BACKGOUND:

In January 2006 a Fortune 500 company, world’s top maker of mobile phone network equipment, finalized its largest acquisition in history when it agreed to buy a British telecommunications company. Prior to this acquisition, the Company had expanded its internal corporate communications process beyond email and employee meetings to include five-minute video clips created to inform employees of events and news happening within the company and available for download on corporate intra-web, an internal web communications system.

CHALLENGE:

After finalizing the acquisition, it took several months to integrate the acquired company’s IT capabilities with the acquirer’s corporate intra-web. During this time, the acquired company employees were not able to access the Company’s informational video clips that were deemed important aspect of the internal corporate communications.

SOLUTION:

The Company began looking for ways to better communicate with the employees of the acquired company’s campus. After 6 of months of testing alternatives, the Company installed digital displays throughout the campus.

The Company chose Aerva technology that enables a company to become its own interactive but private broadcast network. Aerva’s software is used to create, schedule and manage custom content, including video, text and images on flat screen digital displays. The Company then manages content from any device with an Internet connection and launches it onto any or all of the screens.

The Company chose to install digital displays, or e-newsboards, in their office campuses, positioned in areas where employees tend to gather such as kitchenettes and cafeterias. The displays stream the Company’s informational video clips announcing the Company’s news including corporate initiatives, financial results and new contract wins. The boards also feature scrolling news headlines with the latest industry news, employee events, calendars and pictures from company meetings and parties and employee spotlights.

All e-newsboard content is refreshed frequently and displayed in Company’s brand compliant screen templates. The Company’s corporate communications team meets every two weeks with employee representatives around the campus for feedback regarding what type of content employees would like to see on the e-newsboards.

Recent e-newsboard highlights include a temporary template redesign to inform employees of the company’s corporate initiatives regarding sustainability and environmental awareness, and a special video message from the Company’s CEO.

RESULTS:

“Aerva digital signage proved to be the most efficient and cost effective way to communicate the short, informational videos the Company’s employees that did not yet have access to the Company’s intra-web,” said the Director of Corporate Communications at the Company. The e-newsboards gave all employees easy and engaging access to the Company’s informational video clips. The e-newsboards also entice employees to visit the Company’s intra-web. Since the e-newsboards are conducive to short news items and scrolling headlines, employees can visit the intra-web to read more about news and events seen on the e-newsboards. The Company is also looking to move into new markets that include multimedia and the e-newsboards are a very good internal application of rich robust multimedia technology that familiarizes its employees with new media.

In various tests, the Company has found that its key performance indicators (KPI) were significantly better in campuses where the e-newsboard was installed compared other campuses where it was not.

Overall, the e-newsboards complement the Company’s internal email, employee meetings and intra-web and tie them together in a very visual and compelling way.