As more and more travelers are doing their research and making their arrangements on the Internet, one travel retailer is trying to make it compelling for customers to come into its stores.
Liberty Travel Inc. (Ramsey, N.J.) is a chain of travel agencies with nearly 190 locations in 30 states and D.C. Its in-store experience is a system of wall-mounted, four-screen synchronized video displays that provide an in-store panorama measuring two feet by eight feet. Content features all of the destinations around the world that Liberty serves in full-motion video. There’s also a two-foot-by-four-foot, portrait-style video screen mounted by the store entrance and visible from the street.
It’s all controlled by Liberty’s corporate headquarters, which controls all the screens in the network and can change them by time, location or conditions. “For example, if it’s snowing in New York, one of those offices can feature a warm, sunny Caribbean message,” says Stuart Armstrong, North American president of EnQii/Digital View Media (New York), which designed and installed the network and creates and manages its content. “If one of the stores is having an event, a custom message can be featured solely in that location.”
The system is not only meant to attract travelers to vacation sites and packages but also as an advertising opportunity for resorts, hotels, cities, carriers and other travel providers – especially those with smaller budgets. “For a modest investment,” says Armstrong, “smaller advertisers can leverage the visual appeal of their properties by displaying them at Liberty travel locations.” That provides added revenue for the retailer.
The multi-screen network replaces Liberty’s traditional in-store light boxes, which could display only one message at a time. It is now possible for multiple advertisers to feature animated messages simultaenously.
“This new network reaps two-fold benefits,” says Liberty chief operating officer Cathy Pelaez, “by positioning us as a creative distribution partner for our suppliers and keeping us ahead of the competition. It enhances our overall image as a progressive, state-of-the-art service provider.”