Westfield Stratford City installs largest LCD video wall in Europe
“The on-going inclusion of digital signage is now seen as a fundamental component of shopping centre operations”
Myf Ryan, Westfield
Quick Facts
- 3rd biggest shopping centre in the UK
- 350 digital screens
- Single screen modules, video walls and portable screens
- Screens located at accesible through points such as escalators and the mall entrances
- Screens display brand advertising, special value offers and event information
- Enhancement of customer experience
Looking to maximise its assets at the London shopping centre, Westfield’s Brand Partnership Division looked for a world class digital signage network to complement the scale of the site and the consistently high number of domestic and international visitors. “In working inside of one of the largest shopping malls in Europe,” explains Esprit Digital MD Peter Livesey, Westfield wanted, and we recommended, digital displays of equal scale to provide maximum viewing opportunities and relevant Westfield media content for its audiences.
In addition, there was also the issue of where to place these display screens in terms of accessible audience through points within the mall. To meet these objectives, we created several types of digital displays from single screen modules to massive video wall set-ups that in some cases, occupied the entire length of a mall wall. These video screens were either located in front of an anchor tenant’s store or by a mall traffic hub such as near an escalator landing, allowing customers passing by to have good viewing opportunities of the various digital displays.”
Over 350 digital signage screens in all adorn the complex. Included are twelve double-sided wafers, four inside and six out, four wall mounted 55in digital posters, ten 12 screen bulkhead video walls above each of the main concourses, a 5×5 screen array in the Vue Cinema foyer and two, 27 screen walls, one above the other outside Marks & Spencer. Crowning glory is the centrepiece, 5 tonne, 102 screen double sided video wall outside the John Lewis store. And it’s the largest LCD video wall in Europe and probably the world!
Screens that wow the customers
Westfield Stratford is simply littered with
stunning digital signage, from standalone screens and wafers to mega wow factor giant video walls. Esprit Digital delivered the digital signage strategy, and in partnership with Westfield, selected Scala based on the need for a powerful yet flexible solution that could deliver not only single screen solutions, but also massive video walls and incorporate HD streaming from Exterity. All content was developed by Westfield Stratford City.
All the Westfield Stratford City screens, predominantly Samsung, are used to display in-house interactive marketing messages and centre and store information, as well as information about events, exhibitions, dining and store and centre offers. “The on-going inclusion of digital signage is now seen as a fundamental component of shopping centre operations,” says Westfield Marketing General Manager Myf Ryan, “and is vital in enhancing the shopper’s customer experience by educating them on product offerings, brand awareness and reinforcing a positive shopping experience at the mall.”Twenty-two 55in, double sided, low power freestanding mini-wafer digital signage arrays, were also installed by Esprit Digital, running Scala via 3G connectivity. These ultrathin, less than 80mm thick units were designed to be portable for use indoors and out.
In addition to the video walls deployed throughout the
centre, Scala has a number of other clients running their software inside Westfield Stratford City, demonstrating the broad flexibility the Scala platform offers. The Links of London jewellery store marked the 20th global location deployed by Scala Premium Partner Pixel Inspiration. Boux Avenue, Theo Paphitis’s lingerie store implemented by Simnet Ltd, utilises lots of small 10 inch screens directly next to the product. And for those who fancied their chances of betting whilst at Westfield Stratford, Corals Bookmakers delivered stunning HD content across 3 synchronised screens, installed by partner Intevi Ltd in conjunction with Corals creative agency, Gratterpalm.
An example to follow
The Westfield Stratford City screens have certainly given the shopping centre far more impact than was envisioned at the start of the project. Putting it all in perspective, Damon Crowhurst, Senior Director at Scala EMEA, concludes, “The ambition for the digital communications at Westfield Stratford, is as yet unmatched in other European shopping centres but we expect that everyone else will be raising their game to challenge this massively impressive implementation by Esprit Digital.”
“The ambition for the digital communications at Westfield Stratford, is as yet unmatched in other European shopping centres”
Damon Crawhurst
Scala’s digital communication software supports content creation, management and distribution across the digital signage networks and allows organisations to integrate easily social media and mobile devices to generate two-way engagement with audiences. Furthermore, its new Advanced Analytics working with digital signage creates targeted and persuasive messages that address exactly what consumers are looking for in retail environments to influence purchase decisions.
About Westfield
Australian owned Westfield Group subsidiary Westfield Shopping Towns operates one of the world’s largest shopping centre portfolios. It has interests in over 120 shopping centres across Australia, the US, the UK, New Zealand and Brazil, accounting for over 25,000 retail outlets. Westfield Stratford City is a shopping centre in Stratford, London and owned by the Westfield Group. It is adjacent to the London Olympic Park and the third largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom by retail space.
About Esprit Digital
Esprit Digital has designed, manufactured and installed many of the world’s leading digital media networks. Their clients include all of the major global outdoor advertising contractors, JCDecaux, Clear Channel, Eye, CBS, as well as key infrastructure owners like London Underground, BAA, Network Rail, Westfield and Shell.
The company has over 25 years’ experience in building display solutions for the harshest internal and external environments that work reliably 24/7 for a minimum of 5 years. High performance components, expert thermal management and precision metalwork have been at the heart of their success and a policy of constant innovation integrating the latest technologies in robust and highly stylised designs has kept Esprit ahead of the field. For more information please visit: http://www.espritdigital.com/.
About Scala
Driving more than 500,000 screens worldwide, Scala Inc. is a leading global provider of digital signage and advertising management solutions. Scala is the world’s first connected signage company, offering the leading platforms for content creation, management and distribution in digital signage networks and the first unified platform for advertising management of both traditional and digital signage networks. Scala is headquartered near Philadelphia, Pa. USA, and has subsidiaries in Canada, The Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany, Japan and India, as well as more than 500 partners in more than 90 countries. For more information please visit: http://www.scala.com.