Article

3 keys to a successful digital signage and kiosk rollout

Montreal Tourism in Canada shares its recipe for success.

January 18, 2012

Montréal Tourism center in Canada didn't want to be just another boring visitor center stocked with pamphlets and photos. Instead, it set out to create an interactive experience to wow visitors, said Éric Fournier, general manager of Montérégie Tourism.

"We wanted to give visitors the feeling that they're actually out in the region while they're still in the visitor center, and appeal to their emotions rather than just to their minds," he said.

The board's kiosk and digital signage deployment was a success for three reasons: It wasn't afraid to be one of the first in its industry to take on such a project; it used the technology to specifically showcase its best assets; and it partnered with companies that worked well together.

Don't be afraid to be first.

One of the biggest challenges Montérégie Tourism faced was that nothing like what it hoped to accomplish had ever been done. There was no template to follow, no proven ideas to adapt.

"It was definitely a blue ocean strategy," Fournier said.

Fournier and the rest of the board decided the region's new "power center" in Brossard across the river from Montréal was the perfect place to start. The development incorporates shopping, hotels, restaurants and other activities; it was guaranteed to get a lot of traffic .

Be purposeful with your technology.

Located south of Montréal, between Québec and Ottawa, the Montérégie is a region of mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, orchards, vineyards and lakes that also features shops, restaurants, museums and festivals, said Fournier, who wanted to showcase everything the area had to offer.

The tourism board opted for videos about the region and deployed NEC Display Solutions digital signs in which to feature them. It also installed touchscreen kiosks throughout the museum's eight tourist zones, each covering a different aspect of the region such as cycling and wine tasting.

"In today's world, consumers are used to seeing video everywhere they go," Fournier said. "Whether it's on their laptop or tablet computers, their smartphones, a digital sign in a store or hotel or some other location, video is a part of their daily lives. Montérégie Tourism felt it would be a good way to capture visitors' attention and keep in touch with what they want."

The kiosks allow visitors to select an area of interest and then drill down to obtain more information. For example, in the history zone, visitors can find information about museums, battlefields and other historical sites.

"Having the kiosks makes finding more information very convenient for many of our visitors," Fournier said. "They will come in and head right for a kiosk. Not everyone is comfortable using them yet, though, so we also have a staff on hand to help them, either by walking them through the kiosk or leading them to other information. No matter how technologically sophisticated we get, we never want to lose the human touch."

Work with companies who will listen to other experts.

Typically, the design process for projects, such as Montérégie's, begins with the architects, who create the concepts and receive client approval. It's then up to the integrators and other partners to determine how to fit video hardware and software into the approved design. In this case, however, the architect involved the video producers, Arsenal Media, and integrator Genesis Integration, Inc. from the beginning.

"We take into consideration every step on how the content will be viewed," said Dennys Lavigne, president of Arsenal Media. "Given how central the video was going to be, it made sense to involve Genesis Integration and ourselves early.

Together, the companies were able to make recommendations on screen and kiosk placement, including heights and angles, ensuring that the video portion was integrated into the surroundings instead of looking like add-ons.

"It made a huge difference," said Lavigne, who suggested the museum buy its screens from NEC.

"Montérégie Tourism only gets one chance to make a good impression on visitors, so it's critical that everything operate the way it should," said Marc Lacroix, assistant director at Genesis Integration. "Given how heavily these screens will be used, we felt going with NEC was the best choice."

Montérégie Tourism receives just a few thousand visitors per month, but Fournier expects that number to go up to 100,000 visitors a year when final construction is done to the power center this year. Future plans call for adding 15 NEC displays in the hotel inside the power center as well as in other high-traffic areas.

Fournier is also pleased with the feedback the visitor center is getting from tourist groups from other Canadian provinces and France; they're hoping to follow Montérégie's lead.

"When we started, there was nothing like this," said Fournier. "Now we have become the new standard of what's possible. That is very exciting and rewarding for us."

Read more about digital signage installation and integration.