DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY THE SUPPLIER MAZE No one supplier dominates the screen media world. Some of its biggest names, like
BroadSign and ComQi, are virtually unknown outside it; others, like 3M (which provides network and enterprise digital signage software, touch systems, and the successful Vikuiti rear-projection system), are household names. Distributors and resellers, serving both end users and manufacturers of complete
systems, are also an important part of the equation. An example is E-Screen, which indeed itself sells 3M touchscreen kit, as well as multitouch displays and large-format screens. Some, such as Eurocoin with its LCD displays and touchscreens, are gaming specialists and should have special insight into casino requirements. Then there are the suppliers of the hardware that powers it all behind the scenes,
like embedded computer specialists Quixant and Advantech-Innocore. For those with a clear grasp of what they need in technology terms, the solution can
often be built up piecemeal from multiple vendors: the majority of screen media installations are not single-supplier. However, the complexity of the market (there are at least 200 software vendors claiming to provide digital signage systems, although many of them offer minimal functionality) means that users taking a first step into digital out-of-home media should at the very least engage a consultant to help them identify worthwhile possibilities.
a retail or other facility have always been apparent, but if you really want to see this done at its best, have a walk around the Bellagio, Monte Carlo, NYNY, MGM or one of the other properties in that group the next time you end up in Las Vegas. It really, really makes a big difference to spend the time to get the lines run, the walls cut out, metal fabricated and wood milled to build screens into, whatever the setting may be.”
Point and click
Perhaps the biggest changes of all, however, are those involving interaction. There have long been out-of-home screens that the consumer can interact with – ATMs are a ubiquitous if often overlooked example, now sometimes being used for advertising or marketing communications as well as for transactions; and kiosk-type units helping customers find information, timetables, directions through a facility, and the like are also well- established. Significant improvements in touchscreen technology, and more recently in gestural control, have widened their role and it is only likely to grow. But a new dimension has been added to
interaction with screens first by the rise to near ubiquity of the mobile phone, followed in turn by the rapid adoption of smartphone. Add to that the last couple of years’ near-frantic fascination with social media on the part of both marketing departments and consumers, and you have an emerging trifecta of out-of-home, mobile, and social. How does this work in practice? Sometimes, it has
to be said, it doesn’t; sometimes it seems that at least one of the three has been shoehorned into the equation without adding much value for the business or the consumer. But in the best executions, each can enhance the others. The out-of-home screens bring to the party their
strong association with the place, the moment and the atmosphere. The mobile, of course, is a direct link to the individual consumer – and a link which, once it’s established, allows the relationship to be maintained long after they’ve left the premises. Social media, meanwhile, extend that into the consumer’s group of friends and family. A hypothetical non-gaming casino application,
for example, could involve consumers first being attracted by a public screen to sign up for an offer which could win them hospitality comps. They sign up using their mobile – this could involve an exchange of text messages, or (still a little cutting- edge) the use of QR codes or near field communication (NFC) – and then each time they’re in a dining or bar area of the casino, they can give their meal or drinks marks out of ten, perhaps by texting the mark and a few comments to an SMS shortcode displayed on the screen there. A random selection of consumers who contribute win comps. Meanwhile, selected marks and comments appear
on screens around the entire venue as they’re received, encouraging patrons to sample aspects of the food and beverage offer that they haven’t tried yet. It might be desirable to exclude the lowest marks from these public-facing screens, but they could still be shown on other displays in kitchens, management offices and staff areas, prompting friendly competition among departments. Marks and comments also appear on one of the
casino’s Twitter accounts, reaching former or potential patrons who aren’t on the premises, while our individual consumer’s contributions appear on his own Facebook wall, sparking interest in the casino among his friends. It’s a long way from that forlorn screen high up in the corner, isn’t it?
APRIL 2012 35
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