Informe' - How to redesign your existing digital signage network

8/14/2019 'Informe' - How to redesign your existing digital signage network

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Sunnybrooks Digital Evolution

~ How Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre redesigned their Digital

Signage Network using Claritys InorMe Digital Signage Toolset

to enhance the way they communicate with their staf, volunteers,

patients & visitors


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Table of Contents:

Introduction

The Digital Signage Network Advantage

Bringing an Idea to Lie

Content Rules Supreme

Conclusion


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Introduction

The demands o the healthcare industry grow on a daily basis. Some o these include the need to

provide more primary and acute care services to an increasing population and/or region, as well as

meeting the needs o tomorrow through research endeavors and acilitating educational activities

or the healthcare proessionals-in-training that will serve us in the uture. With this evolution oten

comes a predictable requirement to expand our healthcare acilities to keep up with these actors,

consequently, the need or healthcare organizations to discover and use new ways o communicating

with their patients, visitors and sta is also predictably necessary.

Recently, the healthcare industry has discovered the many advantages that a digital signage network

can bring to their organizational communications plan. Digital signage enables the loading and rapid

update o a wide variety o content and its immediate delivery to specic audiences in designated

locations throughout a healthcare acility. This exibility allows a healthcare acility the ability to target

and send only the inormation or presentation materials they choose to dierent user/viewer groups

depending upon the specic purpose o the content within a controlled ormat/environment.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Sunnybrook) being one o the largest hospitals in Canada, acedjust such a challenge. Mr. Dre Noronha, Project Manager/Development Advisor or this project, was

tasked at directing Sunnybrooks eorts to redesign their existing digital signage network system to

ensure it had the ability to easily post dynamic content on the large-scale digital plasma monitors

in key locations throughout their acility. Further enhancing the challenge o this project is the act

that Sunnybrook is comprised o three separate sites including an educational campus so its overall

operations actually encompasses a airly large geographical area.

Fortunately, Sunnybrook already had a proven and experienced partner in Clarity.ca (Clarity) to work

with on this exciting venture. Following closely on the heels o Sunnybrook and Claritys redesign o

their Intranet, this was the perect opportunity to take advantage o Claritys newly installed CCM.Net

content management system that acts as a oundation or Claritys proprietary InorMe digital signage

toolset. InorMe is designed to signicantly extend the clients internal communication capacity in this

area to easily meet any industry and acility specic requirements o an organizations digital signage

network.


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The Digital Signage Network Advantage

Benets Patients & Visitors

The use o digital signage in a healthcare acility can help make the patients and visitors experience as

stress-ree and enjoyable as possible in a number o ways. By oering resh content such as a live eed

to the news or current weather conditions, notices o special activities the acility is hosting or care

services the organization oers, both patients and visitors have something else to ocus on aside rom

their medical issue and/or concern or their loved one. At rst glance, providing a orm o entertainment

may seem supercial, but in act, this distraction helps people to pass the time when waiting or a

physician or results and can reduce their apprehension by giving them something else to think about.

Sunnybrook prides itsel on its commitment to do everything in its power to help create the most

pleasant experience possible or their patients and amilies throughout their stay at Sunnybrook.

Placing engaging digital signage using Claritys InorMe in areas like their main lobby and emergency

waiting rooms is just one o the ways they try to make their patients and visitors stay a positive one.


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Improve Internal Communications

Digital signage is a terric tool or improving internal communication between acility sta, doing away

with the need or bulletin boards where important inormation is easily overlooked amid the jumble

o items posted. Digital signage also ensures the content is always current and that only authorized

inormation is presented to the intended personnel.

Deploying the new InorMe digital signage toolset using Claritys CCM.Net capabilities, that is extremely

user-riendly or the networks content manager, ensures that only authorized inormation is released to

key areas as well as making the job o rereshing content a relatively quick and easy process.

Enhances Sta, Patient & Visitor Saety

An invaluable eature o a well-designed digital signage system is its ability to eectively transmit

emergency inormation and messages to sta, patients and visitors. A key actor in the success o this

system is taking into account the strategic placement o the display screens in each area o the acility

to ensure the appropriate target viewers are reached/alerted.

With digital screens strategically placed throughout Sunnybrooks large acility, any emergency alerts to

patients, visitors or sta ensure that such vital inormation and/or instructions are seen and responded

to immediately.

