Press Releases – Page 3 – Digital Signage Blog by Mirada Media

Mirada Media Outfits Trendy Montréal Clothier with Digital Signage

Finn Logo

Boutique Finn, a Montréal-based clothing designer, selects Mirada Media to install digital signage at their flagship outlet in Rosemère, Quebec.

Montréal, December 19, 2008 – Mirada Media, a leading provider of digital signage integration, is pleased to announce the recent installation of its ChannelView system at Boutique Finn, a retailer which sells its own line of clothing and accessories.

Boutique Finn was looking for a cutting-edge means through which to showcase its merchandise and clothing at its retail location. In addition, because of the regular changes in its clothing collections, Finn also needed a way to update its promotional material. Mino Kelechian, Finn’s owner, noted that “Our constant replenishment of new merchandise at the retail level requires promotion. The digital signage system allows that and fits in with the overall store concept perfectly.”

Furthermore, Mr. Kelechian noted that the ability to customize and change content on a regular basis was a valuable feature which would be almost impossible to replicate via traditional printed media. He also highlighted that selecting the proper marketing channel is of the utmost importance, especially in the retail industry, and added that Finn “needed to reach out and grab our media-minded clientele’s attention and that traditional, static, one-dimensional printed signs wouldn’t cut it.”

Mirada Media helped Finn accomplish these objectives by creating a customized solution integrating Mirada’s ChannelView system with two 52-inch high-definition LCD screens placed in key locations at Boutique Finn. Once finalized, the content is posted to the ChannelView system and displayed on the in-store LCD monitors. Thus far, Finn’s digital signage system has received considerable attention and praise, but Mr. Kelechian has ambitious plans to leverage the ChannelView platform even more: He plans to continue developing even more cutting-edge content through Mirvik Design, Finn’s sister company, which specializes in digital media production.

The use of digital signage by retailers is on the upswing, as it allows business owners to enhance customers’ shopping experience by offering memorable, captivating content. According to Eric Morello, Mirada Media’s director of marketing, “The benefits of digital signage for retailers to showcase their merchandise are definitely there, especially when merchants are catering to a younger, media-conscious audience. In a world where consumers have a plethora of choices for everything from clothes to electronics to food, digital signage offers merchants the opportunity to create a distinctive shopping experience and to get customers to come back.”

Finn has just released its Winter 2009 collection, which is available at www.boutiquefinn.ca. For more information about this press release, please contact Mirada Media at (514) 789-1989.

Mirada Media Installs Digital Menuboard System at New Montréal Eatery

WrapCity Gourmet, a new urban restobar chain, gets an all-digital menu board installed by Mirada Media for its inaugural location in downtown Montréal.

Montréal, Canada – August 25th, 2008 – Mirada Media, a local digital signage integrator, has announced the recent installation of a digital menu board system at Wrapcity Gourmet, located in downtown Montréal. The restaurant was fitted with a three-screen system: two for menus and the last as a promotional board.

“We wanted to be trend-setters, not followers,” says Petros Louladakis, one of the Wrapcity Gourmet co-owners. “We saw digital signage in other restaurants across Canada but it wasn’t used for menu boards, only advertising. We realised there was a lot of potential in having the menu boards digital as well,” adds Mr. Louladakis regarding the restauranteur’s reason to go all-digital for their menus.

Mirada Media helped the restauranteur realise this potential by providing the consulting, hardware and software needed to run their digital signage. Two of Mirada Media’s ChannelView Players were setup to serve the content to the screens and, in the future, provide advertising space on the restaurant’s flat screen televisions. The menu screens themselves are commercial-grade 46” LCD monitors with slim borders to focus on the content and not give patrons the impression they’re looking at TV’s.

Digital menu boards are a relatively new concept for the restaurant industry and, other than some major chains, few restaurants in Canada have any digital signage other than for bathroom advertising, but that could soon change.

“I believe we’ll see an upsurge in the adoption of digital menu boards and digital signage in Canadian restaurants now that more businesses in general are using the new medium,” comments Eric Morello, Mirada Media’s Director of Marketing, on the burgeoning national digital signage market. “Restaurant owners are going to start noticing the captive audience networks and digital merchandising that is now prevalent in other hospitality and leisure businesses, like bars and clubs, and realize that the dynamic nature of the media can impact their sales and branding efforts positively”, adds Mr. Morello.

The Wrapcity owners understand the potential of dynamic media and it was the major reason why they decided to adopt digital menu boards in their new restaurant. “We wanted to have limitless customization possibilities at our finger tips, the possibility of advertising whatever, whenever we want,” says Mr. Louladakis.

