A Raspberry Pi-driven system that handles all the scoreboard and show controls for the famed Lord’s cricket grounds in London, UK, was the big winner in the Digital Signage Awards, handed out Wednesday at a special luncheon in Amsterdam.
The awards, held during ISE and in collaboration with the invidis Digital Signage Summit, celebrate work done around the globe. The winners were selected by an independent panel of 14 judges – all of them working directly in the business in some way – based on entries submitted from multiple continents.
The Lord’s project was my top choice and I was pleased to see my fellow judges agreed and gave it top marks overall, even though there were far splashier, more expensive jobs that would in theory get the attention. I was also pleased because the guy behind it, Bryan Crotaz of London-based Silver Curve, has been quietly telling me about this thing for a year, but wasn’t previously ready to make noise.
It impressed me because of the way the system was developed to directly address the pain points of the venue, simplify operations, and use readily-available, low cost hardware solutions. Watch the video to see what all was involved.
The project won the overall achievement nod, as well as the Innovation category.
There were two non-jury prizes for individuals, selected by me. They are both guys I know, and while it is true I can’t recognize someone I don’t know or know about, I doubt anyone would seriously take me to task for singling out guys who I’d also call friends.
For technology, IAdea’s John Wang was cited because he has consistently demonstrated innovation out of a region that is often more about production and cost. He was on the HTML5 case very early, and his video wall product AnyTiles is a very different take on that technical challenge. Wang is also a big proponent of raising the level of education, awareness and professionalism in Taiwan and China for the industry. He is one of the main players behind the digital signage multimedia association in Taiwan that has held conferences in Taipei, Beijing and elsewhere.
Very nice, very bright man, who was honored and very surprised to get called up.
For creative, the awards cited Christie 360’s Denys Lavigne, perhaps better known as the guy behind Montreal’s Arsenal Media, which was acquired by Christie. Lavigne quietly built one of the best creative shops in digital signage.
In the early days, he organized conferences and events in Montreal not to make money but to raise the level of awareness and quality of digital signage creative. He also created something called the Digital Content Circle, again looking to elevate quality. He was out there trying to make things better, and raise everyone’s game, long before people started using terms like thought leadership.
You don’t hear all the much from Denys these days, because he now spends much of his time fulfilling an international role (often to Asia, where they have an office in Hong Kong). Here’s his work at a new mega casino in Manila.
Another really sharp, soft-spoken, hugely respected guy who deserves being singled out. He wasn’t at ISE – no winners were informed prior to the event – but I got a quick email saying the award means a lot to him.
The decisions and marks awarded by the judges delivered the following results:
Overall Achievement category (sponsored by Gable)
WINNER: Silver Curve
Finalists:
- BARTKRESA studio
- Nanolumens
- Stingray Business
Outstanding Individuals category (sponsored by Sixteen:Nine)
WINNER (Technical): John C Wang, CEO, IAdea
WINNER (Creative): Denys Lavigne, Vice President, Christie 360
Content & Creativity category (sponsored by Mvix)
WINNER: JCDecaux (China Chongqing Jiangbei Int’l Airport)
HIGH COMMENDATION: BARTKRESA studio (Magic Lantern 3D display)
Finalists:
- BARTKRESA studio (HBO Westworld)
- Cineplex Digital Media (Bank of Montreal)
- Cineplex Digital Media (Disney, Thinkway, Toys R Us)
- Nanolumens (Changi Airport, Singapore)
- ProntoTV (DNB)
Innovation category (sponsored by Screenfeed)
WINNER: Silver Curve (Lord’s Cricket Ground)
HIGH COMMENDATIONS:
- NEC Displays (Omi)
- QDOT (Smarter campaign management)
Finalists:
- Gable (Galleria Dallas)
- Gable (IM Properties)
- SignageOS (GC Retail Group)
- SignStix (Platform-as-a-Service)
Advertising category
WINNER: Posterscope (Reckitt Benckiser KY Duration
Finalist: Pixel Inspiration (TJX Europe with Samsung)
Corporate category
WINNER: Clear Channel International (Mexico City)
HIGH COMMENDATION: Valotalive (Wärtsilä)
Finalist: VER (Empire State Reality Trust)
Education, Healthcare, Professional category
WINNER: ProntoTV (Phoenix Group’s Apotek 1)
Finalists:
Nanolumens (Arizona State University Beus Center)
Zytronic Displays (National Air & Space Museum)
Exhibitions & Conventions category
WINNER: Responsive Spaces (ZKW Group)
HIGH COMMENDATION: C&G Partners (Leo Baeck Institute)
Hotels, Resorts, Restaurants category
WINNER: SiliconCore Technology (Wynn Las Vegas)
Finalists:
MALER Digital Signage Operations (KFC UK & Ireland)
Signagelive (DCBolt and Westgate Resorts)
Music, Sport, Entertainment category
WINNER: Nanolumens (Atlanta Braves SunTrust Park Stadium)
Finalists:
MALER Digital Signage Operations (AEG Europe)
PARTTEAM & OEMKIOSKS (NOS Alive Music Festival)
Retail category
WINNER: Stingray Business (Sports Experts)
HIGH COMMENDATIONS:
- Display Mapper (UGG)
- Pixel Inspiration (Lloyds Banking Group)
Finalists:
- Advanced (Nike)
- Esprit Digital with Elan Media (Mall of Qatar)
- Gable (Simon Properties)
- The Digital Signage Agency (Centris)
Transport & Travel category (sponsored by ISE with invidis consulting)
WINNER: Art of Context (Massport)
HIGH COMMENDATION: Nanolumens (Toronto Pearson Airport)
Finalist: Nanolumens (Changi Airport, Singapore)
