Zoom Radio, a background music service provider serving retailers and other businesses throughout Mexico, has upgraded its Audio over IP delivery platform to the latest-generation Barix RetailPlayer solution. Zoom Radio’s November 2020 update adds the new cloud-based RetailPlayer Portal to simplify operations by centralizing configuration, management, status monitoring, and stream switching.
Zoom Radio first installed RetailPlayer in 2019, upgrading from a legacy store-and-forward Barix distribution system. RetailPlayer has transitioned Zoom Radio to a more cost-efficient SaaS-based OPEX model while simplifying operations. This includes regionalizing streams for end customers and more efficient management of customized playlists, including the insertion of client-supplied messages—that brings efficiency to a service provider like Zoom Radio that often provides more than 2000 songs per client all over the country.
RetailPlayer has enhanced Zoom Radio’s ability to create a unique sonic brand for each client, which differentiates the service from competitors that deliver generic music streams. Customized programming and centralized control eliminates distractions to a business’s sonic environment—such as employees frequently changing the music—and legal problems associated with copyrights and permissions. Current Zoom Radio customers in Mexico include BD Laboratories and Mexibus.
“We call it musical architecture,” said Jorge Ortiz, commercial director for Zoom Radio. “We study the brand, the targeted location, and the behavior of customers from entrance to departure. That helps us define an architecture and build segments for different times of the day. RetailPlayer helps us create those segmented playlists with ease, and to add messages that support the brand. This includes early morning segments for employees with corporate, HR and motivational messages before moving onto commercial segments upon opening. We can also switch to alternative streams within the Portal on short notice as needed.”
While the RetailPlayer Portal strengthens operational and business value, Ortiz added that business locations benefit from a more compact technology footprint. “The new players are half of the size of our previous players,” said Ortiz. “This is especially attractive to our large urban transport clients like Mexibus that have players installed on buses and at bus stops.”
Ortiz also added that RetailPlayer allows him to more easily monetize streams by working ads into the mix, which he currently does with Mexibus. He otherwise charges a modest monthly fee for the service that is affordable for his clients thanks to RetailPlayer’s SaaS business model. It is also simple and affordable to scale a client’s RetailPlayer network according to Ortiz, both for Zoom Radio and clients.
“We are adding 150 players for a second urban transport client and another 47 for a retailer in the near future,” concluded Ortiz. “The process is simple for our clients, who have a plug-and-play box on arrival. They don’t need a great deal of technical infrastructure in the store. We handle the production and delivery, and the Barix players on location reliably handle playout. Beyond supplying us with promos and messages they simply focus on their business.”
