June 2012, as a low-cost alternative to Microsoft OS powered digital signage displays.

The Perfect FitA number of factors went into the Esplanade’s

decision to choose Audience for Android, including the fact that Capital Networks was able to offer a hosted solution.

“The idea of a hosted solution allowed us to

get the product up and running in a very short time frame without a huge capital outlay,” Brown said. “The training to utilize the system was very straight-forward and brief as the interface is very simple to learn. We were able to go live with the system about 30 days after the decision was made to pro-ceed. This is really remarkable when you consider that we started from scratch rather than using some boring old template.

“The fact that Capital Networks has been around for more than 20 years and is a Canadian company also played heavily into the equation, as we wanted someone with experience that we were confident would be around for years to come. The support we have had in getting the system up and running has been outstanding.” SSM


It’s all about ME, and how the Mobile Experience is energizing the transformation of business communications. Video enabled by broadband technologies is a powerful tool for conversing and collaborating in real-time and for propelling every aspect of development, marketing, sales and service.

Meeting Expectations to leverage video — fi nding innovative ways to maximize this dynamic medium within Multiple Environments — will depend on how well you integrate new strategies, technologies and players. NAB Show® is a Marketplace Energized, a showcase of solutions to harness video that informs or entertains, digital signage, telepresence, big data and cloud. Give yourself something to smile about. Register Today!

Use Code PA04

CONFERENCES April 6–11, 2013 / EXHIBITS April 8–11Las Vegas Convention Center / Las Vegas, Nevada USA

in North Hall:

www.nabshow.com

By Sherleen Mahoney


It is Orange County Fair season, and that means demolition derbies, carnival rides, concerts, pig races, petting zoos, dance exhibitions and clowns. With so much to do, where does one start?

As visitors enter the gates to the OC Fair, they are greeted with digital signage technologies that promote the events of the day. More than 1.3 million OC Fair guests, who are looking for a good start-ing point, receive an entertaining view of everything the fair has to offer, including suggestions on when and where to start their day. Not only are the digital displays positioned at the gates, they are also in front of each main venue on the grounds.

Staying CurrentIn order for a guest to have a positive ex-

perience, he or she needs access to current information on venues and event schedules. The OC Fair has a mission to provide timely updates across the 150 acres of fairgrounds space to make sure the guests are informed of any last-minute changes. To achieve this mission, the Fairgrounds IT team decided they needed to use the latest in technology to engage the fairground guests.

The IT team decided a video wall solution would provide superior reliability and ad-vanced rendering capabilities. This combina-tion would allow the creative team to design the most advanced digital content and allow

The Fairest One of AllOrange County Fairgrounds uses digital signage to keep guests informed

Displays show relevant content to fairground patrons as they enter the fairgrounds gates.

The History of the Orange County Fair Grounds

Shortly after Orange County was established in 1889, the Orange County Community Fair Corp. was formed. This group put on a small fair in 1890 that included a horse race and a few exhibits in Santa Ana. In 1894, another group, the Orange County Fair Association Inc., took over.

The first Orange County Fairs were primarily livestock exhibitions and horse races. At the turn of the century, a "carnival of products" was added and the fair became an annual event. In ensuing years, the Fair was held in Santa Ana, but after World War I it was moved to Huntington Beach for two years and then back to temporary grounds on East Fruit Street in Santa Ana.

In 1916, the fair was taken over by the newly organized Orange County Farm Bureau. The first OC Fair Board was elected in 1925 and the fair relo-cated to Anaheim, across the street from the Orange County Hospital. In 1925, a rodeo and carnival were added.

After World War II, the state formed the 32nd District Agricultural Association and made it responsible for the fair. The state then purchased land occupied by the Santa Ana Army Air Base and some of it was earmarked for a new fair-ground. The fair was first held at the new site in 1949; it soon was designated as the permanent fairgrounds. In 1953, the City of Costa Mesa was incorporated and included the fair's location. From 1949 to the present, the OC Fair has grown from a small, community, five-day celebration to a 23-day festival that is one of Orange County's most eagerly awaited annual events.

www.signagesolutionsmag.com20

WhyJOIN US?

and MUCH MORE...

JOIN HERE: DIGITALSIGNAGEFEDERATION.ORG/JOIN

Supporting and promoting the common business interests of the

world-wide digital signage industry, the interactive technologies

industry and the digital out-of-home network industry.

Standards:

Membership:

Standards:

l Discounts to the DSE , DSEG, and other programs l Networking l PRI-DSF Index l Career Center l Press Center and Awareness l Speakers’ Bureau

l Education Standards l Privacy Standards l Seal of Professional Excellence l Code of Conduct

Education :l Webinars l Access to Recorded online education l DSEG Certifi cation l White papers and articles

them to control presentations, video and fair-grounds information like never before.

A video wall solution can also allow the IT team to remotely schedule and upload layers of content for seamless playback. They can integrate high-definition video feeds into any presentation from a central PC to manage the distributed visualization of information around the fairgrounds.

Originally, the OC Fair wanted a video wall for the new administration building to showcase the grounds and show past events, more than 150 upcoming events and the current events underway. As they searched

online for a solution, they found a Hiperwall video demonstration on YouTube. It was exactly what they wanted for the building’s lobby.

Traditional video wall systems require specialized equipment and complex software, which were too expensive for their needs. The Hiper-wall distributed visualization solution was far more affordable and will work with any type of display, whether LCD, plasma, projection cube, CRT or rear-projection, of any size and resolution. In addition, Hiperwall uses ordinary computers connected together using an ordi-nary Ethernet network, eliminating the need for complex, expensive hardware devices.

“We visited Hiperwall for a demonstra-tion and saw the whole package,” said Rob Castagnoli, technology supervisor for the OC Fair and Event Center.

Coming away from the demonstra-tion extremely impressed, they met with Brian Presley, business development man-ager with Cibola Systems, to purchase and install the Hiperwall video wall sys-tem. Cibola is an audiovisual company that designs and integrates AV technolo-gies that inspire communications.

