Stretch LCD Columns Bring Digital Branding To Flagship Jewelry Chain Stores

September 26, 2018 by Dave Haynes

A little ironically, I am on my way to Montreal on an in-and-out speaking thing as this post goes up about work Montreal’s iGotcha Media is doing with Birks, which has been operating luxury jewelry stores in Canada for many, many decades.

Birks is using vertical video walls to subtly underscore its brand in flagship stores. The work started with the Montreal Phillips’ Square flagship location in June, and at Toronto’s First Canadian Place location in July. A third installation at Birks’ Bloor Street store in Toronto will be completed early next year.

Says a press release:

The two videowalls at the Phillips’ Square location feature LG 88-inch stretch screens, with custom-built enclosures carefully designed to complement the elegance of this heritage location. At First Canadian Place, one of country’s premiere retail destinations in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, a massive 4-meter x 2.1-meter screen was installed at Birks.

“As one of Canada’s most iconic retail brands, we put a considerable amount of effort into creating memorable in-store experiences,” says Jean-Christophe Bédos, President and Chief Executive Officer, Birks. “We wish to promote our brand with the taste and subtlety that our clients expect. While we embrace technology and innovation, it must be implemented with discretion. The iGotcha Media team was very attentive to our specific needs and did a wonderful job of balancing the old with the new.”

“For us, the challenge was to create something innovative and modern while respecting the essence of the Birks brand,” continues Greg Adelstein, President, iGotcha Media. “Our videowalls must seamlessly run content in the standard 16:9 LCD format, but the aesthetics needed to be anything but standard! Thinking of the Philips’ Square store, we had to blend state-of-the-art technology with the elegance of a 19th century heritage building.”

Heritage buildings are, indeed, a tough environment to integrate technology. Regular displays, particularly in landscape, would probably have looked terrible. But these stretch LCDs do the job nicely. Because we’re talking fine time pieces and gems, I don’t think even the finest pitch LEDs would have had the resolution necessary to showcase the products and brand.