Of the many possibilities, the owners of Wrapcity believe digital menu boards will help increase sales by advertising high-margin and featured products and targeting different promotions depending on the time of day. Day-parting, to allow different breakfast and daytime menus, was another feature only made possible by going digital.

Wrapcity can also add, change or remove menu items with relative ease. Via a web interface custom-designed by Mirada Media programmers, restaurant managers can modify items on the fly to test different price points or correct their initial estimates—something that would be almost impossible and very costly with a static menu.

These marketing-conscious entrepreneurs have positioned themselves as an upscale restobar, targeting young urban professionals, and are pushing their brand and chic design in everything from their décor to the grill marks on the sandwiches (yes, the wraps are branded!). Getting digital menu boards was an obvious addition in the equation to get that wow-factor they were looking for. “The look is second to none,” say Mr. Louladakis of the restaurant’s digital signage.

“They wanted to animate elements of the menu, their logo and feature shots of their fresh ingredients and menu items in their ads. These things add to your patron’s experience, entice them into trying your different offerings and make them remember you,” says Mr. Morello of Wrapcity’s goals. “Our digital signage consultants work hand-in-hand with their designers to get to what works, avoid what doesn’t and make sure their promotional efforts go from the idea stage to the screen quickly and smoothly,” he adds.

Menu boards are obviously an essential element of quick serve restaurants and failure can be costly. “Everything from the 24/7-rated screens and media appliances to preventive maintenance schedules have to be carefully picked and setup to assure uptime,” says Mr. Carlo Pansera, Mirada Media’s VP of Operations. Mirada Media’s solutions provide extensive post-purchase services such as monitoring and issue resolution done remotely via the ChannelView digital signage software and technical assistance to make sure their installations are running.

Wrapcity is planning to extend their chain of restaurants to two new locations in Laval and the West Island later this year.

Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard Adopts Digital Signage Managed by Mirada Media to aid in its Information Distribution

Using Mirada Media’s ChannelView digital signage solution the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard integrates dynamic messaging with its signage to inform and educate its members, visitors and staff.

Montréal, July 30th 2008 – In an effort to modernize its signage and increase the effectiveness of its communications, the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard, a world-class sports facility run by the City of Montréal, called upon Mirada Media to provide a complete digital signage solution including hardware, project management and support that would act as an integral part of their extensive signage modernization project.

Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard was looking for an effective and modern way to disseminate information on the facility opening hours, activity subscription, important dates, news, and to promote the many provincial, national and international sporting and athletic events they host weekly.

“We wanted to make our signage more dynamic and more attractive for our clients and employees,” says Réal Travers, Division chief for the management of installations at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard.

To achieve this, six commercial-grade high-definition Samsung 46” LCD’s were installed in high-traffic areas on four floors of the complexe’s main building, powered by a Mirada Media ChannelView media appliance and a video-over-CAT6 distribution system. The screens and hardware can be fully remote controlled from Mirada Media offices without the need for staff intervention.

“The screens are installed in strategic areas throughout the Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard that facilitate a uniform distribution of information practically in real-time!” explains Mr. Travers of the new digital signage system.

The “real-time” aspect is one of the main benefits of digital signage. It is achieved by a service contract that provides on-going scheduling and design support as well as a custom content management system designed by Mirada Media’s programming team. City employees can access the latter from their desktop browsers to easily make changes to visual templates. In addition, Mirada Media monitors the health of their network and can diagnose and resolve issues remotely via the ChannelView Player software that is loaded on Claude-Robillard’s media appliance. The software also allows Mirada Media to distribute content to Claude Robillard’s digital signage network remotely on demand.

Digital information board in the reception area at the CSCR

“Among other advantages, the screens allow us to offer complementary information, such as the time, weather, bus schedules and eventually we’ll use them for advertising,” says Mr. Travers. “Since we’ve installed the screens the comments have been positive and unanimous and our users seem to really appreciate the information we’re providing them,” adds Mr. Travers.

Mirada Media’s ChannelView Solution provides many templates and plugins to display live information sources (news, weather, etc. from RSS feeds) that are updated instantaneously to complement the main content. “It’s these little extras that keep your audience coming back for more,” says Eric Morello, Director of Marketing at Mirada Media, Inc.

“When people are asked about digital signage they more often than not think about out-of-home advertising, in-store TV or other commercial applications, but it has uses in the public sector as a powerful communications tool”, explains Mr. Morello. “As an integrator, our goal is to find the digital signage solution that meets the client’s specfic needs and goals, whether it’s for a shoe store, museum or corporate office,” concluded Mr. Morello.

Digital signage displaying an upcoming sports event at the CSCR