The first step was getting the video wall installed in the lobby of the new administration building. Once the OC Fair team saw the robustness of the software, the creative team went into hyper-drive and began looking at other areas of the property, where the software can push information to patrons and vendors.

“The digital format allows our two teams to use the creative and content resources we have in-house to really design some visually appealing things,” Castagnoli said. “Quite frankly, what we’re really trying to do is to get people to have a reason to come to the OC

Fair and Event Center for events and to get the fair guests to stay longer.”

Bringing Content to LifeHiperwall 3.0’s animation capabilities

provide the OC Fairgrounds’ creative team with a unique ability to deliver content to single monitors, video walls and distributed displays. And the ability to animate content brings content to life.

With the new animation editor, users can control when each element enters; where it is displayed; how it is sized, colored and rotat-ed; and how special effects like transparency, mosaic, and black/white filters are applied. Once the animation sequences are created, it is easy to add, remove or make changes to content elements and modify the timing of the animation sequences, introduce new elements or make a variety of other changes. Hiper-wall 3.0 renders each content element as an individual object in real time, eliminating the traditional rendering process and reducing development time and expense.

“The Hiperwall distributed visualization sys-tem saves us time, saves us money, increases our functionality and improves informational content from a centralized location,” Cast-

The Fair's Hiperwall SystemLike all Hiperwall installations, the Orange

County Fairgrounds system uses an ordinary gigabit Ethernet switch as the complete operat-

ing infrastructure. All 15 display nodes, the control node and all four sender nodes are

directly connected to this switch via ordinary Ethernet cabling. All command/control, content

delivery and synchronization communications take place over the IP network

that runs through this switch.The OC Fairground’s initial deployment

consisted of eight display nodes, one control node and four sender nodes, all installed in the

organization’s watch center. After two months of use, WSIN recognized the value of the technology and decided to

increase the size and reach of their installation. They added four additional monitors to the

watch center, increasing its display real estate by 50 percent to 12 total monitors. In addition,

the OC Fairgrounds installed three satellite displays in the fairgrounds’ different venues,

enabling the creative team to update content easily even when there was a minor time change.

After nearly one year of use, the system continues to meet all of the OC Fairground’s

information sharing needs, helping to ensure the fairground guest enjoy their experience.



agnoli said. “If something on the agenda changes or an event is canceled, we can make the changes on the fly and distribute the updates instantaneously.”

Prior to installing the Hiperwall system, all the venues were updated by “sneaker net,” where they took USB thumb drives to each location manually. It was time consuming and cumbersome at best.

The Hiperwall distributed visualization system is ideal for the OC Fair to distribute content directly from a central location to nu-merous display devices no matter where they are located. The installation provides the OC Fair a high-performance visualization system that is highly scalable without requiring any specialized hardware infrastructure.

“The installation was very quick,” Cast-agnoli said. “It took us longer to hang all the 42-inch displays than it took our team to learn and use the Hiperwall system. Once we installed the digital wall in the admin-istration building, it was an easy decision to position the displays at all the gates and main venues. Every day our teams are brainstorming ideas on how to use the Hiperwall video wall solution for other projects to make our lives easier.” SSM

Stretch It, Switch It, Split It. Gefen’s Got It.®www.gefen.com/DS

959697

9899

100

101102

103

Daisy Chain up to100 Displays

Using Video over IP Technology


By Sherleen MahoneyPizza Hut, the world's largest pizza restaurant, is banking on the

fact that people eat with their eyes. People want to eat something that looks delicious, and pizza tastes as delicious as it looks.

Using this visual appeal to its full advantage, Pizza Hut Express locations, which are the non-freestanding Pizza Hut restaurants—found on university campuses, airports, retailers and highway rest areas—are starting to embrace digital menu boards.

These Express locations are owned by franchisees and have a different and smaller menu than traditional Pizza Hut restaurants. In

a partnership with Deel Media, a company that specializes in digital merchandising products and solutions for foodservice-centric venues, Pizza Hut is offering a digital menu board option for its franchisees.

Each franchisee is presented with the costs for static menu boards versus digital menu boards, the cost savings with static and the benefits of digital. These days, franchisees understand the value of digital signage, and it is fast becoming their preferred option.

So far, approximately 60 out of 2,500 Pizza Hut Express loca-

Using digital menu boards, Pizza Hut Express lets the food sell itself

IN SHOWBEST


“[Deel Media] is central to our success,”

Light said. “With their innovation,

customer service as well as their technological advantage, we really

can’t imagine expanding with anyone else.”

IN SHOW

tions use digital menu boards. As the menu boards prove their profitability, Pizza Hut Express management expects more franchi-sees will invest in this option.

A typical digital menu board installation includes up to five 42-inch LG monitors that are linked to a computer that remotely con-nects to a Deel Media server. Deel Media manages the content. It can push and edit the content to any Express location through a secured network.

Showing Off the GoodsWhen it comes to driving customer sales, a static menu board

just can’t compare with a digital board, especially for an item like pizza, which shows extremely well.

“A hamburger or a wrapped burrito just doesn’t show as well

as a freshly baked pizza on video,” said Doug Terfehr, director of public relations for Pizza Hut at Yum! Brands.

Imagine a freshly baked pepperoni pizza; the bold red pep-peroni on top of a layer of warm, melted mozzarella cheese, and don’t forget that chewy golden crust. Picture the steam rising off the pizza. As a slice is being pulled from the pie, long strings of cheese trail behind. Then, there’s warm, soft breadsticks being dipped in hearty marinara sauce.

Pizza Hut Express is hoping such videos, displayed on their digital menu boards, will lead to increased revenue.

“Those are the things that make your mouth water,” said Molly Light, director of finance for YUM! Express Brands. “We’re tying to bring the product as to close to point of purchase as possible, as well as showcasing the most profitable items.”


An Art FormDetermining the perfect amount of move-

ment and how the menu boards work in tan-dem—drawing a customer’s eyes to different boards at different times—is an art form.

“Deel Media helped us find that sweet spot,” said Shannon St. Clair, senior man-ager of architecture and engineering for the Express Team at Yum! Brands. “You don’t just want to throw something on there and let it run. There is a science mindset that you have to understand to utilize the boards most effectively. You really need to think about it in a framework. For one board, there can be multiple different frameworks that are pos-sible. That’s where the design mindset comes into play.”

