“I’m remodeling the kids’ room.  May I get a gallon of lead-based paint, please?”

Before 1978,  lead-based paint was deemed to be good practice and a great value.  Now, in the US, a company can be fined and possibly face criminal charges for failure to comply with regulations regarding removal and disclosure of lead-based paint.

Why?  Because we are now aware of the unintended, yet harmful health effects.  Today, how would you react if you overheard someone asking the above question?  They must be joking, or have no concern for the well-being of their children.

In like manner, it has become standard in the digital signage industry to promote video as the ultimate medium for reaching customers.  Conventional “wisdom” says it’s good practice and gets the best value out of your signage.  This is because many choose to ignore the harmful side effects video has upon customers.

For example, imagine yourself in a store.  You notice a TV suspended from the ceiling near the checkout area.  It’s playing a video.  What instantly comes to mind?

“Hey, there is going to be some interesting information I really need to know.”

Nope.  Most likely it’s, “Oh no! It’s a commercial.”    You make the association between a TV showing video and being sold to.  You quickly turn away.  That’s what customers do.

At Noventri, we embrace the universal truth that people  hate watching commercials and will avoid them at every opportunity.   How could we, in good conscience, tout the effectiveness of video in digital signage applications?  We cannot.  We do not.  It is a source of pride to stand up for the truth.

Despite these facts,  the geeks and crooks of the digital signage industry continue to push “lead paint” as best practice.

“You must have video to have great signage!”

Or  “Using lead makes for superior paints!”

A new coat of paint does brighten a room, makes it feel warm, clean, and inviting.  Digital signage has the same effect.  Isn’t everyone much better off without the lead and video?

Get the lead out of your digital signage.

Does it make a difference where your screens are mounted? YES!

The Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore, The Egyptian Pyramids, and the Great Wall of China all have something in common. Whether they have an audience of one, or of thousands, they can be seen by everyone. These landmarks wouldn’t be nearly as impressive if they could only be seen by one person at a time.

 The best way to make your digital screens viewable by the masses is to move them off the floor! Hanging them by the ceiling or on the wall with proper tilting can go a long way. The cynics will say ‘Yeah, but the higher they are the harder it is for them to read.’ Then get a bigger screen! Make the fonts larger! There is always a way around distance. There is NOT a way around having your message blocked while there is a group of people in front of the screen that is on a floor stand. Even one person standing in front of the screen can be enough to destroy your message if your screen is on the floor.

While floor standing screens have their place, make sure that everyone can see your screens by taking the high road, not the low road.

SIDE NOTE: Although this isn’t an article about touch-screens, one reason why touch screen kiosks are strongly discouraged is because they’re intended for one person to use them at a time. Who wants to wait in line to see the Eiffel Tower one person at a time? I would rather enjoy the Eiffel Tower with my friends and family. The same feelings or principles apply to digital signage. People are at your place of business to do something other than stop and admire the new digital screens. So make your digital signs a part of their da­y-to-day lives by giving them the information they need that is easily viewable by many.

Noventri installs third phase of digital signage project in Baltimore’s Marriott Inner Harbor modernizing the hotel’s lobby, meeting rooms and restaurants and providing better guest communications.

Smithsburg, Maryland, June 16, 2010 – Noventri recently completed a digital signage installation at the Marriott Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. The 490-room hotel desired to create more foot traffic to The Yard, a restaurant located just off the lobby of the hotel. Noventri placed a large format screen at the restaurant’s entrance and used the Eco-Series SF-100e, a green digital signage player manufactured exclusively by Noventri, to power the screen.

“The Noventri system for our restaurant is very easy for me to use,” says Mitch Cooper, Master Chef at The Yard. “I enjoy being able to have the freedom to make the screen look the way I want, when I want. I can schedule my promos out into the future so that I don’t have to worry about always keeping up with the content. It’s a dream come true for me!”

The recent addition to the hotel’s digital signage network is the third project completed by Noventri. The first two phases included three reader board screens in the lobby and 22 meeting room board screens. Marriott Inner Harbor is currently working with Noventri on the next phase which will include placing digital screens in each of the hotel’s elevators.

The Marriott Inner Harbor is located within walking distance to the Maryland Science Center, The Baltimore Convention Center, M&T Bank Park/Baltimore Ravens and Camden Yards/Baltimore Orioles, all of which feature Noventri Digital Signage.

