AV Technology - May 2008 - (Page 32)

business on its famous “Fun Ships.” Keeping these passengers informed on what’s happening aboard ship is a major part of keeping them happy, which is why Carnival decided to deploy shipboard digital signage. To do the job, Carnival formed its own Video Services Department to install, manage and maintain its digital signage solutions. The Carnival Spirit was the first ship to be fitted with a range of NEC plasma/LCD displays, Scala integrated touch systems, and Scala software back in 2001. Since 2007, the company has used LCD displays exclusively. As for cost: Carnival estimates each installation to cost roughly $5,000, with its newest ships having 15 displays each. Carnival Cruises uses digital signage to keep passengers aware of ship activities and other information. Today, Carnival operates over 150 digital signage displays both on its ships and in its cruise terminals. As the company’s desire to keep Carnival passengers informed onboard and in their terminals only increases, “Carnival’s Video Services team is constantly researching and implementing new and advancing technologies to lead the cruise line ahead in digital signage and multimedia innovation,” says Samantha Kelly, design and multimedia supervisor of video services. Carnival’s digital signage is also used to promote its many onboard services to passengers, who are the ultimate “captive audience” while at sea. In the long term, the company sees digital signage as a vehicle for carrying paid third-party advertising. To this end, “We are currently integrating advertising into our general information displays and tracking play time to better understand and research our ability to utilize our digital signage as an effective advertising space,” Kelly says. DEFINING ROI Clearly, it is not always easy to quantify what constitutes digital signage ROI. For companies such as The UPS Store in Canada, hard sales percentages can be compared against the cost of installing and maintaining digital signage equipment. But for RE/MAX of Thomasville, digital signage is a cost-saver in terms of labor, but is more valued due to the cachet and class it adds to this business’ public image. Meanwhile, it is difficult for a company such as Carnival Cruises to put an exact ROI on digital signage, because Carnival installed this system for informational, efficiency, and image reasons. There’s no question of the value of digital signage to Carnival; the company has continually expanded its use of this technology since first deploying it in 2001. For digital signage vendors and service providers, the question of ROI is key to sales and satisfying their customers. However, as these three stories prove, customer satisfaction is not always a matter of dollars and cents. It can also be achieved by giving customers a means to do their jobs better, and to improve the public faces of their companies to their own customers. James Careless is a freelance writer who specializes in communications-related stories. His writing credits include TV Technology, Television Broadcast, and Radio World magazines. He can be reached at jamesc@tjtdesign.com. Real Pixel Perfection! When it comes to image, the new EIKI LC-SXG400 really puts on a show, with twice the resolution and more contrast than other projectors in its class. Here's rich, saturated 3LCD color rendition of video and computer images, at 4,200 ANSI Lumens bright, with a 1300:1 contrast ratio, in high definition SXGA+ detail. Versatile, this projector offers vertical and horizontal power lens shift, a range of interchangeable lenses, and a full complement of inputs to meet most application needs. The LC-SXG400 4,200 Lumen, SXGA+ Projector. To learn more about the LC-SXG400 or the complete line of EIKI ProAV Projectors, call 1-800-932-8703 or visit www.eiki.com Projectors and more! 2345 32 | AVTECHNOLOGY | may 2008 http://www.eiki.com http://www.eiki.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AV Technology - May 2008

AV Technology - May 2008 Contents Precedent Corporate: How to Qualify an AV Supplier Education: Working Smarter AV Technology's Guide to Networked AV Government: IPv6 — Why You Should Care Calculating ROI on Your Digital Signage Investment Enhancing Audio in the Classroom Minimizing Equipment Theft Smart AV The Tribe Has Spoken AV Enables Interactive Research AV Image Enhancement Product Spotlight Tech Horizons Product Review New Products AV MO

AV Technology - May 2008

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