Hardware
Manchester youth charity unveils digital signage homage to The Smiths
July 10, 2023
Salford Lads Club, a youth-focused charity based in Manchester, England in the United Kingdom, has unveiled a digital signage installation in partnership with digital signage firm Saturn Visual Solutions, according to a press release.
Digital Signage Today reached out for details on the hardware and software. "We installed three small 32-inch Vestel displays," Emma Radcliffe, marketing manager at Saturn Visual Solutions, said via email this morning, adding that one display was installed vertically and the others horizontally and including a link to the company's online case study on the project. "The software is our own platform, SaturnVision."
"We're a very busy club so it's important that the software system we use to control the screens isn't complicated," Leslie Holmes, project manager at Salford Lads Club, said in the case study. "We've found SaturnVision surprisingly simple to use. The Saturn team gave us some training on and within an hour or so, we were confident in how to use it.
"We haven't needed the Saturn helpdesk very often, but it's great to have someone to call if we have a technical issue or a question on how to use the software," Holmes added in the case study.
The youth center, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year and which is now open to boys and girls, has a famous association with the band The Smiths and possesses a room devoted to rock band memorabilia, which is popular with fans of the band and which helps provide revenue for the charity's operations; due to space limitations, the center turned to digital signage to display more content in a space-saving way in the Smiths Room area of the club.
"Salford Lads Club is a place like no other," Holmes explained in the release. "First and foremost, it's a place to help young people. Secondly, it's a historically significant building and is the best example in existence of a pre-World War 1 boys' club. And last, but not least, it's a mecca for fans of The Smiths music.
"A lot of the club's income is raised by music fans visiting us and buying merchandise, so we need to keep our collection of fan photos and messages up to date to remain current," Holmes added. "We asked Saturn to help us sensitively modernize The Smiths Room, making it a fun and interesting place to visit, but without losing what makes it so very special. Saturn gave us some great suggestions that were within our budget. They were also kind enough to donate time and services free of charge, which has helped us keep our costs down. We are all really pleased with how the result looks and what it'll now enable us to do."
"Despite being a band from the eighties, The Smiths' songs are streamed by over 12 million listeners every month," Chris Welsh, managing director at Saturn Visual Solutions, said in the release. "That fan-base presents a huge opportunity for the Club, which is practically on our doorstep and does fantastic charitable work helping disadvantaged young people to have brighter futures. So, we decided that we would help them as much as we could by proving some hardware and services free of charge.
"It was important to strike the right balance between creating enough display space for the Club's massive and growing collection, but not change the look and feel of The Smiths Room. So, we advised on three small and inexpensive displays that wouldn't overpower the room they were in and would create enough additional display space for the Club's needs. We're thrilled that the feedback from fans has been so positive, and that the Salford Lads Club is attracting previous and new visitors wanting to be a part of the collection, which should help the Club's fundraising efforts."
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