Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
As usual with Scala press releases there is no indication on actual size (as always just the ‘potential’ is mentioned) so this could be a single forecourt or hundreds – you just don’t know but either way it has taken 3 months for Scala / Statoil to announce what we told you back on 1st May 2008 when we wrote “Statoil Close To Choosing Scala“…
We believe that Statoil, the Norwegian (petrol / gasoline) filling station people are close to appointing Scala as their software partner for a new forecourt based screen network that will start rolling out in a few months time in the Scandinavia region.
The cynic in us would say if it was more than a couple of dozen then the press release would have shouted about it, instead the release says “the agreement between Scala and StatoilHydro finalizes an effort to develop a digital Petrol Station Network through the Scandinavian and Baltic countries” – we think the key thing there is ‘effort’.
Anyway it’s all happening in the filling station world, Shell have chosen their partner in continental Europe, BP are going through the motions in the UK and US (‘going thru the motions’ being the operative word`), we know that the two largest forecourt operators in Spain are also running trials and even in Iceland Shell Select’s service stations are rolling out digital menu boards!
Like all the other petrol / gasoline forecourt operator networks this is really a (retail) convenience store play.
Scala Inks Deal with Fortune 500 Petroleum Giant StatoilHydro of Norway
August 8, 2008 – Scala, the leading provider of end-to-end digital signage software, today announced that StatoilHydro has chosen Scala to link their petrol stations with a digital signage network in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries.
StatoilHydro is an integrated technology-based international energy company primarily focused on upstream oil and gas operations. Ranked #70 on the Fortune 500 list StatoilHydro is the 13th largest petroleum company in the world.
Headquartered in Norway, StatoilHydro has more than 30 years of experience from the Norwegian continental shelf, pioneering complex offshore projects under the toughest conditions.
The agreement between Scala and StatoilHydro finalizes an effort to develop a digital Petrol Station Network through the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. The Petrol Station Network is the cornerstone of a digital media concept conceived by the company to support current and future requirements for distribution and sharing of digital information across the Petrol Station Network in each country.
StatoilHydro has already started deploying their digital Petrol Station Network. Their network has a potential of 1500 Statoil-branded service stations. The deployment is starting in Norway, Denmark and Sweden with content that will be delivered over the internet to each Statoil station.
The digital signage network will be used to engage customers in the convenience store area of the stations by providing them with relevant information including news and weather, and will also be used as digital menu boards to display food and beverage options provided at each location.
“We choose Scala because we were looking for a software provider that had experience in larger networks. It was important for us to choose a thoroughly tested and established software platform that provided a variety of content possibilities,” says Erik Sandsbråten, project manager in Statoil.
About Statoil Petrol Stations
StatoilHydro operates 1150 full-service Statoil-branded service stations in Scandinavia as well as roughly 225 fully-automated sales outlets under the 1-2-3 name. The group holds a leading position in the Scandinavian service station sector, with roughly 23% of the market. StatoilHydro also operates 175 Statoil-branded service stations plus 15 unstaffed 1-2-3 sites in the Baltic counties and 250 Statoil-branded service stations in Poland.
Statoil-branded service stations offer petrol, diesel, fast food, groceries, car- and leisure products. Some stations also offer carwash and additional car services.
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