Toronto’s main airport rolls out massive digital wayfinding stations

November 28, 2011 by Dave Haynes

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which runs Canada’s busiest airport in guess where, has OK’d a big expansion of the digital wayfinding system its been testing for a while – even giving the system its own brand.

The Digital Advertising and Wayfinding Network (DAWN) is 18 BIG advertising display screens and flanking interactive terminals at Toronto Pearson.

Each unit, says a GTAA release, will assist Toronto Pearson’s guests in finding departure gates, airport amenities, art installations, and dining and shopping offerings. The units will have virtual guest service functionality allowing guests to link real time with guest service representatives at the airport. Guests will also receive advertising messages and promotional offers that are relevant to their search.

“The DAWN network creates new digital promotional revenue opportunities for property owners, managers and their tenants, as well as developing a large format digital out of home media network providing contextual advertising exposure to mobile, affluent consumers. We are pleased with the functionality as both a guest service and wayfinding and advertising network,” said John Jory, President Clear Channel Outdoor Company Canada.

Clear Channel Outdoor’s Canadian wing has the the advertising concession at the airport and would have, very presumably, bankrolled this thing. The digital displays are absolutely huge – at the least the one I’ve grown used to see when you get out of security screening at T1 international. The specs say the units are 9 feet high and most of that is plasma display.

The program was put together by Clear Channel and three vendors: ARIUM Design (design and product development), Jibestream Interactive (the interactive wayfinding piece), and Gridcast (integration).