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Minneapolis-St. Paul airport's digital transformation highlights signage, customer experience

MSP airport has invested heavily in its digital transformation, leaning into digital signage as a pillar of its passenger experience strategy. Airport representatives sat down with Digital Signage Today to go in depth on the process, and how it’s gone over with passengers.

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

January 13, 2023 by Daniel Brown — Editor, Networld Media Group

Airports are back, bigger and better than before, and the digital signage revolution is helping to lead the way. Digital Signage Today talked to three executives at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to learn how they have leaned into digital signage with the Digital Canvas project that has transformed the campus into a pace-setter for technology and innovation.

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Authority means agility

Though completely private airports are the international norm (usually owned by an investment or holding company), Eduardo Valencia, CIO for the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which operates MSP Airport, explained that U.S. airports are usually in one of two categories: Authorities or government-owned (e.g. San Fransisco, SFO, Chicago).

MSP is designated as an Authority. "We have authority to actually own and operate the facility, and we're isolated sort of financially from all other entities that are governmental," Valencia explained, which allows agility and innovation. A project like the Digital Canvas tech transformation "is really driven by that type of a business model of being entrepreneurial and thinking about how can you make not just facilitate air travel but at the same time, try to provide the best customer service possible and enable commercial activity," he added.

For scale, active screen count changes daily, but Valencia provided some estimates. "So it's between 800 and 1,000 is what I would estimate," he said, "but remember, it's all this place, so we're talking billboards outside in our parking structure, we're talking the digital roadway signs, so it's not just those things that are indoors." Even the system used by tug drivers to sort luggage is part of the central system, and Valencia estimated MSP will probably add around 50 more displays in the next 18 months.

Operating as an authority is also why advertising comprises a vital revenue stream for airports like MSP, with a dedicated team always on the hunt for new opportunities, including DOOH, digital billboards and more. (Other streams include parking fees, rideshare fees for companies like Uber.)

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Choosing hardware, software, back-end architecture

Vetting software meant prioritizing core values, including: robustness, redundancy, resiliency and continuity, Valencia said, along with "simplicity — less moving parts are preferred to more. We don't make it, we consume it — we are on a consumption strategy, which means that we rely on OEM... We look for enterprise-grade solutions because we are a 24/7, safety-obsessed industry." After evaluating many software vendors, the airport chose Omnivex, citing feature functionality, price and implementation flexibility.

For hardware, MSP evaluated many display manufacturers, settling on LG as the main supplier. For special form factors, the airport uses Nanolumens and Daktronics, which are mainly leveraged for the outdoor displays.

With hardware and software in place, it was time to develop back-end architecture. "The CMS manager is its own entity. That was a very conscious decision," Valencia said, adding that content delivery can involve player machines or direct-to-display cloud broadcast. From content and data to Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS), content integrates via API into the CMS, which shapes it into templates based on form factor in target displays; time-sensitive information can be updated on dedicated "hot boards."

In an unorthodox move, MSP went with a two-part back-end structure. "On that we're quite unique, because very few airports manage the entire digital canvas as one, and then separate that from a content management system that is also one, and isolate the content to really be a source that can be published or viewed anywhere," Valencia said.

For example, in a baggage claim area with screens overhead, it's easily possible to overlay a vendor's desired advertising onto any or all screens, using the central CMS, which can override any ad feed if needed (this is also useful for content moderation or alerts). "It's just kind of separating the display and the management of the display from the content that's going to be put on display — from the actual content layer itself," Valencia said.

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Content: there is no "I" in canvas

Cassie Schmid, director of strategic marketing and communications, MAC, said that the marketing team oversees creative, working to ensure all content and advertising meets airport standards, fits aesthetically, is useful and pleasing to passengers, and stays on-brand for the Digital Canvas. Content also needs to promote concessionaires while serving relevant employee-facing information in a timely manner. Additionally, all content is vetted by the inter-departmental Digital Content Governance Committee.

Getting regular feedback from passengers and airport feedback committees is essential for quality control. "That's something the team does regularly, and I would say being in the space and interacting with it ourselves makes a really big difference in creating that content," Schmid said. "Committees are made up not only of our business community, but also their travelers themselves whether for personal or business."

