In the beginning, only Fortune 500 companies could afford the expense of using a video display system to attract customers and burnish their image. But in the last year, as prices have dropped and new products have come on the market, video display systems are cropping up everywhere -- trade booths, nightclubs and casinos, retail stores, sports arena concourses and malls.

And why not? Research indicates that video display systems are highly successful in attracting new customers. One major company credited the 60 percent increase in traffic to its trade show booth entirely to its eye-catching video display system. A mall reported unexpected success with the creative use of its video display system in directing buyers to a second-floor book-signing event. And a clothing retailer reported a jump of 16 percent in sales after featuring continuous footage of a fashion show on a video display system called a videowall.

A Mesmerizing Medium
A videowall is exactly what its name implies: a wall of video monitors or cubes that range in size from as small as two by two, to the largest ever built so far -- the gigantic 840-monitor videowall installed by Electrosonic Systems Inc. (ESI) in the South Korean Samsung pavilion during the World's Fair.

Videowalls are successful because they take television's bright, mesmerizing qualities and exponentially multiply the effect by using a variety of attention-getting techniques. For example, videowalls can project one ultra-large image across all the screens at once; duplicate that image on each separate screen; digitize the image in interesting ways; or run several images at once to tell different stories concurrently.

Recent technological advancements have opened the potential of this exciting medium to a wider range of retail applications. Along with the reduction of price, there now is far more selection. For example, ESI's modular 2XView houses a pair of diagonal video screens in a single unit which can be serviced from the front and rear and is only 30 inches deep, thus making it adaptable to the tight spaces.

Videowall components -- screens, processor and software -- can be purchased separately or from an integrated systems dealer that will set up the entire system and service all components. No matter which size videowall you choose, it will be programmed through a processor system that is controlled by a single software program and operated through an ordinary personal computer. The user can base his programming on just about anything from cable offerings to custom-prepared videos that display a company's message or product in an eye-catching manner.

Videowalls in Retail
Videowalls offer a distinctive edge to retailers as they vie for customer attention. Following are just a few suggestions to trigger a store's own imaginative use of videowalls in the retail sector.

• Direct customers to an area of focus:
  A mall or department store can use videowalls to direct customers to different floors, special events, featured restaurant menus, exhibits in the mall or children's entertainment.

   

• Demonstrate products:
  Cosmetic counters can feature how-to makeovers by creatively juxtapositioning before and after shots on the videowall, as well as demonstrating application techniques. A sporting goods store can display a video on how to put up a tent while interspersing scenes of wilderness camping that feature an array of camping equipment. A clothing store could generate excitement in accessories by featuring simultaneous displays of creative combinations of handbags, belts and jewelry.

   

• Take videos of special events:
  Taping a fashion show can work double duty on a videowall: the clothes get viewed not just once but several times, all in enticing large-scale action. A bookstore can display an author being interviewed while splicing in exciting graphics on a related theme.

   

• Involve the community:
  Feature local personalities on a videowall. For example, sports instructors giving tips on basketball or the proper use of cross-country ski equipment or Aunt Martha demonstrating gardening techniques. Another idea is to interview customers on video and thrill them with their own image on grand scale.

   

• Offer choices with interactive videowalls:
  Creative retailers are setting up interactive videowalls that allow customers to press a button to choose areas of interest. Customers then are treated to informative clips about new products and product uses.

Whatever is put on a videowall, you'll discover its seductive ability to draw customers into a store and get them thinking about products.

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