Article
Digital signage veterans form consultancy
Paul Flanigan, Dave Haynes and Pat Hellberg form The Preset Group, offering digital media experience to the market and its investors.
September 13, 2009
Three digital signage industry veterans have come together to form the Preset Group, which was launched today. The group will act as a consultancy to help established companies, media start-ups and investment groups plan and launch successful digital media networks.
The three principal members, Paul Flanigan, Dave Haynes and Pat Hellberg, collectively have several decades of experience in the digital signage industry, and have managed media networks at top companies like Nike and Best Buy. Preset also has a global roster of specialists in specific knowledge areas, such as retail strategy, retail anthropology, audience measurement, IT network design, and business best practices.
"The technical term 'preset' really speaks to what we're doing with our clients," says Flanigan, a respected industry writer and speaker whose background includes running the vast Best Buy in-store digital media network. "Presets are used to ensure something works well right out of the box. We're helping companies do the analysis, strategy and planning – establishing those presets – so their screen networks work on all levels, right from the start."
Flanigan is also author of the Experiate blog and a frequent contributor to Digital Signage Today.
"We're being very straight and blunt with our clients," said Haynes, whose background includes launching and operating ad-based networks and developing business for BroadSign and EnQii. "We don't blow smoke. We won't shake pom-poms. We tell people their ideas are sound, or what they need to do to make them sound. None of us are afraid to tell clients, ‘Don't do it. You're not ready.'"
Haynes is author of the sixteen:nine blog and recently announced a service called pressDOOH, which aids digital signage companies with public relations.
The third partner, Hellberg, created and directed Nike's in-store digital screen network and the creative team behind it, before leaving to start his own consultancy called Kaicon.
"A huge concern is content," said Hellberg. "What are you going to put on those screens, day in and day out, that will make your customer watch and take notice? Preset has the experience and expertise to help clients create a sustainable content strategy before the network is launched. If the network launches before that strategy is in place, it's too late and the chances for success are slim."
The Preset Group's goal is to partner with each client, educate them on what will work, help them find the right solution, define the process, and show them how to succeed. The group will take a necessarily neutral position on things such as technology and services options, intending instead to find the best fits for clients. Preset will initially have offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Portland, Oregon and Toronto, as well as associates in several other locations.
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