According to St. Clair, the ultimate goal is for the digital menu boards to allow the food to be the hero, so the food sells itself.

Vast Competition Pizza Hut Express locations have a unique

competition market. Consider the various types of offerings in a

typical mall, airport or college campus food court. There’s Chinese food, hamburgers, pretzels and hot dogs, to name a few.

In addition to other pizza restaurants, Pizza Hut Express locations must compete with all those companies.

“And everyone has digital in those venues, but [the competition] is simply displaying their menu on monitors,” Light said. “What we’re doing is adding animation, such as footage from commercials or hero shots of the food to engage the customer. Using digital signage in a unique way is what sets you ahead of everyone else.”

With this in mind, the company’s strategy is to let the products speak for themselves. The products are showcased with minimal text.

As a hungry customer surveys his or her food options, Pizza Hut Express is hoping to catch the customer’s eyes with gorgeous videos of its offerings.

Live MonitoringAt Yum! Brand’s headquarters in Plano, Texas,

a central management station allows staff to view any Express location’s live menu boards. Mostly used for quality control and training, seeing the actual live menu board is incredibly valuable.

“We can see what’s on the menu boards in Okinawa, Japan, right now,” Light said. “[For new installations] we can make sure the menu board is restaurant-ready before they go live, and viewing live images is very different than looking at screenshots of animations.”

Deel Media’s headquarters in Atlanta has the same capability. Staff can ensure live menu

boards are accurate as well as make any changes such as pricing and adding or removing new deals and promotions.

A True PartnershipLast year, Pizza Hut awarded Deel Media its

Partner of the Year award. “[Deel Media] is central to our success,” Light

said. “With their innovation, customer service as well as their technological advantage, we really can’t imagine expanding with anyone else.”

When Pizza Hut Express turned to Deel Media for a complete, turnkey digital signage solution, Deel exceeded Pizza Hut Express’ expectations.

In addition to helping Pizza Hut Express completely redesign its digital menu boards, Deel Media helped standardize and streamline pro-cesses for different menu-item types and deliver

creative elements. For visually stunning digital menu boards, Deel

Media worked with the Pizza Hut Marketing team to produce the still and animated images needed.

With the assets acquired, the digital menu board designs finalized and processes in place, Deel Media was ready to distribute the content to the franchisees. The contented is currently man-aged and edited by Deel Media using software called Carbon. The software processes any menu changes, such as adding and removing items and price changes.

There are a lot of digital signage companies out there, but it is Deel Media’s focus that sets them apart.

“If you ask [other digital signage companies], ‘Can you design a digital menu board?’ they will say ‘yes,’” Clapes said.

“We’re tying to bring the product as to close to point of purchase as possible, as well as showcasing the most profitable items.”


LG Commercial LED displays featuring IPS (In-Plane Switching technology) panels reproduce accurate andconsistent color from virtually all viewing angles while using less energy than traditional CCFL displays.

When properly enclosed, they are perfect for outdoor digital signage since direct sunlight and the effects ofheat will not result in a blackening screen effect. In addition, their superb panel stability minimizes distortionwhen deployed as touch-screens and are not subject to color shifting when the image is viewed from differentangles as compared to our competitors’ VA panels.

Your customers and YOU will see the clear difference LG commercial displays make and understand howthey are raising the standard of digital signage.

LG excels in bringing innovative technology advancements to the digital signage market developing productslike our award winning EzSign TVs, video walls, transparent displays, stretch and touch-screens. For moreinformation, call 1.800.897.8788 or e-mail us at [email protected].

LGsolutions.com© 2013 LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc., Lincolnshire, IL. All rights reserved. “LG Life’s Good” is a registered trademark of LG Corp.Screen images are simulated.

Raising the Standard of Digital SignageLG Commercial LED Displays with IPS Technology

Advantage

NO BLACKENING DEFECTDisplay has a built-in temperaturecontrol that adjusts to light and heateliminating dark or blackened areas.

IPS CompetitionIPS Competition IPS Competition

TRUE WIDE VIEWINGColor shifts and distortion areeliminated at any viewing angle.

PANEL STABILITYMinimized image distortion andshows no tailing when externalpressure is applied

SCAN TO VIEW THEIPS ADVANTAGE

As the director of finance, Molly Light is responsible for business analysis, plan negotia-tion budgeting, brand compliance and legal documentation across the three Yum! Express brands: Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC.

When the framework for the menu boards was being redesigned, it was Light’s job to analyze the profitability behind each product to understand which asset to use to best drive sales.

She says as new projects unfold, the team relies on Yum’s Crisis-Like Collaboration philoso-phy to manage them. For example, when The Army & Air Force Exchange Service expressed their interest in offering Pizza Hut Express loca-tions with digital menu boards in military bases worldwide, the team initiated the plan, which involved a working backwards approach to get the job done.

Shannon St. Clair’s job as senior manager of architecture and engineering for the Express Team is to ensure brand standards are being met in terms of imaging and equipment for each

non-traditional restaurant in the U.S. This includes façade design, creating menu board content, championing the menu boards, equipment layout, the use of proprietary equipment and maximizing operational flow with each location.

She has a vision for the ideal Pizza Hut Express location; she calls it “The Dream.”

“It’s a utopia for a Pizza Hut Express if we could have everything we ever wanted,” she said. When we begin work on a new location, we incorporate as many branding elements as possible. We may not get everything, but that’s ok because the important thing is that everything fits well into the context of the units surroundings.”

The Dream consists of the horizontal Pizza Hut logo, the horizontal digital menu boards, “which does the selling for us,” she said, and a vertical element which holds the heated cabinet for customers to grab and go. These elements are the must haves; the countertop, wall finishes and other décor items are considered icing on the cake and gets us closer to “The Dream,” St. Clair said.

