Project Profile: Four-zone Content In New Thai Fast Casual Cafe

November 5, 2012 by Dave Haynes

Dee Daa Restaurant Digital Signage Network from ARSENAL MEDIA_DEMO ZONE on Vimeo.

Back in late spring I was contacted by an entrepreneur who was in the final stretch of opening a fast casual Thai restaurant – Dee Daa – in midtown Manhattan and needed some help sorting out what to do in terms of the digital menu boards and related screens.

A few months later the place is open and the results are terrific. I’ll stress my role was early and pretty small, but it speaks volumes about the value of getting a little solid advice up front.

Owner Mallika Sukjaro walked me through her ideas and needs, and it was clear she not only needed a sense of what to use but much more what to communicate and how. I put her together with Denys Lavigne at Arsenal Media, with the idea of getting really solid creative, but also a solid long-term programming and content vision.

This is how you can turn what could easily be a pedestrian, functional digital menu system into much more of a cohesive overall statement about the restaurant brand and the customer experience. The project is much more about content zones than cable runs, and it absolutely shows.

Along with the core menu system, there are three other content zones: one that’s explaining the food in simple, entertaining ways; one for ambient content; and a window marketing zone designed to pull people off the sidewalks. All of it nicely conforms to the brand strategy and color choices, and it all looks tidy and readily, easily viewed.

There are eight displays and six media players.

Dozens of companies can execute on a digital menu system and supporting screens. Very, very few of them have the resources in place to touch this level of thinking and creative execution. Yes, original creative can be expensive, but put in the right hands it’s usually worth it.

This will win awards.