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In recent years, few companies have exploited digital signage as successfully as Audi. The company takes full advantage of the medium to communicate its brand in showrooms as well as at the company’s headquarters.
 

The Audi approach to digital signage is twofold: it has been deployed as a sales and branding tool in showrooms since 2007, and as an entertainment and information tool at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt since 2008.
 
Wolfgang Vogt has been the driving force behind Audi’s digital signage projects for over ten years. He is widely regarded as one of its pioneers in the global car market. For Vogt, it all stemmed from a boyhood ambition to be a film director, as he explains.
 
“Quite a few years back, we held an internal event within our IT division. I have always enjoyed video filming so I thought it may be a nice touch to entertain the participants with some short movies during the event. I shot a short movie on my video camera at home and brought the results with me to the event. People liked it that much that we decided to do this on a regular basis. We figured that if the idea worked so well with internal events, we should try using it to communicate our brand in car dealership showrooms. Out of this came a full blown solution for our Audi Forum, as well as a number of complementary digital signage solutions like Audi TV, presentational elements for showrooms, information totems and the 3D car configurator.”
 
The Right Content
 
Audi is a global brand with hundreds of dealerships and thousands of point-of-sale settings. It even has its own TV channel. It is therefore very important that content for digital displays delivers a consistent message with consistent branding throughout. Content generation and content management can pose significant challenges, not least in terms of cost, but Vogt argues that these are easily dealt with if companies take a sensible approach. “Before designing content or speaking to agencies, it is the responsibility of every digital signage channel owner to take a long hard look at what their customers expect. Only after you have definitive answers about what your own customers want and how you can serve them does it make sense to consider further steps. Too often, this stage is overlooked.
 
“After considering this, the next step is not to look to other companies but to look in-house. Optimising the use and reuse of already available content quite often results in the biggest savings and can mean the difference between achieving an ROI and failing to do so.“If you want to save more money, come up with a dependable archive system. If you want to reuse content, but you don’t know what you have got, you will spend a fortune in time and money looking for it. Archive it so that you can access it quickly whenever required. If you have quality PAL content, use modern algorithms to recalculate digital media data to higher formats. The results are sufficient for everyday use and it saves spending money on expensive retakes or completely new takes. Making movies is mathematics.”
 
In terms of measuring the results of a campaign, Vogt takes the old-fashioned approach. “I have probably learnt more about the effectiveness of content through observing clients, talking to people and hearing staff feedback than I ever have from statistics, but I’ll leave others to judge this for themselves.
 
“I cannot recall ever receiving thoroughly negative feedback for any of our campaigns. Of course, we do spend a considerable amount of time thinking and planning our content. At the Audi Forum, DS has proven the ideal medium to promote concerts, evening events, and cinema presentations to the audience. This is in addition to the central individualised message, of course: that your brand new Audi is ready for you to collect.
 
“News tickers are worth mentioning. They have proven exceptionally effective over the years and I would recommend them to other users. Of course, they also require the utmost effort in terms of editorial input and are therefore expensive to run. I guess this is a classic case of you-get-what-you-give. News tickers also eat performance like fish drink water. Perhaps this is a good example of the close connection between content and hardware in digital signage projects. Increases in your players’ processor speeds can translate into the news items being displayed more smoothly on screens. For maximum effectiveness, go for the maximum performance you can afford.”
 

Strategy for Success
 
Audi has been particularly successful at interweaving various elements of digital signage to inform, entertain and advertise, and at offering packaged DS solutions to its dealerships around the world from its central headquarters. It may seem surprising, therefore, that so many other companies seem unable to get to grips with digital signage. Vogt believes that one of the most significant stumbling blocks is the boardroom.
 
“DS still largely fails to find support in the boardroom, especially in Europe. While the US and Japan are motoring ahead in this area, many European executives are failing to see the strategic value in DS. But there are many good reasons to prioritise DS as a strategy. Global events and business move at ever faster speeds, and DS can respond much more quickly than traditional media. Localisation and multi-language offerings are also (ironically) ever more important in a globalised world. And last but not least, digital signage does support sales. This is especially true today, when companies have less control over the ways their customers acquire information. DS can offer brand support in the crucial POS environment. This is also the reason why I would not open my DS network for third party branding.”
 
Digital signage will always be more successful if it is approached in the right way, and this can help to persuade the boardroom doubters. Vogt has a number of tips for those considering embarking on a DS project. He begins by asserting that digital signage is always network-based. “Time and again there are people who say you can start with a screen and a player here and there, and add another one and another one and link them up at a later stage. In truth, this hardly ever works. If there is more than a single player in a system, this, by definition, is a network and this has dramatic consequences. Everything must now be considered from a networking point of view.
 
“The network and its development, together with the content itself, are in my experience the two single biggest cost factors. Both need to be managed carefully so as not to exceed budgets. It is also important to remember that any network’s performance is defined by its weakest link. Whatever the performance of the weakest element in your set up, this will be the maximum performance your entire network will be able to achieve. Planning therefore becomes paramount if you want a digital signage solution that performs satisfactorily.”
 
Vogt also has a solution to the continuing problem of the lack of standards in the industry: if no one else will do it for you, do it yourself. “The digital signage world is still dramatically failing to deliver workable every day standards. So you must create your own internal “standards”. Failing to do so will drive you mad and cost you a fortune. I defined 720p as our internal standard from the very beginning. This decision alone has saved us an incalculable number of man hours of reformatting content for various applications. All movie production is now based on 1080p to further ensure its longevity.”
 