Sheryl Fox, the travel channel manager, spends 50 percent of her time selling sites and exploring new opportunities. She may hear about an airport that will soon undergo a remodel so she’ll find out if there is a space for an Express location that will showcase the Yum! brands. Or an existing Licensee may contact her saying he found additional space to lease where they can grow and expand their busi-ness. In addition, she is always exploring what the competition is doing with digital and shares this information with the team. Together, they analyze how Yum! can differentiate itself.

“When I share the findings with the brain trust, we ask how we can transfer that to wow the customer and earn their business,” she said.

The other 50 percent of her job is man-aging the existing locations. She collects feedback from the franchisees on how the company can stay competitive, how to best market themselves and give them tools they need to succeed.

Within Yum!, a staff of 19 people support 2,500 Pizza Hut Express locations . The department functions like a small company within the Pizza Hut organization.

The team emphasizes the importance of cross-functional expertise as they are responsible for developing new sites, selling sites, supporting operations, finance, architecture, design and legal support.

From left to right: Molly Light, director of finance for YUM!;

Shannon St. Clair, senior manager of architecture for Pizza Hut Express:

Sheryl Fox, travel channel manager for Pizza Hut Express.


“And they certainly can. But we focus on food; we know food. We know what works and what doesn’t. We know how to motivate consumers to buy something based on appetite. We also designed our software specifically to manage large networks of multiscreen menu boards. We’re not going to create an advertis-ing network; we’re not going to create an airline flight time menu screen. People ask us to but we point them in the direction of the com-panies that do those things because we don’t want to lose focus.”

‘A Little Slice of Home’Pizza Hut Express is now adding military

bases to the types of environments they serve. DEEL Media and Schult Industries, a provider of decor signage, menu systems and displays, are installing Pizza Hut digital menu boards at U.S. military bases around the world. The digital full-motion menu boards consist of six vertically mounted LCD displays.

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAF-ES), which works to deliver quality goods and services at competitively low prices with superior service to the military community, believes in the power of digital signage to drive sales and gain consistency of message and branding.

“We’re excited to be a part of this project with Schult Industries, LLC, and are proud that our technology is being used to provide ‘a little

slice of home’ to our military,” Clapes said in a press release.

A Digital FuturePizza Hut Express has been interested in digital

signage for a long time, but price was an obstacle.“Five years ago, the technology was much more

expensive,” Light said. “So, it was a challenge, but even back then, we had the vision to look at this and say, ‘I can see where this is going and the power of it.’ We have to prove the profitability of it, but I don’t see how you can look at it and not think there is a huge amount of sales and power for branding.

Having the buy-in of these 60 franchisees is a great step forward, and the folks at Pizza Hut Ex-press are excited about its digital signage progress.

“I was the biggest champion of digital menu boards,” said Sheryl. “We had some digital imag-ing out there, but our digital signage vision has been translated into something we’re very excited and proud of.”

And with Deel Media by their side, Pizza Hut Express can look forward to a future that includes a proliferation of digital signage.

“Now that we’ve found our vision and wiling partner to jump in whole-heartedly with us, we’re expecting this very nimble experience to continue,” Light said. SSM Sherleen Mahoney is a writer and editor for Signage Solutions

Each franchisee is presented with the costs for static

menu boards versus digital menu boards, the cost

savings with static and the benefits of digital. These days, franchisees understand the value of digital

signage, and it is fast becoming their preferred option.

Outside YUM! Corporate Headquarters in Plano, Texas.



Signage Solutions &Products Digital signage products and solutions for today’s applications

Commercial LED Backlit Displays Samsung DEC Series commercial LED backlit displays are designed to offer 24/7 reliability and professionalism. They come with a TV tuner to broadcast channels or an embedded media player (with built-in MagicInfo Lite digital signage software) to display HD video clips, slide shows and image files easily. The ultra-slim 1.38" chassis can simplify installation, while anti-glare technology is best for brightly lit indoor environments. Samsungwww.signagemag.com/15259

Mini-Cat® brand HDMI extension over UTP with HDBaseT™ The UH-1BTX extends HDMI or single link DVI video signal to 330 ft (100m) on a single Cat6 or Cat5E cable. The unit transmits video and embedded audio without any compression for a 100% lossless reproduction. The UH-1BT supports Full-HD (1080p), deep color, HDMI 1.4 3D and 4K video with pass-thru EDID and HDCP support. The UH-1BTX is sold as a kit and is designed and manufactured in the United States. Hall Research www.signagemag.com/15260

Predictive Analytics Software

Scala iS combines predictive analytics with digital signage by using adaptive learning algorithms to deliver targeted

messaging. This system can digest data from many different, readily available

sources (such as point-of-sale data, customer loyalty card information,

marketing calendars, customer in-store dwell times, de-identified gender and

age-group detection, location and time-based digital signage playlist schedules

or external information like weather or gas prices). Scala iS finds patterns

and establishes relationships in your data to help determine the

most effective messaging.Scala

www.signagemag.com/15277

70” HDbaseT embedded commercial grade displayPrimeview is now offering a 70” HDBaseT embedded ECO FRIENDLY LED LCD 24/7 rated commercial grade display. HDBaseT is a new standard that allows you to send audio, video, control, USB and power signals over a single Cat 5e/6 cable up to 328 feet. This display features low power consumption, an LED backlight and is rated for 24/7 commercial usage. It ships with the RJ45 HDBaseT input as well as standard digital and analog video was well as control inputs. By conforming to the HDBaseT standard our displays will be compatible with any manufacturer using an HDBaseT certified TX transmitter chip in their devices. Primeview www.signagemag.com/15279

Digital Signage Software for Live Data FeedsDSplay is a highly reliable software solution for creating and managing a modern digital signage environment. It empowers customers to design and run their advertising campaigns efficiently as it provides total flexibility in leveraging all types of content sources. DSplay offers limitless possibilities in terms of customized and interactive applications. The new edition supports the retrieval, processing and presentation of live data feeds and exploits the openness of HTML5 technology.CyberStream LTD www.signagemag.com/15278

31March/April 2013Digital Signage Technology for Today’s Applications

Web-based Digital Signage SystemAerWave is an easy-to-use, web-based platform for managing and scheduling content on networked displays, with integration for social media, real-time data feeds, and mobile interactivity. It features robust content management, easy scheduling, and a powerful network operations system that is served from Aerva's Cloud services.Aerva www.signagemag.com/15280

