Omnivex Control
Networked RS232 device control and monitoring
Customer Overview
Southcentre Mall is located in Calgary, Alberta in the community of Willow Park. The mall offers a
diverse mix of more than 200 highly acclaimed stores and services. It is the exclusive location for some
of Calgary's most sought-after retailers including Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Coach, Bose
and Disney.
Originally opened in 1974, Southcentre was in need of a remodel in order to bring it into line with
the newer shopping centres in the Calgary area. Southcentre wanted to ensure they were providing
an unparalleled shopping experience and maintaining their reputation as the preferred place to shop
in the Calgary area. Since the mall had been in operation for over thirty years, management felt that
it was time to expand and update the facilities, so beginning in the fall of 2007, the mall underwent
a $104 million renovation to bring it to the forefront of the upscale shopping destinations. Following
completion of the renovation, the mall boasts just under one million square feet of retail space.
Project Scope
Southcentre's main goals are to provide a unique facility, making the shopping experience more
comfortable, more convenient and less stressful. Southcentre is a family-focused shopping centre,
dedicated to meeting customer's needs and building and sustaining a healthy, thriving community.
Southcentre offers amenities such as family washrooms and nursing rooms, 'Parent & Tot' parking
stalls in the lot, complimentary strollers with children's programming, KidStop areas, interactive
directories, complimentary wireless Internet, Comfy Kids Club, and Ticketmaster.
Even with all of these great shops and services available, the mall undeniably had an older feeling
about it. Management felt that a complete redesign would not only ensure they had the best retailer
shops and services available, but that they would also have the best shopping experience for their
guests. The renovations were extensive and included architectural designs with warm textures and
rich colours, better and more efficient lighting, top of the line beautiful washrooms, a brand new 920
seat food court with soaring windows and themed comfort zones.
In addition to the renovations, there were some clearly defined pain points expressed by guests and
retail store owners which needed to be addressed with the remodel, such as:
Improved facility navigation
Better access to mall information
Improved visibility of retailers located in the mall
Better visibility of promotions taking place at retail stores in the mall
A better place for meeting, resting and entertainment within the mall
Having seen other large retail environments utilize digital signage to achieve these goals, Southcentre
felt that all of their goals for improving the customer experience and also continuing to appeal to the
high-end retailers could be accomplished with digital signage.
Southcentre Mall conducted studies to determine where the most appropriate positions for screens
would be throughout the facility. They wanted to address three key types of locations: those where
people would be on the move, those where they needed quick access to information and those where
they would be stationary for a longer period of time. They positioned screens strategically throughout
the facility at entrances, high traffic locations and at the Customer Service desks. In the newly
constructed Centre Court meeting and relaxing area, they installed a feature 3 x 3 video wall using 9
screens to provide a visually captivating and entertaining environment. They also created a "Sports
Zone" area where sports fans could enjoy the latest from the sports world while taking a break for
shopping. With the recent Olympic winter games' going on this has proven to be a big hit.
Omnivex Solution
Initially, Southcentre thought that they would be able to manage the content on all of the screens
themselves, using Microsoft Power Point. After struggling with the lack of scheduling ability, the
restricted graphical capabilities and the limited functionality of using Power Point to manage a large
digital signage deployment, Southcentre decided that they needed to find a better solution. "We
originally used very basic software to manage content on the screens, but we found that it was not
able to meet our needs, as the content on the screens did not look very compelling and the scheduling
aspect was not sophisticated enough," said Shawn Hanson, Southcentre General Manager.
Southcentre decided that it was time to get some advice from an experienced digital signage
professional, so they contacted Sharp's Audio Visual. Sharp's Audio Visual is an experienced audio
visual integrator, with national reach in Canada. Having been involved in numerous enterprise-wide
integration systems, they were fully capable of taking on a project of this size. "Sharp's Audio Visual
was brought on to the project to advise about the software options available to manage the digital
signage system. After reviewing what our main objectives and future plans for the system would
include, Sharp's recommended Omnivex," said Hanson.
Previously, the content on the screens had limited functionality due to limitations with the scheduling,
media file playback and the inability to make the content interactive. Sharp's immediately trained
Southcentre's Building Services Technician, Ryan Roch about how to use the Omnivex software and
then deployed it to manage all of the existing screens. The digital signage is managed from a central
location using Omnivex software. "The software was easy to learn how to use and made creating
content quick and easy. Now we have schedules that allow us to play unique content on all of the
screens," said Roch. Content includes all types of multimedia files, a ticker zone, live news and
weather, entertainment and advertising.
In the Sports Zone, they are able to show live sporting events, sports highlights and a ticker with sports
news. Since Omnivex software allows users to create content in the native resolution of the screens,
the video wall content and all of the other content on the traditional digital signage now looked more
vibrant, less pixelated and more visually captivating. Facility navigation had always been a priority for
Southcentre's guests, so interactive wayfinding screens were installed to help customers navigate the
large facility. In other areas such as the two Customer Service areas, management displays
content about mall hours, the services and programs they offer, upcoming events taking place
in the mall and the surrounding community, as well as advertisements for the retailers who
have space in the facility.
Results
Southcentre is able to increase the satisfaction of existing tenants, while appealing to new tenants by
offering them the chance to advertise on the screens throughout the mall. "It's something that
distinguishes us from the other malls. We are able to use our existing digital signage technologies for
the benefit of the entire centre and our retailers," said Ryan Roch, Southcentre Mall's network
operator. "We provide content creation services and the ad space to our retailers free of charge," said
Shawn Hanson. "Shoppers like to learn about promotions taking place in the mall, while retailers like
to get the brand exposure we are able to provide to them," he continued. "This also helps boost the
sales of those retailers who may be struggling in this down economy. Ultimately, the success of our
retailers leads to our success, so we are happy to provide them with the opportunity to increase their
visibility," finished Hanson. All of the screens also include the Southcentre logo and some display
advertising about the mall, helping to promote the mall as the ultimate place to shop.
"Future plans for the digital signage system include expansion into other areas of the shopping centre
and exploration of further opportunities to promote retailers and other groups using mall space," said
Hanson. Another option is that Southcentre Mall could use their digital signage network to realize an
additional return on their investment by offering mall tenants a hosted solution on their existing
Omnivex network. This would allow them to offer their retailers the ability to have screens in their
stores to promote products, without the need for any training or major infrastructure investments. The
software could also be used down the road in the Mall's Food Court, to display menu items, prices
and promotions.
The renovation and addition of digital signage to the mall has reinforced Southcentre as one of
Calgary's best places to shop. Feedback from both shoppers and retailers has been phenomenal.
