- Fifth Third Bank and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) have joined forces to install a new LED video display driven by Aerva’s AerWave digital signage technology.
In 2006, 3CDC picked Aerva to drive its first digital LED display after the $48 million renovation of Fountain Square—and Aerva’s technology continues to drive the newly installed LED display.
The purchase of the new display, through an exclusive sponsorship agreement with Fifth Third Bank, has been in the works for about a year. The new 16mm surface mount display will offer wide viewing angles and clearer, crisper image quality than the traditional lamp LED and is matched by Aerva’s AerWave v4.8, which is used by the outdoor and place-based industry to manage high-profile, large-scale networks reliably and securely.
The new higher resolution video display boasts 470,000 pixels, more than three times the amount of the original Fountain Square LED video display. At 30.5’ high by 42.5’ wide, the new display is similar in size to the original one but the space along the bottom of the board currently occupied by sponsor panels will be actual video display on the new board.
“Fifth Third Bank was a mere 13 years old when the Tyler Davidson Fountain was dedicated in 1871,” said Mike Michael, President and CEO of Fifth Third Bank, Greater Cincinnati. “Today, Fountain Square has become the heart of our City, an epicenter of civic, social, and commercial life and the front yard of Fifth Third’s headquarters. We’re proud to be partnering with 3CDC and Aerva to present a modern LED screen and high-definition viewing experience for those who live, work and visit our home town.”
John Fox, 3CDC’s Vice President of Events & Programming, said, “Aerva’s technology platform with real-time interactivity from users in the Square, from social media, have been noteworthy in the industry. Now we believe the new display can fully take advantage of Aerva’s capabilities and showcase a world-class public display to our community.”
Fox worked with Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, a Texas-based scoreboard and video consulting firm, to procure bids from seven U.S. outdoor display manufacturers, ultimately deciding upon LSI Industries, established in 1976 and headquartered in Cincinnati.
“We are pleased to extend our seven-year relationship with 3CDC into the next phase for Fountain Square and appreciate the validation of our technology by renewal of the software to drive the new display,” said Sanjay Manandhar, CEO of Aerva Inc. of Cambridge, MA.
AerWave software also manages schedules of ads, user-generated-content (UGC) and call-to-action as well as management of TV insertion using Aerva’s RS232 Control module. During special events where AerTweet, Pic2Screen or other social media and mobile widgets developed by Aerva are used, Aerva’s moderation Web Interface allows Fountain Square staff to approve or reject UGC.