Signage Solutions Products

Audio/Video DisplayPort ExtenderGefen’s new DisplayPort Extender over CAT-7 sends high resolution audio/video up to 100 feet (30m) in distance from computer to display. Wall mountable sender and receiver units deliver A/V from the source over the CAT-7 cabling to the display. Power is required at the sender unit only; the receiver unit receives its power using the CAT-7 cable. Additional features include 16 different EQ adjustments using a rotating switch on the receiver unit. The receiver’s HPD Auto Calibration switch allows a full calibration of the connected display with no training needed in video technology. A locking power supply on the sender unit improves system stability. Gefen www.signagemag.com/15281



Professional LED Display The Panasonic LFV50 LED professional display features an ultra-narrow bezel for near seamless video wall installation. The 55” LFV50 display delivers stunning picture quality with 800 cd/m2 brightness, making it ideal for a multitude of digital signage, even in well-lit areas for public information and command & control applications. When mounted bezel-to-bezel, the displays’ screen-to-screen distance measures only 5.3 mm. Users can daisy-chain the displays via DVI-D for easy digital loop-through of the video signal for up to a 5x5 video wall. Panasonic www.signagemag.com/15287

Android Digital Signage Platform Developed for the Android operating system, the VIA Alta Digital Signage (Alta DS) system is an all-in-one system-ready solution for managing dynamic displays for cost sensitive high volume segments where high performance video and connectivity are paramount for enhanced customer engagement. Applications range from kiosks, POS systems, video walls, and menu boards to TVOIP, cloud streaming, and Out of Home Advertising across a broad spectrum of retail, hospitality, education, and entertainment environments.Via Embedded www.signagemag.com/15288

Android-based Digital Signage Media Player Haivision’s Mantaray CS is a low-cost, high-performance digital dignage player for the enterprise. Android-based and fully integrated with Haivision’s CoolSign™ digital signage solution, the combined technology brings affordable, scalable, high-performance signage to the enterprise. Mantaray CS supports CoolSign’s Datawatcher for real-time and automated information updates, as well as player-level scheduling. In addition, Mantaray supports multiple regions, tickers, full motion 1080p60 video playout, and wireless, as well as wired network connections.Haivision www.signagemag.com/15290

Low-Cost Digital Signage SoftwareAPPOINT leverages the PowerPoint platform to provide a digital signage option for cost conscious markets such as small businesses, churches, municipal governments and K-12 schools. APPOINT

can be launched from the Windows start menu or from within PowerPoint, and doesn’t require any special training to get started. Anyone familiar with PowerPoint can create and schedule presentations. Visix www.signagemag.com/15289

3x3 Video Wall Bundle w/ Pull-Out Mount and Color CalibrationNEC's complete 55" 3x3 LCD TileMatrix™ Video Wall Solution delivers an all-in-one, easy-to-configure and cost-effective solution that is ideal for dynamic digital signage and command & control applications. Exclusive TileMatrix and TileComp™ technologies combine with the ultra-narrow bezel of the NEC X551UN and the full adjustment capabilities of a Peerless-AV pull-out mount to allow for simple installation and easy access while servicing the video wall. The minimal bezel widths help to avoid interruption of the displayed content. NEC Display www.signagemag.com/15293



Street Level LED DisplaysDaktronics street level displays position digital advertising and public information such as maps and emergency alerts at eye level. Due to their location, these displays can have a higher influence on consumers traveling through public spaces. They feature reliable Daktronics LED technology housed within a sleek and weather-ready enclosure. The product maintains optimal brightness during both day and night. Plus, the display can be managed remotely over a wireless network. Daktronics www.signagemag.com/15294

42” and 60” Bezel-free Video wallsThe Salitek new bezel-free C4 Series 42” and 60” limitless configuration MPDP solution feature built-in video wall processing; a reduced seam gap to 0.9mm on each side; reduced power consumption; Display Port/HDMI/RGB/DVI/Composite inputs; control via Ethernet or RS232C; Auto Power Level for improved uniformity; and <2.5 inches of depth. The Salitek C4s reproduce 92%+ of the MacBeth Color Accuracy Chart. Salitek C4 series MPDP are well suited for ambient lit environments and can be mounted in landscape or portrait configurations. Salitek www.signagemag.com/15298

Ready-to-install Custom KioskKioskBuilder™ is an online service that cuts the time it takes to design and build a fully

integrated kiosk from weeks to days by enabling point-and-click configuration and delivering a

pre-tested, ready-to-install kiosk to the customer’s door. The new program eliminates the need to source components from multiple vendors, enables custom kiosk design without custom

project cost, and reduces the time and expense of on-site systems integration for installers and

end customers alike. Peerless-AVwww.signagemag.com/15295

84-inch LED Widescreen Ultra HD Display LG’s 84WS70 LED Widescreen Ultra HD Display offers four times the resolution of a FULL HD (1080p) television and is the sharpest picture available on a large-screen display. The monitor’s 29.5mm

bezel allows it to be mounted in portrait or landscape mode for optimal use in commercial applications. In addition, integrated into the 84-inch Ultra HD screen is LG’s In Plane Switching (IPS) panel technology that ensures color saturation and contrast for viewing from any angle, guaranteeing vivid picture quality to viewers. LG www.signagemag.com/15297

Video Wall ProcessorThe DT Research MS1600X Multi

Screen Appliance powers multiple screens for digital signage applications.

Featuring the powerful and energy-efficient Intel® Quad Core™ processor

and AMD FirePro™ W7000 graphic cards, the MS1600X provides up to 16

video-out connectors for high-quality display experience. Combined with the industry-leading WebDT Content

Manager software, one MS1600X is capable of driving dynamic content on up to 16 screens, which can be

configured into one large video wall or spread out to serve separate areas.

Each screen has the ability to deliver up to 1920 x 1080 (Full-HD) resolution.