Promotes Going Green

The healthcare industry has become a leader in moving toward implementing processes and using

products that reduce the negative environmental impact on our world today. Using digital signage

or inormation-sharing and marketing purposes acilitates these eorts to go green by reducing

the acilitys general use o paper, ink and plastics typically used in traditional print and promotional

material production mediums.

Sunnybrook uses every opportunity it can to actively promote its dedication to operating in an

environmentally riendly way. From using green products in its daily operations, implementing


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environmentally riendly policies and procedures, including a Green Tip o the Week on its Intranet to

replacing or supplementing inormative materials that were ormerly available only through print using

their digital signage Sunnybrook never stops nding new methods o working in harmony with our

planet and its resources.

Encourages Facility Support

This unique communication venue also enables a healthcare acility the opportunity to activelypromote charitable events the organization is sponsoring as well as highlighting any acility services

available such as git shops and restaurants to generate extra revenue to help support overall acility

operations.

As a strong advocate or numerous areas o research, education and new healthcare services,

Sunnybrook is delighted to have a communication tool like InorMe that so eectively highlights and

promotes its many and impressive charitable events that it sponsors throughout the year. Additionally,

the organization is pleased to be able to direct its patients and visitors to the amenities they are seeking

within the acility to make their experience more comortable.

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Emphasizes Brand Image

Eective branding in healthcare should create a positive reaction in the patients/visitors minds when

they see your acilitys logo. Ideally, the desired response is to produce memories o being treated

with respect and genuine caring while receiving the very best in medical treatment services. Utilizing

a digital signage ormat enables you to present your logo in a non-intrusive but consistent manner

and reinorces the patients and visitors impression o a healthcare acility that uses the most current

technology in all areas o its operations.

Sunnybrook knows how important it is to project a positive organizational image and message to the

communities it serves. Using the InorMe digital signage toolset is one way that they are able to support

and reinorce their brand that is designed to represent the very best in healthcare and support services

to their patients and visitors.

Reduces Marketing Costs

Another advantage to using digital signage is the savings incurred by having a exible medium thatcan update inormation at a moments notice that traditionally had to be presented through the printed

medium (i.e., posters, banners, brochures). By using digital signage, the costs associated with printing,

reproducing, distributing and updating print materials is greatly reduced and in some cases, even

eliminated.

With an interdisciplinary healthcare acility like Sunnybrook that has grown to provide such a broad

range o healthcare services and research and educational endeavors, every saved dollar counts. At the

end o the day, it is these services that Sunnybrook wishes to direct their unding toward and any means

to urther that goal like reducing promotional and marketing costs is an undeniable advantage .

Maximizing Network Capacity

Most healthcare acilities have already invested in a customized network, usually employing both

Internet and Intranet channels. Taking advantage o that investment in every way easible only makes

scal and operational sense. Implementing and maintaining a digital signage display system using this

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Maximizing Network Capacity (continued...)

already established network ensures all acets o content and system management are conducted and

controlled by the appropriate internal personnel in the most cost efcient manner possible.

Ater working with Clarity to completely redesign and update their Intranet, Sunnybrook and Clarity

teamed up once again to capitalize on the new proprietary content management system (CCM.Net)

and unique inormation management and dissemination toolsets Clarity had already put in place.

This enabled Sunnybrook to redesign their digital signage system using the InorMe toolset by urther

maximizing their existing network capacity and saved signicant operational costs that would have

been associated with investing in a new system. In addition to greatly improving the ease and use o the

re-authoring and management system, the Clarity InorMe toolset is designed to enable clients to store

their content on their LAN system, with Claritys proprietary CCM.Net content management system

acting as the oundation to meet all administrative requirements.

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Claritys InorMe System is an easy to manage, easy to conigure

digital signage system. Its lightweight, web 2.0 browser-based code

and versatile templates run quickly and consistently in our hospital.

Furthermore, the act that it plugs into the Clarity Content Managers

administration interace is a bonus to our content authors who can

switch between intranet and digital signage seamlessly. Lastly, the

coupled cost savings and ROI have been proven, all while the security

o our content remains inside our LAN. I highly recommend this system.

Were glad we made the sw itch to Ino rMe.

