Retail outlets are getting more sophisticated, with most recent ones employing a cloud-based content management systems (CMS) to keep LED displays on site up to date and attracting attention. Implementing digital signage solutions is seen as a key element in not only marketing a brand but also in laying the groundwork for future collaborations with other consumer companies.
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This was the strategy employed by Roasters Market, a full-service gas station, craft coffee bar, and convenience store in Chickasha, OK. The store, which is owned by Lawson Holdings of Norman, OK, includes a drive-thru component that represented a new quick-service concept for the company when it opened in December 2022—and is now a highly successful model for future locations to replicate.
Too Many Monitors?
The project necessitated design and installation work from the ground up. When digital signage systems integrator Coffman Media first came on the scene, power requirements for the internal signage systems needed upgrading. Jason Ault, Coffman Media co-founder and COO, oversaw a team that reinstalled extra power and networking cabling to bring the systems up to par.
“When we got there, other trades had already finished their work but some of the power and network requirements had to be upgraded to ensure the signage system’s success,” Ault explained. “So, we had to re-engineer what we were supposed to do, ensuring that power and data got installed so we could finish the digital menu board installation.”
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When designing signage systems for stores like this, Ault said the number of monitors required depends on anticipated traffic flow, location of the different store’s sections, and the welcoming environment you're trying to create. “If there's a coffee counter, that obviously that's always going to lend itself to a series of monitors,” he added, “but it’s important to understand that initial traffic flow. In our experience, there's always going to be at least four displays used. But we have done some convenience stores with as many as 10 displays inside. Available space and business models are key to the design.”
The client also requested an outdoor drive-thru digital menu board system with 55-inch outdoor LG displays, complete with customer detection and a two-way headset system. The system is mounted to a drive-thru pedestal mount system provided by Palmer Digital Group.
PDG’s QSRDMB255 mounting system supports three Samsung OHF displays in a pedestal structure that provides space for electrical and network connectivity, along with shelving for IT routers and media players. The displays are positioned side-by-side in a portrait orientation that, along with high-brightness qualities that reduce for the impact of direct sunlight, ensure that menu board content is both legible, neatly arranged, and quick to absorb. The system is unique in that there are no custom designed display cabinets; the Samsung OHF display is already IP56 rated and does not require additional protection from the environment.
“Our pedestal and canopy systems are structurally sound systems that go well beyond the protective capabilities of simple enclosures,” said Chuck Lewis, VP of Palmer Digital Group. “Auto-related incidents with menu boards happen more often than one might think. When a driver makes direct impact with our structures, the worst-case scenario is damage to the display. Often, they can remain in service until the replacements arrive, and it’s a quick swap.”
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“For the outdoor part, we considered one screen, two screens, and three screens,” said Ault. “The amount of content often determines the number of screens and the available physical space.”
Cloud-Based Messaging
For the Chickasha location, four 43-inch and four 50-inch LG UL3J displays were used, all synchronized via a cloud-based content management system called Signagelive. The software makes it easy for store employees to upload content and change the timing of messages to suit the different seasons and product offerings. The Signagelive platform also helps with perceived wait time. By displaying entertaining content, such as video clips, customers are given something to do while they wait in line or at a table.
The software-centric platform is also highly secure, with ISO 27001 certification compliance, an international standard that verifies an organization's information security management system (ISMS) meets best practices. Ault said this is very important to protect against hacking. “If your digital signage software and network are not secure, there’s all kinds of trouble you can get into,” he added.
Through its digital signage system, Roasters Market can control the content on each of its four LG displays independently or synchronize all four to act as one display. Coffman Media staff trained the Roasters Market staff on how to update the menus through the Signagelive web portal.
“Everything can be pre-scheduled and dynamic,” Ault explained. “We have some triggers built in for weather because Oklahoma is very seasonal. So, if it's cold out, they have some content that will trigger when it's cold. If it's hot, there's certain content that'll trigger those thresholds of temperature change.”
Serve The Space
Mounts for the displays were installed by Crimson AV. Low-profile CM in-line multi-display mounts were selected, with a single pipe dropped from the ceiling to provide flexibility in how the displays were installed. After they were hung, the displays were micro-adjusted in the corners to make four monitors look like one big array.
Crimson AV supplies all types of accessories and ceiling attachments. The Crimson in-line system features independent vertical and roll adjustments, unlimited lateral shift, and easy tilt adjustment, which simplifies the process and reduces installation time.
“We sat down with Roasters Market and figured out exactly what they were trying to accomplish from a digital signage perspective,” said Will Bear, VP of sales and marketing at Crimson AV. “From there, we focused on the content and how it would be displayed. We decided to go with two sets of four displays, one in landscape positioning and the other, for another section of the store, in a portrait orientation.”
Ault added that the Chickasha location didn't have a lot of real estate behind the counter without impeding on some other elements, such as refrigerators and coffee machines. As a result, hanging the displays from the ceiling made the most sense for both customers and employees.
Navigating the Last Mile
“The most challenging part of this project was bringing together the many different trades,” recalled Ault. “As the systems integrator for all of the digital signage, we're kind of that last mile piece. If something doesn't happen upstream, it rolls downstream to us very quickly, so we have to adapt on the fly. In this particular scenario, when we got there and realized that, OK, this is not going to be as we intended, but you know, we can figure out a fix for it.
“So, it’s up to us to redesign the whole thing, or just pick up where others left off because it wasn't ready,” he continued. “And then rather than create a lot of delay and extra cost with the site not ready for use and things like that for the end user, we figure out solutions to get the project to completion.”
While there’s not a consumer-facing vertical today that is not using digital signage in some form, Ault said the first question integrators should be asking the client is why they want digital signage in the first place. “At the end of the day, our job as integrators is to understand their goal and help them achieve it,” he explained. “So, we sit down and discuss ideas and then we help them reverse engineer that … by asking a series of questions.
"And it’s also determining how much physical space is available and the right products for the application. Because if you don't have the real 'why' behind this, the result could be a failed project starting on Day One. The important thing is the need to get the right information at the right time to the right person.”
