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Morgan Stanley invests in data visualization in Times Square

London-based video effects company Framestore announced its latest large-scale, outdoor data-visualization project, an LED digital signage deployment for investment bank Morgan Stanley's Times Square headquarters.

September 21, 2015

London-based video effects company Framestore announced its latest large-scale, outdoor data-visualization project, an LED digital signage deployment for investment bank Morgan Stanley's Times Square headquarters.

Working alongside Morgan Stanley and creative partner Bloomberg, the company's Labs team — led by Director Robin Carlisle and Producer Jonny Dixon — recently unveiled a new content system for the LED displays at the bank's headquarters, bringing interactive data to the thousands of people who traverse Times Square every day, the company said.

"Morgan Stanley was looking for a creative partner to work alongside Bloomberg to deliver something new for their LED screens," Dixon said in the Framestore announcement. "Their previous setup had been in place for over 20 years, and although the amber ticker was well-known, the technology didn't allow them to deliver fresh and compelling content. In Times Square especially, there is a need to stay fresh and relevant."

The visuals feature Morgan Stanley's recently launched "Capital Creates Change" ad campaign, insights from the company's latest research blue papers on topics such as the future of autonomous cars, and stories about community impact initiatives such as the firm's "Healthy Cities" initiative.

"We knew we had to offer something innovative," Carlisle said. "The financial sector is an interesting area for us, because, on the face of it, these are not traditionally creative companies. We found that Morgan Stanley was very open to ideas and was very clear on what the company stands for."

The team built a custom hardware system that would allow Morgan Stanley's marketers and Bloomberg's internal creative agency to create content, to display in Framestore-designed templates and graphics, combined with various data inputs and visualizations, according to the announcement.

"The feeds, the data input, additional inputs via a CMS – these were simply not possible with the older systems," Dixon said. "We're moving more into content creation here, integrating corporate videos with dynamic content driven by real-time data."

Morgan Stanley, working at the center of global financial markets, wanted the ability to display updated data at all times, the company said. "The ease of access to interface with the system is key," Dixon said. "The commodities visualizations, in particular, demonstrate the progression from amber ticker to dynamic content system. Kicking off with oil, gold and corn, the screens will show price fluctuations for tangible goods, bringing the meaning of the markets to a wider audience."