DT Research www.signagemag.com/15299



Wireless Connectivity for Digital SignsAvaLAN’s AW900xTR-PAIR wireless bridge radio set is custom made and designed specifically for connections to outdoor digital signs. This product provides an outdoor industrial Ethernet connection from your building to your sign with always-on, 24x7 robust reliability. AvaLan Wireless www.signagemag.com/15300

Networked AV ControllerSVSi’s Conductor VDC208 functions as a virtual matrix switch for SVSi encoders and decoders, as well as a touch-panel

editor for simple and quick graphical control of SVSi's Networked AV system

installations. The VDC208 allows up to five simultaneous users and can control up to 50 Networked AV devices providing powerful

management capabilities. The VDC208 includes a simplified ASCII interface for

third-party control via telnet or TCP/IP. SVSi www.signagemag.com/15301

Secure outdoor digital signage enclosures Advertise and engage audiences in a rigorous outdoor environment with secure and waterproof digital signage

enclosures for stand-alone LED/LCD screens. Delivering long term protection and return-on-investment from advertising,

Armagard enclosures are designed to NEMA4 specifications and defend against heavy rain, dust, extreme heat, collisions

and vandalism. Armagard www.signagemag.com/15303

Casio Projector Stacking SystemDesigned with two Casio projectors stacked on top of one another, the Projector Stacking System projects two sharp, high-quality images. The XJ-SK650 model features double stacked Pro Series XJ-H2600 projectors and provides users with up to 6,500 lumens, while the XJ-SK600 model features double stacked Signature Series XJ-M250 projectors and provides up to 6,000 lumens. Both of these models provide roughly twice the lumen output provided by a single projector. Casio www.signagemag.com/15304

SKYPLAY-HD Wireless Digital Distribution SystemTransmit high-definition digital audio/video wirelessly from a single source to up to 20 destinations. Supports 720p, 1080p, and VESA resolutions up to 1920x1080 with less than 1 frame rate of latency. Supports transmission through framed construction.Intelix www.signagemag.com/15302

35March/April 2013


Performance Media Player with Internal Power & Serial PortProduct Description: The HDN is an exclusive offering inspired by the Intel NUC. This ultra small form factor media player has built-in power supply for easy mounting and cabling, while providing a low power solution ideal for menu boards and interactive kiosks. This custom design improves thermal efficiency and provides powerful performance. Seneca www.signagemag.com/15283

72” High Brightness LCDsThe DS72LT6 is the largest professional LCD offering from DynaScan,

measuring 72-inches diagonally. The DS72LT6 features a full HD 72-inch IPS LCD with an ultra-high brightness backlight producing a 5,000 nit

sunlight viewable image. Each screen is individually color calibrated to the D65 color standard to ensure uniformity amongst multiple displays. DynaScan also offers a 2,500 nit version, the DS72LT4, which features

a fanless thermal management system.DynaScan

www.signagemag.com/15282

HDBaseT HDMI 2 x 8 Distribution AmplifierThe AT-HDCAT-8ED, HDBaseT HDMI 2 by 8 Distribution Amplifier extends HDMI sources to multiple displays up to 330 feet away over a single Category cable. In addition, the distribution amplifier provides Power over Category cable (PoCc™) capabilities for connected receivers, simplifying installations by eliminating the need for receiver power sources. Built-in audio loop outs ensures all audio and video needs are met in zones and pass any audio from 2CH to uncompressed multi-channel and any video up to 1080p. Atlona www.signagemag.com/15286


Signage Solutions Products Outdoor Social Media Touch Screen KioskThe outdoor Social Media Kiosk is the latest innovation to the ViewStation line of products. Standard features include a 46” High Bright LCD, touch screen glass, camera and integrated thermal management with an operating range of -40 to 120 degrees in direct sunlight. Patrons are able to take pictures and upload them directly to various social networking sites. ITS Enclosures www.signagemag.com/15305

In-Wall Flat High Speed HDMI with Ethernet & 3D 1080p Blu-ray HDTV CableConnects any Blu-ray player, HDTV, cable TV & satellite set-top box, DVD, tablet, computer, and projector with HDMI. Flat design reduces crosstalk and perfect for tight bend & under carpet applications. This advanced HDMI cable supports up to 1080p/3D, Ethernet & Audio Return Channel, Multi-channel Digital Audio, Deep Color/x.v.Color, HDCP and CEC controls. Features corrosion resistant gold contacts and shielded to maintain signal integrity. CL3 rated for commercial/residential applications. Available in 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 & 10 meters. QVS www. signagemag.com/15307

InspiraTouch Touch TablesTouchSystems’ InspiraTouch, the company’s line of touch tables, is meant to inspire creativity and collaboration. The tables are offered in 42 inches and 55 inches. They are integrated with infrared touch technology, resulting in a multi-touch solution. The tables use IP65 glass, which protects them from dust and spills. The touch tables are offered with the following options: castor wheels, PC, and multi-touch software.TouchSystems www.signagemag.com/15308

Digital Signage Content Creation SoftwareFlypaper™ is a digital signage content creation software that empowers programmers and non-programmers alike to create, edit, share, track and reuse high-impact video content With Flypaper, anyone can rapidly develop video and interactive digital signage content, without ever touching programming code. Use the themes, templates, images and Flash animations included in Flypaper to easily create impactful content. Flypaper outputs completed projects to HD motion graphics video formats and Flash files and works seamlessly with scheduling systems and media players. Flypaper www.signagemag.com/15306

DisplayPort Extender over CAT-7Gefen’s new DisplayPort Extender over CAT-7 sends high resolution audio/video up to 100 feet (30m) in distance from computer to display. Wall mountable sender and receiver units deliver A/V from the source over the CAT-7 cabling to the display. Power is required at the sender unit only; the receiver unit receives its power using the CAT-7 cable. Additional features include 16 different EQ adjustments using a rotating switch on the receiver unit. The receiver’s HPD Auto Calibration switch allows a full calibration of the connected display with no training needed in video technology. A locking power supply on the sender unit improves system stability. Gefen www.signagemag.com/15309

See You in Orlando

Collaborate. Communicate. Connect.

Register now at infocommshow.org. Use VIP Code MCTSS for free access to the show floor and events.