~ Dre Noronha

Corporate Webmaster,

Communications & Stakeholder Relations / Inormation Services


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Bringing an Idea to Lie

Once the decision has been made to either install a new or enhance/upgrade an existing digital signage

network, there are some critical questions that must be answered in order to develop and implement a cost

efcient and eective system. Some o the most vital considerations with this analysis process include:

Assign a dedicated Project Manager single-point accountability with what can be a complex

project like implementing a new digital signage network has proven to be a key actor in the successul

completion and ongoing management o this kind o undertaking;

Clearly dene the main purpose and primary (measurable) goals and objectives o the organizations

digital signage network;

Appoint a dedicated Content Manager enlisting a qualied content manager to create new content

and keep the site resh and exciting is a must have in order to engage new and existing viewers as

well as to saeguard content presentation relative to meeting consistent layout and corporate branding

parameters;

Determine which division is really best suited to manage your digital signage network and all o the

content authoring, publishing, artistic, logistic and technical system requirements that are involved in the

successul execution and maintenance o this system (i.e., IT is not automatically the best choice i your

organization has other areas that excel in marketing and corporate communications);

Consider all o your content options remember that you can re-purpose existing marketing

materials (i.e., logos, videos, print advertising, commercials, etc.) as well as tapping into resh content via

RSS Internet eeds (news, weather, etc.) not all content has to be created rom scratch;

Situate your digital display screens thoughtully ensure your display screens are located where they

will be the most easily viewed by your target audience and remember to consider technical and system

maintenance needs; and

Arrange training or key personnel anyone who is a part o the digital signage network content

creation, maintenance and technical support teams need to be provided appropriate training to enable

the smooth operation o the system on a day-to-day basis.

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Bringing an Idea to Lie (continued)

Spearheading the redesign o Sunnybrooks digital signage system was Project Manager, Mr. Dre

Noronha. Dre worked with Clarity to oversee all aspects o the transition rom the outdated and

cumbersome digital signage system they had been using to integrating and customizing Claritys

CCM.Net to meet the exacting requirements the InorMe new digital toolset provides. This process

included managing everything rom development into production, the switch to the CCM.Net and the

implementation o InorMe on their system.

Supporting Mr. Noronha, was Ms. Precilla Roopnaraine (Executive Assistant, Communications &

Stakeholder Relations), who acted as Sunnybrooks primary Content Manager with responsibility

or creating and publishing critical content and ensuring the system was user riendly. Both Dre and

Precilla came to the table with a clear vision o the corporate goals and objectives that Sunnybrooks

administrative and management team wished to achieve in the redesign o their digital signage system.

Working together, Claritys team was able to help nalize and translate these goals and objectives into a

system design ormat that met all o Sunnybrooks expectations.

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Bringing an Idea to Lie (continued)

By redesigning their existing network inormation platorm and installing InorMe, Sunnybrook was able

to reuse their existing digital screens and hardware equipment. Fortunately, Sunnybrook had already

given strategic placement o the digital screens careul consideration upon original installation and as a

result, they did not need to relocate any o their screens or controlling hardware. Another Sunnybrook

team member that was vital to the success o this project was Mr. Kevin Leicht (Inormation Services)

who oered outstanding IT support throughout the process. Kevin ensured all backend systems

or replacing the old sotware with Claritys CCM.Net and installing InorMe was in place, as well as

managing the implementation and support services or both the sotware and the hardware.

Aside rom system redesign and implementation, Clarity was also responsible or providing training

and ongoing support to Sunnybrooks team to acilitate a smooth transition rom the previous digital

signage system to InorMe. The InorMe exibility and eatures are unique in its ability to meet the

demands o today, with the ability to support organizational growth in the uture with a scalable

architecture. By switching to InorMe, Sunnybrook saves manpower hours due to its user-riendly

content management capabilities, while improving their ability to deliver timely and critical inormation

to a variety o target audience groups.

