Case Study. BrightSign delivers France s largest retail digital signage network SUMMARY

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1 BrightSign delivers France s largest retail digital signage network Case Study SUMMARY A network of 1,500 BrightSign controllers are the vanguard of a project delivering coordinated content and stellar playback quality to some 3,000 displays at 80 of FNAC s retail stores strategically located throughout France. FNAC, France s largest retail chain of personal computers, books and music, recently added the expansive digital signage network as part of the company s ongoing commitment to provide their customers with an enhanced shopping experience. At the project s completion, as many as 4,000 BrightSign units will have been installed at FNAC outlets across nine European countries. KEY FACTS Integration Company: TMM Communication Industry: Retail Chain Location: 80 FNAC retail stores throughout France ç TMM s BrightSign signage solution for FNAC received the prestigious 2010 Golden Screen Award for the best digital signage installation in the retail category by the French Digital Signage Association. Project: Networked digital sign displays installed across all 80 retail stores in France for in-store promotions including ticket sales, TV sales and other products. BrightSign Solution: 1,500 BrightSign players drive more than 3,000 digital displays in 80 FNAC retail locations throughout France. The BrightSign players are all networked and managed from FNAC s head office using BrightSign Network and a customized software interface designed by integrator TMM specifically for FNAC. 1080i Video and image playback

2 THE CHALLENGES To maintain and further expand its status as France s leading retailer of cultural and technology products, FNAC identified three key applications that would enable the company to communicate with customers in new, exciting and engaging ways. For each application, FNAC planned to utilize digital signage solutions to deliver in-store promotions for the books, CDs, DVDs, event tickets and high-tech equipment offered by its extensive network of stores. As one of France s foremost vendors of home entertainment technology, the solution FNAC chose would have to be technically impressive looking. The goal was to find a media player solution that would provide input to the in-store video walls display, showcasing the range of TVs available. The content needed to be in full HD and play simultaneously across an average of 80 TV models per showroom. By providing the same high-quality, high-definition content across all available models, purchasers can more easily compare the quality of each individual television unit. Another important requirement from FNAC was to have the ability to use the screens in its showrooms to display various sales promotion and service information. To ensure the TV display models would be shown at their very best; FNAC had to ensure that the solution was pushing only the finest quality video. CHALLENGES Deliver coordinated messages to thousands of displays across the chain Dynamically display and update information about events or concerts with images and video clips Support plans to expand the network across nine countries BENEFITS Simple and reliable remote management Quality, integrity and reliability reinforce FNAC brand values Future-proofed able to expand with network growth and support tomorrows standards-based televisions and monitors. With prominent ticket desks in every store and a reputation for having access to the latest in entertainment opportunities, FNAC looked for nothing less than a technology revolution when it came to replacing static paper banners with a state-of-the-art video wall display. The solution needed to dynamically display content about events or concerts with high- quality images and video clips. The final application on FNAC s digital signage wish list was to be able to install portrait-format information screens, also known as point-ofpurchase or pop displays, in the various departments of each store. Exceptional video quality and easy remote management would allow FNAC to deliver coordinated messages reinforcing consumer confidence and brand integrity across the chain of stores. For all three applications, remote updating on a daily basis was a key

3 requirement, as was the need for a smooth and simple method for creating presentations and updating them. Finally, the solution needed to be scalable to cover all the stores in the international network, as well as provide a pathway for future expansion. THE SOLUTION "With its extremely reliable and feature-rich solid-state media players, BrightSign has reached a milestone in the digital signage industry as it allows system integrators to offer powerful and cost- effective digital sign solutions to retailers as never before." Michel Baronnier, CEO of FNAC evaluated a wide selection of resellers and signage integrators, many of whom TMM Communication proposed PC-based solutions. It was determined, however, that these proposed solutions could not provide the advanced level of scalability required and were incapable of providing the superior reliability and visual quality that would make FNAC stand out among its competitors. Offering an alternative to PC-based technology, the proposal from TMM Communication featured BrightSign controllers with a solid-state platform that provides higher reliability, network support for remote updates, and greater affordability than its PC-based competition both in unit pricing and network service costs. In addition, TMM proposed a custom software interface design developed by their skilled software development engineers that would provide two different log-ons; one corporate and one on-site. The FNAC corporate log-on allows head-office employees to create the primary playlists or presentations for each of the three in-store applications: TV showroom, ticketing area, and store shelf/point-of-purchase areas. The on-site retail outlet interface enables store personnel to add localized content, such as regional specials, to corporate designed presentations. As a safeguard to ensure continuity and overall system reliability, local content creation and updates are fool-proof and cannot modify or break the primary presentation.

