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AAA Minneapolis Powers Ad-Supported Video Wall with Carousel Digital Signage & Brightsign

Tantalizing vacation imagery adds ambience to main lobby at AAA Minneapolis headquarters, with BrightSign players supporting the video wall with exceptional visual quality

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, December 7, 2016 – To entice members waiting in its main lobby, AAA Minneapolis has deployed a large video wall to display dynamic travel imagery and advertising at its St. Louis Park, Minnesota headquarters, in support of its iTravel Advisor travel agency. Powered by Carousel Digital Signage software from Tightrope Media Systems, the video wall also incorporates continuously updated data feeds including headlines, social media feeds, weather and traffic information to keep visitors informed of local news and events.

"From the moment visitors walk in the door, they see fantastic pictures such as cruise ships in blue oceans with colorful fish swimming around. It's very stunning to take in, and we find that dwell times are considerable"

Positioned in the center of its main lobby, the Carousel-powered video wall treats visitors to AAA Minneapolis and adjacent businesses to a dynamic display of colorful, visually engaging content delivered through BrightSign media players—such as video clips, photos, and ads—designed to whet their travel appetites as they wait to see an agent. The data-rich capabilities of Carousel Digital Signage Software enable seamless connectivity to any number of external feeds and ensure reliable display of real-time data feeds on the 13'x4" wide, 8'x6" tall video wall.

The advertising support comes mostly from the retail side, as the video wall also promotes products available in the agency's Travel Store including luggage and travel accessories; as well as perks such as travel rewards credit cards.

The iTravel Advisor travel agency offers travel packages for cruises, air and group travel, vacations, destination weddings, honeymoons and other special events, among other travel-related services. The greater non-profit AAA organization is best known for providing emergency roadside assistance to its members, and AAA Minneapolis headquarters houses offices for its roadside assistance and insurance businesses alongside its travel agency. With 205,000 overall members, many of whom visit headquarters at least once a year, the video wall allows the travel agency to reach a much broader audience.

"Travel is a visual industry, and the beautiful photos and videos we use get people far more excited than print ads can achieve," said Linda Snyder, vice president, travel and retail services for AAA Minneapolis. "Carousel and BrightSign work together to present visuals that are incredibly crisp and clean. From the moment visitors walk in the door, they see fantastic pictures such as cruise ships in blue oceans with colorful fish swimming around. It's very stunning to take in, and we find that dwell times are considerable—an important point since the video wall is advertising-supported."

Snyder points to flexible scheduling and reporting features as a key Carousel benefits, given that content is oft-changing and sponsors want assurance that their ads are reaching consumers.

"Since our corporate marketing department has taken on the management of the digital signage network as part of their regular responsibilities, they appreciate Carousel's user-friendly interface, with intuitive scheduling, templates, and other productivity enhancing features," said Snyder. "For example, if our travel vendors and partners want to see how much screen-time their products or services received, Carousel lets us print out a detailed, up-to-date report for them."Tierney Brothers of Minnesota installed the video wall as part of a larger facility upgrade, and recommended the winning complement of Carousel Digital Signage Software and BrightSign media players to power the content based on success they have had in other projects across the region. The AAA Minneapolis video wall incorporates nine displays in total, with nine corresponding BrightSign media players.

"The Carousel and BrightSign combination is quickly becoming our go-to solution for an interoperable digital signage system across content creation, management and playout for networks of all sizes."

 "The Carousel and BrightSign combination is quickly becoming our go-to solution for an interoperable digital signage system across content creation, management and playout for networks of all sizes," said Brian Krisko, vice president of services, Tierney Brothers. "Carousel brings exceptional ease of use to the creation and management side, while BrightSign brings a compact form factor with exceptional visual quality and reliability. We never encounter hardware problems, and our customers are happy because playout failures simply do not happen. The screens are always up and performing as expected."

Future plans include adding a second Carousel-powered display at the AAA Minneapolis headquarters, as well as smaller networked displays at its nearby branches in downtown Minneapolis, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, and the Galleria Mall in Edina.