Digital Signage Universe

Digital Signage Video Wall Uses Augmented Reality and Gesture-based Interactivity

SEEN & NOTED: LAS VEGAS, NV—DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO— Arsenal Media, a Montreal-based creative content agency dedicated to digital signage and interactive multimedia, won a Gold APEX Award for their work on behalf of Sun Life Financial in the Event Venues category at Digital Signage Expo's 3rd Annual APEX Awards held last week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Sun Life Financial is a sponsor of a new Cirque du Soleil production called Iris, a show that takes a voyage through the history of cinema, now playing at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Sun Life's sponsorship is part of a new program to support the arts and includes shared marketing responsibility with Cirque du Soleil for content and branding. The initial promotion for the show used printed posters, but over time, it became clear that this approach was not delivering the desired level of engagement that they were looking for.

Sun Life was looking for an interactive experience that would attract, entertain, and engage viewers when they came upon an interactive installation called the BuzzWall created for the Miami Dolphins Arsenal Media. The Miami Dolphins football franchise plays at Sun Life Stadium in Florida.

Arsenal Media set out to create a new version of the BuzzWall with unique features such as an augmented reality mobile app and gesture-driven interactivity. The system is housed in a 15-foot by 10-foot structure that uses 24 Christie MicroTile displays. Gesture-based interactivity is powered by a Float4 RealMotion sensor that generates real-time interactive input that enables people to interact with the wall by waving their hands to stimulate a response on screen.

Read more about the APEX Awards on ScreenMedia Daily

Benetton Wins Top Prize In Digital SIgnage Expo's APEX Awards Retail Category

SEEN & NOTED: LAS VEGAS, NV—DIGITAL SIGNAGE EXPO— Benetton's Live Windows project created by Fabrica took home a Gold APEX Award in the Retail category at Digital Signage Expo's 3rd Annual APEX Awards held on March 8th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Benetton, a fashion retailer with more than 6400 stores in over 120 countries, is known for taking chances with their marketing. The company has a knack for attracting attention to itself by focusing their campaigns on civic, social, and political themes that almost never include any actual products. For example, Benetton's latest "Unhate" campaign uses a series of provocative, altered images of world leaders kissing each other on the lips. When Benetton decided to find a new way to attract attention to their retail stores, they combined digital signage video walls with interactive technologies that encouraged shoppers and passersby to engage in playful experimentation using their own images.

The Benetton Live Windows project was created by Alfio Pozzoni, Creative Director and Special Projects Manager at Fabrica, Benetton’s internal communication division in Italy. To create original content for the project, Fabrica invited several prestigious design schools from around the world, that included Elisava in Barcelona, Parson’s in Paris, and Hyper Island in Stockholm, offering an opportunity for their students to gain visibility and exposure through the project. The final result generated a broad range of animation and images that were also combined with user-generated content from shoppers for a truly interactive experience.

Fabrica also produces and controls all of its own content from a central location using its own content management system for the project after having evaluated several market-based digital signage software solutions. 

Read more about the APEX Awards on ScreenMedia Daily, a complete list of APEX Award winners is available here