Digital endcap released at GlobalShop

March 18, 2008 by Dave Haynes

ncap1.jpg

If you’ve been reading my nonsense for a while you will know I actually do try pretty hard not to peddle my own pots and pans under the guise of an independent blog. But once in a while something I’m involved with is also worth writing about – like the nCap digital endcap that is being launched today at GlobalShop.

Sticking screens on the fixtures at the end of store aisles (endcaps) is no great revelation, but Artisan Complete is showing something that really thinks out the concept and optimizes it.

There’s a screen that is integrated right into a fixture that has slots for printed components and can be repeatedly re-skinned to suit the brand. Thhe screen and shelving components can be re-positioned to suit the product. It has simple buttons instead of touch, for simplicity, and has digital signage software under the hood so the interactive activity can be steadily monitored and tuned through a campaign.

This is the result of me and Artisan’s Stephen Ghigliotty sitting down for dinner around Christmas, shortly after he joined the company, and talking about how there had to be a better way to do screens in retail than screens hanging from ceilings.

My masters do the software that drives this thing, but this is very much Artisan’s product – taking advantage of the retail merchandising and POP side of its business to bring the idea to life.

What they ended up with is a unit that brings 720P HD creative right to eye level, is interactive and measureable, and allows consumers to drill deep to find out more about a product that is within immediate reach.

The handful of people who had a look at the unit during set-up Monday in Chicago were loving it, so we think we’re on to something.

This is part of the press release out this morning …

Artisan Complete, one of North America’s leading providers of retail communication solutions, unveiled a new dimension in shopper marketing today at the GlobalShop 2008 retail tradeshow. nCAP is an all-in-one digital merchandising solution that can be continually rebranded for different retail campaigns using:

* a fully modular design that supports multiple configurations and branding elements
* high definition, full motion content on a 24″ LG monitor which can be rotated into portrait or landscape mode
* remote content management and reporting using Broadsign’s industry leading digital signage software over a secure Internet connection
* flexible interactive content navigation that enables shoppers to choose the information most relevant to them
* revolutionary media impression measurement through facial recognition software from Cognovision

“The nCAP solution creates unlimited opportunities to attract and engage consumers at the point of purchase,” says Mike Brown, Managing Director of Artisan Retail and Artisan Live, the retail marketing and digital signage divisions of Artisan Complete. “Using the nCAP, marketers can combine traditional static elements with full motion interactive messaging and receive continuous audience measurement from each location.”

nCAP is the natural evolution of the “end cap” fixtures used at the head of shopping aisles in most retail settings. The modular design allows retailers and brands to quickly and easily refresh the look of these areas, while also giving consumers informative, interactive screens that will help drive understanding and product awareness right at the moment when those consumers make buying decisions.

So … apologies for banging my own drum, but this is one I’d be writing about one way or another.

  1. Minicom Blog says:

    Good luck with the new venture! It looks fantastic.

  2. […] was supposed to be good? RMS unveils its own freebie offer GlobalShop – It’s kinda quiet   Digital endcap released at GlobalShop   Wi-Fi trolley finds shopping for you Microsoft-powered shopping cart developed   Trident […]

  3. aideycot says:

    we liked this too, see http://www.dailydooh.com/archives/1318 for our take. It’s not new but clever packaging, product etc. Surprised they used Broadsign when MediaTile and a few others have more cellular / 3G oriented digital signage products though

  4. erin a says:

    How sweet it is!

  5. […] Artisan Complete is a Canadian design/build firm that introduced nCap(tm), a turn key end-cap fixture with an integrated 24″ monitor (can be portrait or landscape) and a set of soft menu buttons for interactivity. A PC embeded in the end-cap comes pre-loaded with Broadsign software and CongoVision audience measurement. Most cool Dave Haynes of sixteen:nine blog, was working in the booth and we got a chance to meet and chat for a bit. This industry is full of good people. You can read his recap of the Artisan display here. […]

  6. retailgeek says:

    Hi Dave. It was great to get to meet you at the show, and nice job on the nCap!

  7. […] Another company well-established in merchandising rolled out its own screen right at the shelf thing, though it was widly different from the nCAP. […]

  8. […] presentation must be built to harmonize with the reason the audience is at the venue, e.g. end-cap signage in retail brings awareness to the product and allows the consumer to dig deeper and find out more […]

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