Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Scala will offer various insights into digital communication and the latest industry developments at the International Scala Conference 2014, taking place May 14 and 15 in the Olympic Park in London – and, yes, we’ll be there!
Since its launch in 2000, the International Scala Conference has grown to become the largest event for Scala Partners. With its emphasis on successful Digital Communication Solutions, the conference has a very good reputation for bringing business together in this rapidly evolving market.
On Wednesday, May 14, Scala hosts an interesting conference program, where prominent industry guest speakers will share valuable industry and project insights with the audience. This year’s program features the following speakers and topics:
- Nikk Smith, Pixel Inspiration: Intelligent digital media at Argos;
- Steen Mertz, Jyske Bank: jyskebank.tv – from web TV to flow channel;
- Adrian Exton, BlueSight Systems: Using audience data to increase revenues;
- Alex Hughes, Amigo: Branding Your Building, The Scala Way;
- Peter Critchley, Beaver Group: EAT – Fresh Food and Fresh Menus;
- Christian Lie, DNB: Rebranding Norway’s largest financial institution with digital signage;
- James Fine, Telecine: The Art of Signage Seduction…or How to Score with Great Content;
- James Brenner, Esprit Digital: The Westfield Stratford City case.
Naturally, we expect Scala CEO Tom Nix and CTO Peter Cherna will update the audience on the roadmap and strategy of the company. And Stefan Menger, vice-president advanced analytics, and Amy Wilson, product manager, will give a presentation titled ‘The Data Connection – Connecting and Optimizing Customer Experiences’. (We thoroughly enjoyed meeting Wilson at the Scala Americas conference in Austin last month and know she’s a great speaker.)
Visitors of the conference can also connect with two sponsors. Main sponsor Mdina Media will be showcasing its latest Scala Certified Players and Avnet Embedded will showcase the Instorescreen DSignage Android range.
In the afternoon participants get a chance to experience the large scale Scala installation at Westfield Stratford City mall during a guided tour. The tour will be followed by a double-decker bus trip past several Scala installations and hot spots in the city center.
On Thursday, May 15, Scala will be showing its latest and innovative solutions at the NEC showcase in the Olympic Velodrome. NEC has asked the leading solutions providers in the industry to collaborate to create fully integrated end-to-end solutions within real-life scenarios to educate and inspire. Over 100 truly inspiring solutions are on display distributed in nine different zones: Retail, Digital Out-of-Home, Education, Transport, Emergency Services, Media, Leisure, Innovations and Corporate Communications. On several screens at the Velodrome Scala, will show live and up- to-date information about the event.
Scala presents an engaging, interactive shopping experience at the ‘Scala Connected Store’ in the Retail Zone, and this is something’s we saw in Austin and is definitely not to be missed. Mobile devices and apps have introduced retailers to an unprecedented level of personalized engagement. By means of Bluetooth Low Energy technology, it is now possible to pinpoint a customer’s location within a store. Scala demonstrates a solution using beacons which can send customers personalized notifications about items near them, items on sale in the store or products of particular interest. Scala shows how customers can even ‘connect’ their phone to one of the playback screens in the store: 1-on-1 engagement!
In addition Lift Technology is used with a range of Whisky bottles, displaying relevant information on a screen whenever one of the products is lifted from its spot on the store shelf. Scala uses the NEC leafengine to detect the pick-up and ‘communicate’ in an easy way with different devices. The NEC leafengine basically is a ‘unified sensor’; a software solution that enables access to a broad catalogue of sensors, including gender and age classification, proximity detection, NFC, QR-Codes and many others.
To complete the future view on the retail experience Scala has also included electronic shelf displays at their ‘Connected Scala Store’. This solution allows store owners to adjust pricing per store-shelf location instantly, with only one click, across many different locations.
And if you haven’t seen it yet, this is a Must! Ordering and waiting for a coffee to go is a breeze at Scala’s Connected Coffee Corner. Visitors can order coffee through a self-service kiosk without the need to remember their ticket number; a picture is taken when they order. Once the coffee is ready their picture will show up on a screen. Scala Advanced Analytics ‘adds the sugar’. It helps transform point-of-sale data about the coffee orders into actionable insights for maximized sales and operational efficiency.
All the coffee is complimentary for all guests of the Scala Coffee Corner. In return Scala encourages their guests to make a donation to Sense – the AV industry’s nominated charity that supports campaigns for children and adults who are deaf blind. A collection box is placed at the Scala solution.
And would you like to see how digital signage can be the connection between social media and in-store communication? Scala and NEC cooperate in this event initiative by asking visitors to take a SCALfie (‘selfie’) with a ‘stress cube’ and post the picture via Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #SCALfie. At the Scala Coffee Corner, the result of the connection between social media and digital signage will be showcased. The person who makes the best picture of the day will win! Getting a cube with a Scala – NEC logo at the Scala Solution Stands and taking a SCALfie can be the ticket for visitors to own an iPad Mini.
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