Finding A Niche: Toronto’s Envision Heavily Focused On Digital Donor Recognition, Like This Wall At All-Girls School

November 17, 2023 by Dave Haynes

In a crowded market like digital signage, it makes a bunch of sense to find a niche and then mine the hell out of it – building up a reputation and reference project list as being the default option for providing services in that defined niche.

I’ve seen that in sectors as diverse as auto retailing and hotel wayfinding, and here’s an example of really tightly-defined niche – donor recognition for institutions like hospitals and schools.

Toronto-based solutions provider/creatiuve tech shop Envision positions itself as “the North American leader in creating stunning, fully integrated digital experiences” – with a big emphasis on “Digital Donor Recognition installations for Hospitals, Foundations & Cultural Institutions.”

Scale would be a bit of a challenge if the company was just selling screens and software – as there tends to be one or two donor walls in a facility, not 100 or 2,000. But the company also offers a range of billable professional services that run from the idea stage through execution. It is also a member of an association for donor relations professionals – moving in those circles and developing both subject matter knowledge and ties to the people who raise money for hospitals, schools and other institutions that are funded in part or entirely by donations.

This is a job done for an all-girls private school in Toronto, with a donor display in the atrium. I’m not sure if the top is digital and the lower brands are print. It might be a big 16:9 display up top and two of those bar-type stretched LCDs stacked below. All digital would make sense, as fundraising never really stops and the contributor and recognition list likely changes often.

Having a niche can be super-important, especially for smaller companies. If you just have a general offer of digital signage tech for whoever and whatever, you’re competing mainly on price and awareness.