Mississauga, Ont. – AV More has been developing and delivering professional audio video solutions since 1980 and has already gone through one huge market transition: analog to digital. As the company prepared for its second major market transition to digital signage it understood that partnership was going to lead to success.
Digital signage lends itself to partnerships because so many pieces are necessary for a fully serviced end-to-end solution. Content creation developers, large format display manufacturers, AV professionals and IT solution providers who have networking expertise all play a vital role in digital signage.
AV More realized this but they wanted to do something unique with its partnership and created Digital POP, which stands for point of purchase.
Digital POP’s goal is to engage the viewer no matter the location with a unique message that’s managed from one computer.
Adolfo Proietti, managing director at AV More said that Digital POP provides a way for end users to differentiate, increase sales through cross and up-sell approaches that can reach not just potential customers but employees as well.
“Digital POP provides an experience anywhere. For example, in a doctor’s office where people line up; it reduces the perceived wait time and you can manage the content on a weekly or hourly basis. Placing ads also reduces your cost, creates a revenue stream and helps you build your brand,” Proietti said.
But, AV More wanted Digital POP to be more than just another digital signage solution. The company wanted it to be turnkey. For that it needed a strong manufacturer and IT channel partner. AV More entered into an arrangement with Fusion One, a full service IT solution provider with managed services based in Woodbridge, Ont., and Samsung Canada for its large format displays.
In the Digital POP program AV More takes the lead, while Fusion One and Samsung work in the back office. By working together the three have developed a turnkey solution for customers that can be repurpose for many locations, while enabling end users the ability to change the content.
The other difference with Digital POP is in its pricing model. Digital POP practically eliminates capital expenditures because it’s provided as a managed service. Proietti said that customers can choose between a 36 to 48 month contract and just pay a monthly fee starting as low as $80 up to $300 depending on the package.
These costs can be reduced by selling ads on the digital signage solution, but the value according to Proietti is in the information presented to the customer. For example, Tim Horton’s did a major digital signage roll out that cost $50,000 per location and got a return of 25 cents per customer. That is an eight month return on investment, Proietti said.
He added that 47.7 per cent of digital signage sales increase the average of repeat buyers while providing effective brand awareness.
John Abate, vice president of Fusion One, said the Digital POP strategy provided his company with excellent margin enhancing opportunities such as integration, product positioning, cabling, and network operations. “We manage each installation and we work with each customer to solve their problems with digital signage equipment. Customers today are looking for turnkey solutions and that’s what Digital POP offers in a easy and affordable way,” he said.
For Samsung Canada, Digital POP is a great opportunity to partner with excellent solution providers, said sales manager Marco Nalli.
Nalli said that partnerships are crucial in digital signage. “Today you are seeing a lot of wireless and video streaming such as NetFlix and Internet TV and with digital signage you are starting to see a blend of partnerships.“ Samsung offers solution providers and AV professionals various large format displays from 32 inch models up to 82-inch screens that can drive solutions such as QR (quick response) codes.