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Content Rules Supreme

While the delivery medium is denitely a part o the message, it is the core content o the message that

creates a successul outcome. The beauty o the content creation process is that the desired outcome can

be measured by the viewer reactions/actions, indicating i there is a need to alter the content to produce

more eective results. Content creation tips to maximize the impact of digital screen content include:

Enthusiastically engage the audience to increase message eectiveness oer valuable inormation,

entertaining and attractive presentations and use tools like humour to reach the broadest spectrum o

potential viewers;

Stay succinct and on-point to the core message dont inundate the viewer with unnecessary details;

Remember that less is more when it comes to visual layout and design dont clutter the screen with

too many dierent visual dynamics at once or the message will be lost in the conusion;

Capture attention with select audio cues (i appropriate) without bombarding the audience with

constant white noise;

Create visual consistency always place key visual elements such as logos or critical inormation in the

same place o the screen so the viewers automatically learn where to look to nd the inormation theyre

seeking;

Use amiliar message delivery ormats in a amiliar way an example o this rule is the use o tickers/

scrolling banners. The audience is used to seeing these used or the presentation o things like news

headlines and i used in this amiliar way on a digital signage display they will be accepted and valued;

Put message delivery needs ahead o the artist in you choose ont styles and sizes that are easily and

clearly read without a lot o eort rom dierent distances (varying dependent upon the display setting,

audience placement and screen size); and

Use every tool in the toolbox i your content ormat platorm will support the bells and whistles

use them to enhance your message delivery (i.e., dynamic rendering, data integration, content

management, etc.).

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Content Rules Supreme (continued)

From the start o this project, Sunnybrooks knowledge and insight into their target audience groups

needs, combined with their clear vision o the message they wished to share, resulted in a remarkably

straight-orward content development process with Clarity. Claritys proprietary content management

system, the CCM.Net, easily acilitated all o Sunnybrooks program objectives. The CCM.Net is an easy to

use web-based, cross-platorm and cross-browser application that requires no plug-ins or downloads.

CCM.Net allows content owners to collaborate in the ongoing content creation, management

and publication o all types o content and proved to be the perect backbone in the redesign o

Sunnybrooks digital signage system.

By using the web as their deployment medium or InorMe, Sunnybrook can disseminate dierent

content to any o the screens that are connected to their hardware model. This exibility is vital since

there are a wide variety o target audience groups including their sta, Physicians, volunteers, patients

and visitors.

Additionally, the CCM.Net and InorMe was designed to oer Claritys clients the ability to incorporate

any bells and whistles they wished to in an extraordinarily user-riendly content developmentenvironment. This enables the content manager to create completely customized parent templates

to work rom to preset primary layout and design screen display parameters (i.e., corporate branding,

scrolling banners o live RSS eeds, etc.). This design eature assures consistency in overall ormat as well

as maintaining control around corporate branding requirements. InorMes ability to easily include any

visual or audio cues (i.e., videos, images, ash animations, etc.) was also designed to make the content

managers job even easier.

Sunnybrooks understanding o the importance o good content was a driving orce behind their overall

decision-making process throughout this project. With their hardware needs already met, they knew

their redesign requirements were all about the sotware controlling their digital signage network.

Employing Claritys CCM.Net and InorMe to enhance their capability to create and change content

easily, as well as oering the ability to incorporate any visual or audio content applications they desired,

provided Sunnybrook with exactly the new digital signage design system solution they were seeking.


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Conclusion

Sunnybrook takes great pride in ensuring that every acet o their healthcare organization anticipates

and continues to meet the evolving needs o their patients, visitors and sta in every way possible.

Partnering once again with Clarity to implement the new InorMe graphic signage toolset is the perect

example o how they continue to meet this important organizational mandate.

This unique project involved a two-tiered roll out and an extensive testing process, with the end result

generating extraordinarily positive eedback rom Sunnybrooks administrative team, the system

authors and the end users; all o whom enjoy the brighter and cleaner interace, the consistent look and

eel o their branding and web based project content and the exceptional authoring ease that InorMe

provides.

Whether its providing expert consulting, application development, application integration, creative

design, employee training and/or intranet development services our impressive team o experienced

multi-disciplined proessionals enables us to ensure that our clients are presented with only the most

eective and cost efcient solutions available to support and achieve their unique organizational and

customer service goals.

To explore what innovative solutions Clarity can provide your organization with or to request more

inormation, please call: (403) 705-5900 or select [direct link to online request or more inormation

here]. To learn more about Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, please select [direct link to

Sunnybrooks website here].

I love working with this team. From the Project managers, to the

development team. They are consistent, they are courteous, they areon time, on budget , and they deliver qua lity every time.

~ Dre Noronha

Corporate Webmaster,

Communications & Stakeholder Relations / Inormation Services

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Informe' - How to redesign your existing digital signage network