First Digital Mannequin Turns Heads
For the past 11 years Zen Lifestyle has been a permanent feature in the address books of Edinburgh’s discerning beauty clientele. Zen Lifestyle opened in 1999 offering an exquisite ‘Sanctuary in the City’ – a complete lifestyle experience for men and women, providing the widest range of beauty treatments and therapies.
Owner Fiona Fowley believed there was a market for a contemporary beauty salon in Scotland’s capital. It had to be a salon that catered for the real needs of clients, providing them with a variety of treatments ranging from holistic to classic within a timeframe that suits their lifestyle.
“The client wanted to have a window display that would grab the attention of potential customers who may be unfamiliar with the Zen Lifestyle brand and the Digital Mannequin certainly does that,” – said Graham Pow from Cognition
Evolution
The beauty industry has been changing at an astonishing pace over the last decade and Zen Lifestyle has been evolving too, in order to ensure that their clients have access to all the most up to date and most effective treatments. They continue to develop their offering and environment and strive to achieve the highest standards in client care, products and treatments.
Part of the evolution strategy of Zen is the step they have taken into digital communication via screens. This resulted in the very first full-scale Digital Mannequin that is turning heads on Hanover Street in Edinburgh, where the award winning beauty spa and skin clinic has opened a new salon.
The slowly moving model, shot on a cinema standard camera, shows every detail of the model across three large LCD screens. With the wind blowing through her hair and her light summery dress, the display is proving to be a real hit with those passing by.
The Digital Mannequin footage was shot and edited in Cognition’s studio; it showcases the variety of treatments available at Zen Lifestyle. The display set-up consists of three 42 inch screens in landscape mode, stacked on top of each other to create a large portrait image (1920×3240).
The Scala software is used to drive the content to the screen; 3 HD frames, one for each screen. The powerful MediaVue SurevueD player allows the screens to play three independent HD images to the three HD screens. Scala Content Manager enables Cognition to manage the Zen Lifestyle network and allows easy updating of their displays. Scala’s flexible framework allows new players to be added, this scalability was a key factor that was of interest to Zen Lifestyle.
Kieran from Zen Lifestyle said: “The Cognition screens allow us to change our window displays instantly in line with our business needs and the response has been fantastic.”
24/7
Unlike live models in a shop window, the Digital Mannequin is able to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Digital Mannequin is proving to be a greater pull than the traditional print window displays, with window viewing time averaging 60% longer than the static equivalents.
The Phillips HD screens with high brightness are also striking at night when they light up Hanover Street, giving Zen Lifestyle a great opportunity to market their business in out-of-office hours and reach a wider audience.
Kieran from Zen Lifestyle added: “people are stopping to look as it is so unique and unexpected, and this is giving us the opportunity to reach out to a really wide audience and communicate our unique range of services. This innovative, high-quality communications channel for passers-by is a great indicator of the high quality and innovative experience clients can expect when they come through the door.”
Content Is King
Cognition, which is based in Leith, specializes in creating content for digital screens. Graham from Cognition said: “we have a strong background in TV commercials and we use this knowledge to create engaging content for businesses and their digital screens. Digital screens can create a great impact if they have the right content. We offer a service that ensures you get the best results from your investment.”
Cognition chose to become Scala partners due to the robust, easy to use, scalable, partner support that Scala’s software offers.
About Zen Lifestyle
Zen Lifestyle is Edinburgh’s award winning salon, skin clinic and day spa. We offer the full range of beauty and relaxation treatments as well being home to one of Scotland’s most advanced skin and body clinics. We offer urban men and women a complete lifestyle experience, providing services and products that are dedicated to the wellbeing of the mind and the body. Founder Fiona Fowley and her team have created a stress free zone where clients can relax, rejuvenate and recharge in a friendly and luxurious environment. The high standards of service and client care have resulted in Zen being awarded 15 national beauty awards including the prestigious UK Salon of the Year (2003 & 2008). In 2009 we were voted the ‘Most Desirable Salon in Britain’ in a poll of salon and spa owners across the UK (Professional Beauty magazine July 2009). Zen Lifestyle is open 7 days a week offering early morning and late evening appointments. Please call us to discuss your requirements or come in for a complimentary consultation. More information is available at www.zen-lifestyle.com
About Cognition
Cognition offers a complete service that incorporates content creation, content delivery and network management for clients and agencies digital display networks. They create content for their client’s digital display(s) that is bespoke to each client’s needs. They have a team of “creatives” with experience in creating award-winning commercials. Their team understands what motivates viewers and can turn a creative brief into a high production value piece of content or can advise how best to communicate with your target audience. They strive to get you noticed through the use of display technology with content that is emotive and engaging. As a partner of Scala, they offer network management as an integrated service. They can remotely manage your network ensuring that content remains fresh and is responsive to your business needs in real time. Cognition has also installed a digital menu-board solution in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery Café and is working on a large scale museum installation. More information is available at www.cognitiondds.com
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