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Digital Signage
Mercedes BenzWorld inWeybridge,
Surrey has ‘brought its museum to
life’ with the installation of 82 large
format displays from LG. The new 42,
52 and 65in displays are used singly;
in groups of two, three and four; and
in videowalls.
This is not the first time large format
displays have been used in the museum,
which is also used as a conference and
meeting venue. But the new models are
larger – 40in displays have now been
replaced by 42in models, for example –
have thinner bezels (frames) and, for the
first time, have been used together in
high impact videowalls.
These include a massive 4x4 wall
of 52in displays in the atrium, which a
Mercedes Benz World spokesman said
was a big improvement on the projector/
screen combination used previously.
“The quality was not nearly as good
and because it is a very bright area we
had to run the projector at full brightness
which meant that the lamp life came
down massively. Now, when a customer
comes in they can see their logo on
the large screen and that is a big selling
point,” he said.
A group of three screens on a tri-
mount above the reception desk offers
further opportunities for client branding.
Mercedes Benz World has not
replaced all its projectors. They are still
used for some very large presentations
and for projecting onto curved walls, but
where possible it chooses LG displays
controlled remotely via media players
mounted on the backs of the displays.
Flat screen displays are also used in
meeting areas, including an impressive
128in plasma display in the conference
room and four mobile LG displays that
give designers more flexibility when
designing layouts of conferences and
exhibitions.
Sign of a winner
Digital signage for small firms
Business Info
saw the displays at first
hand when it visited Mercedes Benz
World to hear how a much smaller
organisation, Farnham-based estate
agents Trueman & Grundy, is using LG’s
SuperSign digital signage to increase
sales.
SuperSign was launched in 2010 to
give small and medium-sized businesses
a simple way to create, distribute and
display multimedia content on large
format displays. It consists of a small box
mounted on or integrated into the rear
of the display and easy-to-use software
for creating, scheduling and displaying
multimedia presentations.
Trueman & Grundy partner Ian
Trueman set up his estate agency almost
two years ago and needed something
to set himself apart from Farnham’s 18
other property firms.
Like many estate agents, he chose to
install an LCD screen to display property
particulars, but instead of placing it in his
window, which would reduce the space
available for traditional window displays
without guaranteeing increased footfall,
he decided to position the 42inch display
inside the reception area so that it was
only partially visible from the street,
forcing passers-by to come in to have
a closer look. He also uses it to display
more information than a basic hand-out,
including extra photos, virtual tours and
artists impressions of new builds.
Trueman says that the results have
led to a big increase in viewings and a
shorter sales cycle. “By getting people to
look at the TV screen they have a flavour
for the property and then they want to
go and see it themselves. It makes them
want to look at the property and it helps
them make up their minds more quickly
because they can see we are pushing it
through this,” he said.
Trueman adds that sellers are just
as impressed with the digital signage
solution – “When a client comes through
the door, the first thing they do is stop
and look at the screen” – and that being
able to design bespoke programmes for
clients with guaranteed time slots on the
display has proved invaluable in winning
new business.
In the future, says Trueman, it could
even become a money-spinner. “I have
12 programmes that follow each other.
At the moment, I offer them as a free
incentive, but I could include one as
a part of a package, so down the line
it could generate revenue for me,” he
explained.
Many other SMEs could benefit from
digital signage’s ability to inform, engage
and inspire customers, but with limited
resources and IT expertise, any solution
must be affordable and easy to use. By
providing everything needed to create
and display multimedia presentations,
LG Super Sign gives smaller business
everything they need to make a big
impact.
www.lge.com
LG’s SuperSign
digital signage is
helping Ian Trueman
race ahead of the
pack