4 The TMM-created interface links into the BrightSign Network service, which facilitates the publishing of presentations to all 80 locations, ensuring message continuity. This secure and robust network is standards-based, using extended Mark-up Language (XML) technology, allowing the TMM team of skilled software developers to connect easily to the hosted network service and deliver the value-added features FNAC required. THE IMPLEMENTATION To implement FNAC s synchronized high-def video walls; TMM installed a single BrightSign model HD1010 in the audio/visual department of each store. Output from the HD1010 is split to the displayed TVs, delivering identical content in H.264 quality video to each screen. TMM chose BrightSign because it offers a full feature set, enabling the implementation of any stand-alone or networked application. BrightSign also offers a wide range of A/V options and support for basic looping and interactive presentations, ensuring FNAC the highest quality content and consistent

5 delivery. The network-enabled player also fulfils FNAC s requirement to easily and efficiently deliver content updates remotely, and economically supports synchronization across the entire network chain. A future-proof solution, BrightSign controllers support FNAC s plans for future growth and expansion, including the addition of supplemental A/V and control ports, live video playback and Wi-Fi support. With the HD1010, any digital sign or kiosk solution can be implemented with ease and remotely updated over a network from anywhere. The solution also accommodates all current and future standards-based televisions and monitors, providing FNAC the confidence that their investment today won t be obsolete tomorrow. With a more focussed feature-set for playing looping video, the BrightSign HD210 was selected for FNAC s ticket desk implementation. Multiple large portrait-format displays mix still images with video and other localized feeds, integrated with an event calendar and the latest event pricing information. Using a single networked HD210 player per screen, each digital banner is managed centrally via an Internet connection to provide automated updates of looped event listings and associated video content. The user-friendly interface developed by TMM, allows store staff with even minimal technology and programming experience to add local promotions. To manage the interactive point-of-purchase signage on the sales floor, TMM again chose BrightSign HD210 media players. Each player is configured to deliver looped broadcast messages to portrait-format displays specific to the department they are located in. The high-quality presentation strengthens customer communication and reinforces FNAC s distinctive brand of sales messaging and consumer education. These POP Displays can be found next to store shelves and are used to promote storewide savings, promotions, as well as the latest findings by the FMAC consumer test center, which evaluates new products for technical quality, ease of use, and the crucial price/quality comparison between similar products. In this way, the players help FNAC reinforce consumer confidence and brand integrity throughout its fleet of stores. THE OUTCOME FNAC currently operates the largest retail digital sign network in France, utilizing 1,500 BrightSign players to drive coordinated content to 3,000 displays. The digital signage solution TMM designed for FNAC using BrightSign players was the recipient of the 2010 Golden Screen Award (Ecrans d Or) for the best digital signage installation in the retail category by the French Digital Signage Association, APCAD. With a number of projects still in the queue for FNAC, TMM is continuing its deployment of BrightSign solidstate players to include outlets in eight European countries outside of France. At the completion of the project, TMM will have installed a total of 2,000-3,000 units for the retailer, all networked and running through the BrightSign Network infrastructure. As Michel Baronnier, CEO of TMM Communication concluded: "With its extremely reliable and feature-rich solid-state media players, BrightSign has reached a milestone in the digital signage industry as it allows system integrators to offer powerful and cost effective digital sign solutions to retailers as never before."

6 THE PLAYERS TMM Communication Established in 1992, TMM has played a pioneering role in digital signage, contributing directly to the establishment of this market in France. Now, with a track record of more than 10,000 screens installed at over 1500 sites, TMM can justifiably claim to be one of the most experienced players in this sector. Global experience of project issues, allied with expertise in the latest technology, enables TMM to offer solutions that last: innovative solutions today that will become standards tomorrow. TMM builds its know-how into every element of a project, ensuring the maximum reliability and performance for customers. To facilitate this, TMM operates its own internal research & development department, alongside editorial and graphics studios. FNAC A subsidiary of the PPR Group, FNAC is retail leader for what it describes as cultural products : books, CDs, computing, audio, video and photographic equipment. It is France s largest retailer of personal computers, books and music thanks to its unique brand positioning is based on exciting the pleasure of discovering a diversity of cultures and technologies. An unrivalled selection of products, for example 35,000 consumer technology lines, is supported by impartial and innovative advice. FNAC is almost an institution in France, where it has 80 stores around 56 cities, serving 2.2 million members, 18 million customers a year. The company has expanded internationally into Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece and Brazil providing an additional overseas membership of 1.1million customers FNAC is one of France s top 20 businesses, with 2008 revenue of 4,587 million, 19,357 employees working in 143 directly-operated stores. BrightSign BrightSign, LLC is the market leader in digital signage players. Based in Los Gatos, California, the company develops products, software and networking solutions for digital signage. BrightSign s solid-state digital sign controllers set new standards for both stand-alone and networked digital signage applications with their superior video quality, reliability, affordability, ease of use and interactivity. Online information about BrightSign is available at For US sales inquiries, please contact sales@brightsign.biz or call For European sales inquiries, please Pierre Gillet: pgillet@brightsign.biz or call You can follow BrightSign at and