Founded in 1964, JCDecaux has become one of the world’s largest advertising conglomerates. The company has its roots in Lyon, France, but it has rapidly expanded into an international giant, with over 657,000 advertising panels across 45 countries. JCDecaux has more billboards deployed in Europe than any competitor, and it remains the largest street furniture company in the world.The partnership between C-nario and JCDecaux brought the “Art Tunnel” at New York’s JFK International Airport. The "Tunnel"" consists of 40, 70-inch synchronized digital displays deployed along the tunnel connecting the gates to the arrival hall, at American Airline’s largest hub.
The deployment was a success and JCDecaux quickly sold the ad space to Microsoft, which uses if for enhancing the company’s branding and launching new products.Shortly thereafter, JCDecaux tapped C-nario for an even greater challenge.
The Challenge
JCDecaux wanted to deploy a fully-digital, high-definition advertising network for airports, with 70-inch LCD screens that would be strategically placed throughout the airports to reach all arriving and departing passengers to enable advertisers to display static, semi-static and fully-moving images. Drive high-resolution images – 1080p – across several screens from one player, while synchronizing them to the frame when you have several screens that are next to each other, moving together.
The Solution
Eric Penot, chief information officer for JCDecaux, said C-nario had so impressed JCDecaux with its work on the JFK art tunnel that the advertising company decided to turn to C-nario again for the Prestige Network’s software platform. What made C-nario stand out from competitors, according to Penot, was the company’s ability to handle high-res content without sacrificing clarity. The high-def content would be displayed on several 70-inch Samsung LCD displays, double-sided so that the content could be viewed from either direction.
C-nario's software was merged with JCDecaux’s solutions, creating a seamless transition from the points when a client would purchase ad space and upload its content to the digital signage network.
“The module that C-nario developed for us allows us to schedule content into those slots that have been sold to clients,” he said. “So we can do it ourselves, or we can even let advertisers do it themselves through a portal. That’s the innovation.”
Rom said that using C-nario Advertiser online platform means that – unlike other signage management systems that are not Web-based – content can be up and running instantly.
The Prestige Network has already been deployed in airports based in Los Angeles, JFK, Dallas, San Diego and Minneapolis, and will be expanded to have 300 screens deployed in 10 airports by the end of the year.Penot said the Prestige Network comes at the perfect time, because it is difficult to keep up with airports’ growing demands for digital advertising.