Conference: June 8-14 | exhibits: June 12-14 Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, florida

www.signagesolutionsmag.com3838

In the past, corporations and other organizations only had to worry about brand and reputation management in traditional media outlets, such as television, radio, newspapers, and online forums and blogs. With the proliferation of social media, however, the number of new outlets has grown dramatically. Now, in addition to patrolling the print media and airwaves, it has become imperative for organizations to manage their online social presence, tracking and responding to public conversations about their brands on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr and more.

So how does a company monitor a multitude of social media sites and millions of conversations at once without missing vital information? Increasingly, the answer comes in the form of the social media command center.

As the name suggests, a social media command center is a central place where staff from multiple departments can easily follow, analyze and react to social media conversations. However, it is far more than a bunch of computers and monitors used to avert a

brand crisis. The social media command center provides a number of additional opportunities for an organization by serving as the heart of its social media strategy; driving new content creation opportunities, marketing intelligence and campaign measurement efforts; and providing responses to customer support issues.

ImplementationThere are a number of elements

involved in the creation of a social media command center. We will explore three in this article: hardware and logistics, department organization, and content management and presentation software.

Decisions involving hardware—the size and number of screens, workstations and networking equipment—will be largely determined by the size and scope of the command center.

For a large organization looking to manage its brand, the command center may be a large room with several workstations, where staff can immediately create content in response to a social media conversation. Smaller organizations may have fewer

departments and employees involved, and may opt for a smaller cubicle or kiosk, where one staff member can keep an eye on what’s happening. The intended use will determine how many screens will be needed, how large they will be and where they will be located. An organization may want to group them into one large video wall acting as a single screen, separate them to show different content on each screen or any other possible arrangement.

When launching the social media command center, it’s important to remember that social media affects several departments within an organization, including brand marketing, digital marketing, public relations, customer service, IT and more. One implementation strategy is for a single department to take prime ownership of the command center. Most likely, this will be one of the groups managing the digital aspect in a marketing department. Marketing can then invite other departments as it sets up a multidisciplinary team, so they can jointly develop the necessary processes and procedures required. For example, the marketing and support teams will need to develop a process to deal with any customer issues that

By Maria Porco

Unleashing New Media

The rise of the social media command center


arise on social media sites—which can pop up at any time and quickly escalate if not dealt with in real time. Determining an appropriate process with specific accountability and escalation channels before an issue arises will save a significant amount of time when resolving it.

Content One of the most important aspects of the

command center is the social media content itself. Various social sites can be monitored directly, or with the help of powerful social media monitoring platforms such as Sysomos, Radian6 and Lithium. These platforms will not only help monitor trends about a brand or industry, but also provide demographics on users, identify key influencers and offer sentiment trends. Some social platforms like the recently acquired Bluefin will provide specific analysis of TV ad campaigns, greatly enhancing the success of those campaigns.

Presenting all of this data and information in a simplified, yet dynamic way is a key part of the social media command center. To drive this content to screens, a content management platform should be able to display live social media feeds from any number of sources—such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—in an easy-to-absorb format to screens in the command center. The platform must be able to display content from sources in real time, in addition to providing analytics in a manner that simplifies understanding and prevents information overload. For example, data can be segmented by demographic, geography, type of sentiment (complaint versus compliment) and more, and then presented in charts, graphs, gauges, counters or other graphics. This information can be coupled with live TV news feeds, various RSS news feeds, financial data feeds and other external information that’s relevant. Additional internal data can also be displayed, providing even more contextual information, all at a glance.

By displaying these various “channels” as a command center dashboard, all graphic indicators are contained on one screen to greatly simplify the jobs of those monitoring millions of conversations at once. A control panel allows for the changing of channels depending on the situation. For example, if a celebrity tweets that they dislike your product, you’ll want to go into an “emergency mode,” where you focus on Twitter to monitor and control the fallout. Or if you see an unusually large number of positive conversations regarding your product by Facebook users in a certain region, you can again drill down to see what happened to generate such a response.

The content management system should also allow the command center staff to change the layout of what’s on screen so the most appropriate view of the information is available. For example, a standard playlist of content could play out in normal operation, but in the case of a special event, the screen content can be focused entirely on one social media site, or on TV and the social response simultaneously, or whatever format makes sense for the situation. The command center staff would essentially be controlling their command center video wall screens like a TV newsroom, bringing up the most relevant video or graphical feeds as the situation requires.

With a management system that can deliver content to multiple endpoints, the same content or a subset can be sent to staff’s desktop PCs or even their tablets and smartphones, keeping them in the loop even when they can’t physically be in the social media command center.

ApplicationsAs we mentioned above, one of the

more common uses for a social media command center is brand monitoring and brand reputation management. Social media has dramatically increased the sources of possible attack on a brand and has made it possible to escalate and spread the attacks very quickly. Organizations must be able to respond to an e-crisis immediately. The social media command center provides a tool to monitor and analyze the social media world, and in case of a crisis, act quickly and effectively to protect their brand.

But managing an e-crisis is just the beginning. A social media command center allows an organization to keep tabs on the competition, while providing an amazing opportunity to connect with customers. Companies can encourage customers and partners to provide feedback

New applications and opportunities for social media command centers will

continue to develop, but they will all have one need in common: the ability to drive

social media content to screens, and display it in a manner that is easy to

digest and act on quickly, whether it’s saving your brand or saving lives.

