Multi-Branch Bank Network

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Werkstation's digital signage pilot project with the Berlin savings group "Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe" has been completed, and roll-outs to other branches in Germany are underway.
 
Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe decided that classic poster advertising was no longer sufficient to ensure optimal customer communication in their 16,000 branches, as they found it too inflexible and not innovative enough, not to mention highly cost-intensive into the bargain.
 
The new medium they chose to satisfy the demands of effective and emotive customer communication? Digital signage, of course – because, as you’re probably aware by know, it’s fast, offers highly creative potential and is extremely flexible.
 
From the beginning of the project the objectives in mind were crystal clear: to alert, inform and attract customers in the savings bank branch and appeal to them directly. With DS, customers standing in line to collect their bank statement or waiting to speak to an advisor can, very casually and unobtrusively, be informed about all the current products and services on offer, without having to scour through leaflets or squint at the small print on a host of traditional print posters.
 
Werkstation joined Sparkassen- Finanzgruppe to develop a digital signage product specifically for their needs, which they have since released into the market as ‘DSV S-Line digital’. Development work began in 2007, when hardware and software were selected and tested, various scenarios and versions evolved, and the software adapted. After only a few months, the first five systems were installed, including one in the Private Client Centre at the Berliner Sparkasse branch on Friedrichstrasse, Berlin.
 
Werkstation’s solution has now been operating successfully for over a year, and the pilot phase seems to have gone down well with the customers. Michael Thanheiser, Head of Private Client Banking at Berliner Sparkasse: “Our staff and customers perceive DSV S-Line digital as a modern, innovative and informative medium. A great number of customers find this type of advertising appealing. The majority of our staff rate the new medium as a useful tool for aggressively canvassing customers and achieving sales targets.”
 
The bank can now update or change advertising messages when they want, and they can do so quickly, flexibly and reliably. This is particularly useful for promoting new products, as well as to inform customers about any special promotions or changes to terms and conditions. The five display stands in the Berliner Sparkasse branches are controlled individually, so a range of different products and topics can be displayed in the individual branches.
 
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The individual savings banks can select video clips and other content from a large pool of topics made available by Sparkassen- Finanzportal, covering all their important products and services. Each branch can customise its message to match its specific regional situation, so the message is made as relevant as possible for the customer. Igor Juresic from Private Client Marketing at Berliner Sparkasse: “In addition to the ongoing campaigns, we can also highlight special promotions in individual Private Client Centers or make customers aware of any building work going on, etc.”
 
Michael Thanheiser is certain that digital signage will continue to play an important role within his institution in the future. The first DUO display stand with two integral screens will shortly be set up in a branch, and the company’s marketing experts can foresee installing further video display stands at central and frequently visited locations in the capital over the next few years. They also hope to obtain valuable ideas for marketing and sales from their investment, as it will be possible to measure customer response to the new format directly in the branches.
 
All the systems at the different branches are administered with the digital signage management system ‘enlogic:show’. Enlogicshow is a server-client solution; the server for the savings bank project is located at the group’s IT centre in Nuremberg. This means that all the savings banks will be able to easily access the content via the corporate network without any additional expenditure (for a separate DSL connection, for instance). The software will be controlled via a specially developed web interface from Sparkassen-Finanzportal to suit the requirements of the individual branches.
 
In addition to the distribution of content, enlogic:show also handles the hardware monitoring and the control of on-site servicing. The status of each display unit is monitored via an RS232 interface. In the event of any system software problem, an internal watchdog in the PC will restart the entire system. The software will also indicate to the service partner which component generated the problem and might need to be replaced.
 
“In our eyes, enlogic:show was the best tool for this project,” said Steffen Rademacher, IT Manager at Sparkassen-Finanzportal. “In addition to offering numerous standard features it allowed us to realise adaptations and optimisation requests in collaboration with Werkstation very quickly and without any problems”.
 
All Mod Cons
 
It was clear from the beginning that the bank would require a tailored hardware product. “Due to the varying circumstances at the branches, which number well over 16,000, the hardware requirements were so special that it was not possible to fulfill them with one of the standard products available on the market,” said Frank Nägele, CEO of Werkstation.
 
“In small, mostly rural savings bank branches a space-saving minimal solution had to suffice due to the lack of space, while a highly impressive display stand with a large screen was of course desirable for the large branches in the cities.”
 
All of the display stands had to underline the corporate identity of the banking group through a uniform appearance, despite their different sizes. The systems were developed so that all the products would use the same hardware, which meant that the costs for on-site servicing could be considerably reduced. Werkstation therefore developed a modular solution for the bank.
 
“Werkstation was also the only manufacturer, who was able to offer a TÜV and a GS (safety) certificate for its products in addition to the standard certifications such as CE and EMC,” said Stefan Wilke, Project Manager at Sparkassen- Finanzportal. “These safety guidelines are a great help to us in doing business with the savings banks.” For the roll-out and the servicing, T-Systems acted as a service partner.
 
Although, of course, there were many challenges to be met during the course of the project, the strong collaboration when setting the project up and developing it made the progress smoother.
 
Frank Nägele discussed what he saw as the secret to the success of a digital signage project: “The key is always to have a complete package: including strong content, powerful software, reliable and high-quality hardware components, as well as a globally active service partner for installation and on-site servicing during active operation. And a project is only successful once all the involved parties are satisfied and the objectives have been met. And we are fully justified in saying that that was the case with this project.”