MSP also leverages feedback from voluntary airport associations like Airports Council International (ACI), which provides "quarterly benchmarks that are — this is the critical thing — consistent throughout, so you can actually compare performance between airports, and all on the same terms," Valencia added. "We are proud to be pretty darn good at it in our region."

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Making an accessible digital canvas

To ensure accessibility, creative teams consult with MSP's Travelers with Disabilities Advisory Council. "We also bring in third party vendors to ensure that our color contrast or font size is good," Schmid said. "Accessibility is a big priority for us."

For example, MSP pays for the passenger service Aira, in which passengers can check out a pair of smart glasses through which a specially-trained guide provides a live voice guidance session, watching from the passenger's perspective and guiding their path (requiring network attention to provide reliable connections, Valencia noted).

In another example, MSP staff designed an application that converts audio from the paging system into text that is then beamed to relevant screens. "It's real time paging that is contextually aware about a particular location, so that travelers that may have a hearing disability are able to remain engaged," Valencia said, adding that — to his knowledge — it was the first system of its kind in the country.

Lastly, operations are reviewed by MSP's disability committee community to promote accessibility.

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Sustainability

Sustainability is also part of the Digital Canvas. "We're a big campus," Valencia said. "We consume a lot of power and energy, and we've got a lot of ownership for our noise and pollution."

One way airports can get sustainable, Valencia said, is to source hardware that is manufactured to be sustainable, to be energy-efficient, to be easily recycled and to last as long as possible.

"To that end, we try to manage technology that very aggressively to make sure that we can continue on a lifecycle that is going to promote sustainability up the chain on the supply side," Valencia said. "And it's really important that we, through that, control how they are made and how efficient they are," he said, adding that removing player machines can also help. In any case, using quantifiable, data-based practices will add up at scale.

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Does airport DOOH hold opportunity?

"Yes, I would say it is definitely an area of opportunity, both for DOOH partners and for us as an airport," Schmid said. "We definitely want our passengers and their experience to be first and foremost," she added. "But also, from that revenue generation and partnership perspective, it's definitely an opportunity that we will continue to explore."

"The market is coming back," Valencia said. "People still want to go places."

For perspective, in 2019 MSP peaked at 39.5 million passengers, an estimated 100,000 daily, performing at the time of interview at 80% of that peak — and none of that counted an estimated 16-20,000 badged employees and volunteers on campus on a given day. "And then you have all the people that are coming and going on our roadways that are not flying anywhere, they're just coming to visit, meet and greet," Jeff Lea, manager of strategic communications, MAC, added.

"It's huge, the amount of people that move through the network any given day in environments that are going to be really captivating," Valencia agreed. "Two or three hours on either end. Every single day. It just continues to be, in my opinion, a very, very attractive vertical."

Schmid noted that MSP receives seven times the impressions of Timberwolves sports games and the Minnesota state fair combined. "And it's a captive audience. That's the thing. When you're in here with me and you're engaged. So that's where I think we have a lot of opportunity. And we've already capitalized on some of it, but we'll continue to do more."

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Just a matter of time

As airports continue to rebound, MSP's digital focus has inspired other industry players. Valencia recalled being on an ACI conference call with representatives from other airports. When he described some of the things his team was doing with MSP's digital canvas, and colleagues from other airports were enthusiastic, asking him for follow-up conversations so they could learn more. "That is really where we need to go, and folks like Orlando and folks like DFW and other airports are really completely getting it. And really recognizing that it's just a matter of time, as a colleague, and of finding the necessary wherewithal in order to actually jump on this bandwagon," he said.

Provided by Metropolitan Airports Commission.

About Daniel Brown

Daniel Brown is the editor of Digital Signage Today, a contributing editor for Automation & Self-Service, and an accomplished writer and multimedia content producer with extensive experience covering technology and business. His work has appeared in a range of business and technology publications, including interviews with eminent business leaders, inventors and technologists. He has written extensively on AI and the integration of technology and business strategy with empathy and the human touch. Brown is the author of two novels and a podcaster. His previous experience includes IT work at an Ivy League research institution, education and business consulting, and retail sales and management.