Unleashing New Media

The rise of the social media command center

40 www.signagesolutionsmag.com40

BLACK BOX www.blackbox.com ..................................................................................................................................Back Cover

CAPITOL NETWORKS www.capitolnetworks.com ......................................................................................................................IFC

CHIEF www.chiefmfg.com .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

DEEL! MEDIA www.deelmedia.com .............................................................................................................................................. 7

DIGITAL SIGNAGE FEDERATION www.digitalsignagefederation.org/join .................................................................................. 21

GEFEN www.gefen.com/DS ........................................................................................................................................................ 23

LG ELECTRONICS www.lgsolutions.com ................................................................................................................................... 27

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC www.mutsubishi-presentations.com ....................................................................................................... 3

NAB SHOW www.nabshow.com ................................................................................................................................................ 19

ROSE ELECTRONICS www.rose.com ......................................................................................................................................... 13

SENECA www.senecadata.com ................................................................................................................................................. 17

INFOCOMM www.infocommshow.org ........................................................................................................................................ 37

VIDEO MOUNT PRODUCTS www.videomount.com .................................................................................................................... 8

UNIVERSAL LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES www.unvlt.com ........................................................................................................... 9

or suggestions for improvements via social media. The benefits of doing this are clear. It allows the organization to improve customer service and support by quickly resolving customer issues, while supplying them with the critical feedback they need to stay a step ahead in enhancing and improving their products or services. It also increases customer retention, which directly affects the bottom line, as customers are generally happier if they feel a company is engaged and cares about their issues.

A social command center can also be used to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. Graphs on the center dashboard can track how a new ad campaign is trending on Twitter, for example, while a counter can display the uptick in Facebook “likes” a company has received since

introducing a new ad on the site. Another proactive use of the social media

command center is to serve as a source of new content, created in response to live events being monitored. One recent example is the real-time response created by the Oreo cookie brand staff in response to the Super Bowl power outage. The “You can still dunk in the dark” tweet with a corresponding image was retweeted about 15,000 times. And Oreo went from having 2,000 Instagram followers pre-game to 36,000, with more than 16,000 pictures submitted by consumers as votes for “Cookie” or “Creme,” tying to their Super Bowl ad-spurred seven-week contest for the best part of the Oreo. This type of real-time response would not have been possible if the brand had not set up a social media command

center at agency 360i’s Tribeca office. New applications for social media

command centers outside the corporate world are also emerging. Recently, the American Red Cross opened a new social media command center at its Disaster Operations Center at the organization’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. In its center, the Red Cross is using social media trends to monitor and respond to victims of natural disasters. By tracking and mapping tweets and other conversations, they are able to provide real-time information to relief workers, leading them directly to affected individuals.

New applications and opportunities for social media command centers will continue to develop, but they will all have one need in common: the ability to drive social media content to screens, and display it in a manner that is easy to digest and act on quickly, whether it’s saving your brand or saving lives. SSM

Maria Porco is vice president of business development for X2O Media, a provider of software for real-time visual communication applications that significantly improve enterprise-wide

communications and drive business. She can be reached at [email protected].

As the name suggests, a social media command

center is a central place where staff

from multiple departments can

easily follow, analyze and react to social

media conversations.

Advertiser Index

SUBS

CRIBE

TODA

YGet direct information on the digital signage market and learn solutions for your business. Signage Solutions will look at digital signage solutions and products and how they can be applied to better serve our readers within these industries...

• Transportation • Healthcare • Arenas/Stadiums • Financial/Corporate • Houses of Worship • Marketing/Advertising • VARs/Integrators • Retail/Restaurants • Public Spaces • Hospitality • Education • DOOH Networks

Subscribe to Signage Solutions magazine by going online to www.signagesolutionsmag.com or fax back the form below. No cost to qualified subscribers.

magazineSignage Solutions

YES! ________ (check here) Please enter my subscription to Signage Solutions Magazine o New Subscriber o Renewal

Name ____________________________________________________________________________

Company ____________________________________________ Title___________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________________

City ______________________________________State ________ Zip _________________________

Phone _______________________ Fax_________________________ Enewsletter _______ YES _____ NO

E-mail_____________________________________________________________________________

Signature __________________________________________________________________________ 1. Number of screens in your current or planned network? o 1-10 o 11-50 o 51-100 o 101-500 o 500 +

2. Are you involved in the purchasing and design decisions? _____ YES _____ NO

3. What industry best describes your current profession: o Transportation o Healthcare o Arenas/Stadiums o Financial/Corporate o Houses of Worship o Marketing/Advertising o VARs/Integrators o Retail/Restaurants o Public Spaces o Hospitality o Education o DOOH Network

4. What title best describes your current position: o President/CEO o Owner o Manager o Marketing/Communications o Facility Manager o Designer/Architect o Integrator/Installer o VAR o Information Technology o Network Manager

www.signagesolutionsmagazine.com/subscribe

D I G I T A L S I G N A G E S O L U T I O N S

Capital Networks Limited620 Alden Road, Suite 103Markham, Ontario, L3R 9R7

Tel: 905 946-1122Fax: 905 [email protected]

www.capitalnetworks.com

AUDIENCE DIGITALSIGNAGE SOLUTIONS

From simple, very affordable, one screen displays to extensive worldwide networks that include dozens or even hundreds of screens, the Audience platform provides all the software tools needed to create, manage,and play out dynamic digital signage on any display device including LCD, Plasma, large LED displays and projectors up to full HD resolution.

Training

Consultation

24/7 Technical Support

Content and Data

Production

3 Year Total Support Plan

Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android media player and software bundle provides a high performance, low cost alternative for dynamic digital signage displays.

AUDIENCEFOR ANDROID

Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content Able to take full advantage of our advanced Audience content management system, the award winning Audience for Android

Single and Multi-Zone Layouts

Real-Time Scheduling

Support of Live Data Feeds

As Run Logs for Content Verification

Command and Control Capability

And much more

for 1 to 100s of screensDigital Signage Made Easy

BLACK BOX®

i C O M P E L™

Award-winning iCOMPEL™ players offer:

• Web browser interface.

• Local or networked operation.

• Centralized content management.

• Automated software updates.

All iCOMPEL solutions include FREE:

• Lifetime software upgrades.

• Templates and training.

• System and network design.

• 24/7 technical support.

FREE 92-page guide The AV, Multimedia, and Digital Signage

Design and Resource GuideThe AV, Multimedia, and Digital Signage Design and Resource GuideJust visit blackbox.com/go/GuideDS or call 877-877-2269 today.

For help building a digital signage or AV network, be sure to get:

blackbox.com/go/iCOMPEL

AD00171-bbox-ssm-iCOMPEL_03-13.indd 1 3/22/13 10:51:52 AM

Documents

March / April 2013