The Customer Comes First
 
Vogt does not believe that a project’s budget should be split arbitrarily between content and hardware from the outset. He believes that this is conceptualising the whole project in the wrong way. “Assigning finance to content and to hardware at the beginning of a project seems to be starting at the wrong end of the equation. You need to start at the POS and the customer’s experience and build back from there. Everything should be directed towards to creating the right customer experience. Following this path, your budget will split itself accordingly. It may also very well be the case that a non-DS solution might be the best fit in a certain setting for certain objectives. Don’t fall victim to your own ideology.”
 
One of the highlights of Audi’s digital offering is the company’s car configurator. Using digital screens in show rooms, customers can specify the exact car that they want. If they wish, they can save their specification and add to it online at home. This integration between digital signage and the internet is something which companies could exploit to a far greater extent than they currently do. Vogt explains, “There are many areas where the web is much more advanced than current digital signage offerings and digital signage must catch up. However, digital signage has one tremendous advantage over the web – it is a push-channel while the internet is a pull-channel. Wherever we can, we want to push our messages rather than wait for people to pull them. Besides, it is ultimately the integration of various channels that makes the difference when it comes to promoting your brand.”
 
The Audi Forum in Ingolstadt
The Audi Forum Ingolstadt, at the company’s headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, welcomes over 450,000 visitors every year. Many come to collect their brand new customised cars. But even if they aren’t lucky enough to be picking up a new car, all visitors can still enjoy the many attractions the Forum has to offer, including a guided factory tour, a visit to the Audi shop or Audi programme cinema, and a meal in one of the restaurants.
Since 2008, the company has taken full advantage of digital signage as a flexible medium to communicate with guests at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt. Digital signage guides visitors through the forum, deploying a thoroughly modern presentation style. Audi has developed a TV network with 15 channels, which are shown to visitors at various stages of their visit. Content is always focused on whatever the person is doing at that particular time and place. He might be having a beer at the bar, or doing a spot of shopping. Content will be timed appropriately, to match the activity.
Twenty-three digital signage stations are placed at important points throughout the forum, and each one of them has a news ticker which informs visitors – with a personalised message – when their car is ready.
50,000 children also visit the Audi Forum Ingolstadt every year. Project Leader Pirmin Anselmann had the bright idea to create the ‘Young and Fun’ offering for younger visitors. Digital signage again formed a central part of the project, which was completed in 2010. There are painting screens for the youngest, and games tables and ‘edutainment’ channels, an Audi quiz and simulators for older children. They can also enter a quiz competition, with gifts from the Audi shop given out as prizes every month. The simulators, based on the real simulators used by the Audi car development organisation, have also proved a big hit.
The digital signage stations are driven by Audi Multi Media System (AMMS), based on Scala Infochannel 5, with a lot of additions. The server is located in the Audi computer plant and full service is provided by the Audi IT division.
This year, Audi is rolling out the whole system in their second German factory in Neckarsulm. The installations were finished on 30th July in time for the ‘125 years mobility’ event at the Audi Forum Neckarsulm.

The Hardware
Audi’s digital signage project was carried out in collaboration with display manufacturer Screen NT. Wolfgang Vogt explained how the relationship came to be formed.
“I met Achim Hannemann, the chairman of Screen NT, a few years ago. He was a friend of our Scala Partner Dr. Bahri, who knows that I am always looking for people who have a flair for innovation. When Achim told me about his Sunlight Screens, which were in the early stages of development, I was fascinated. We worked together and the outcome was the world’s first installation of Screen NT Sunlight Screens, in the Audi Forum Ingolstadt. Achim also has great experience with multimedia installations so he became our multimedia architect. Together with the Audi computer centre, we designed a system that is controllable, stable and energy efficient. “Along with other partners like Netcenter we have incorporated industrial engineering ideas into our Audi Multi Media System. Altogether, we are a great team and a great team is a recipe for success.”
Achim Hannemann, General Manager of Screen NT, added, “For projects such as Audi’s, it is essential to have a very good team which includes specialists in IT, hardware, architecture and creativity. For three years Screen NT and other Audi suppliers have worked closely together on projects like the Audi Forum Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
“Screen NT was responsible for integration of audio and multimedia technology in the Audi Forum. 10x 55” Sunlight Screen displays were also integrated into the wall of the Forum.
“These displays are visible in high ambient light and outdoor conditions. The brighter the ambient light is, the brighter the screen will be, although no more energy is consumed. Audi was the first customer to take up this new technology in 2007. Since that time, Audi has been joined by a number of other brands who are fully satisfied with this innovative solution.”
 

50,000 children visit Audi Forum Ingolstadt

The System
 Audi’s digital showroom system is made available to all Audi dealerships via the proprietary portal. The system comprises a large freestanding screen for customer waiting areas, showing Audi TV, presentational screens next to vehicles to give information about the models, the Digital Info Element which displays dealer specific content, and the Audi configurator, which allows customers to personalise their new car. Content creation was managed by Seen Media, using Scala software to deliver content to the screens.
“So far over 600 retail showrooms in more than 70 countries across the world are using the Audi digital showroom concept to help them engage and educate customers from the moment they enter the showroom to the point of closure with the sales advisors,” said Oscar Elizaga, VP Scala EMEA. “I am delighted that Audi chose to use Scala to help manage and deliver its audiovisual content in showrooms to guarantee the quality and consistency of content presentation to Audi customers. We look forward to working closely with Audi in the future to help underpin their ‘Vorsprung Durch Technik’ approach.”