For information contact Judy L. Hoffman at: judyh@noventri.com or call 301-790-0103.

Noventri will be showcasing their latest digital signage, digital reader board and digital menu board technology – an easy-to-use, cost-conscious and green solution for the hospitality and entertainment industry at this year’s HITEC show in Orlando.

Smithsburg, Maryland, May 18. 2010 – Noventri is slated to showcase their latest digital reader board and digital signage technology, the Eco-Series SF-100e, at booth 1426 at the HITEC 2010 show June 22nd through 24th, which will take place at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

When attendees visit the Noventri booth they will be tantalized by real-time demonstrations of the SF-100e player powered by the included digital signage software on an array of video screens that will intrigue and educate professionals from hotels, resorts, casinos and clubs. The SF-100e is a digital signage player designed specifically with the hospitality industry in mind and is used for menu boards, reader boards and meeting room signage. The player provides a platform that is simple, easy on the budget as well as green.

“The Eco-Series SF-100e is the perfect solution for the hospitality industry,” says Andrew Hoffman, Vice President of Noventri. “We meet the objectives of our clients by offering a solution to improve image, and to communicate more efficiently to guests. While both of these objectives are attainable with other digital signage solutions, by maintaining simplicity and adhering to green initiatives the Eco-Series digital signage product line sets us apart from everyone else.”

Noventri is providing scheduled one-on-one demonstrations with attendees at the show. To schedule a personal demonstration register now at: www.noventri.com/hitec.

The HITEC 2010 show is a service of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and is the world’s largest hospitality technology exposition and conference. It is the place where new hospitality technologies are presented to the industry and where buyers can find and compare technologies in real time. Register now to attend by visiting: www.hitec.org.

For information contact Judy L. Hoffman at: judyh@noventri.com or call 301-790-0103.

The fire alarm went off at our office building and it was the first time that it had happened. Something interesting happened though; my coworkers “saw” flashes of light in the hallway. They also “smelled smoke” coming through the air vents.

We have procedure for this and it ended up being a false alarm. One of the smoke detectors was faulty. The point is, their imagination got the best of them. They started experiencing things that weren’t real just because they didn’t know what was going on.

Communication is vital to keep people from panicking.

Let’s look at a couple of points in which digital signage can be the solution to this problem.

COMMUNICATION

The fire alarm pull isn’t always used for a fire. Whenever there is an emergency, someone may pull the alarm even though there is a sniper shooting, or some other kind of emergency that requires different ways to react. There may be more suitable instructions for different types of emergencies. So, how can digital signage play a part in this? If you have the ability to announce a particular emergency, not just a generic announcement or a fire alarm, then it will be much easier to keep people calm and safe.

You can also identify which part of the building the emergency is taking place in so that it’s understood where the danger is.

To make sure that everyone is prepared, regular drills are recommended. With digital signage, it can be announced on the screen that the alert is a drill.

It is also recommended that each digital signage location have a unique map with exit instructions to increase the effectiveness for that location.

With all of these benefits in place, digital signage makes communication much more effective and at the same time, can be as automated with your pre-existing fire alarm pull.

SAFETY

“SPILL IN ISLE 10!” Those famous words we hear at our local grocery store just aren’t enough for our sue-happy society these days. Did you know that you might be able to lower the liability on your insurance by having a digital signage screen announce the spill in isle 10? It has worked for some stores and it may work for your store. Check with your insurance company to confirm. Safety is important to the patrons as well, lawsuit or no lawsuit. People need to keep their jobs and one injury can put them out of commission, even if you have a talking white duck!

VALUE

The last time that you were at a big grocery store that has digital signage, did you just see advertising, or did you see information? A great digital signage deployment (not good, but great) will have mostly valuable information being used on the network, which is the reason why you would want to look at it in the first place.

Emergency information just adds to the useful information being displayed, WHEN it needs to be displayed. Valuable content that includes properly implemented emergency messages is what sets apart a good digital signage deployment from a great one.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, emergency messages are like health insurance. We hate the thought of using them, but are glad to have them when something goes wrong. Why not increase your chances of a happy ending by using digital signage equipped with emergency messages at your location?