A taste of tech: How AV Media delivered a template for Lindt

Case Studies

AV Media delivers a scalable template for one of Europe’s most iconic chocolatiers. Reece Webb uncovers the secret recipe of this foundational installation.

Retail is all about presentation, and for Lindt, one of Europe’s biggest and most recognisable chocolatier brands, communicating quality and luxury takes precedence, combining with sophisticated AV technologies to present a brand that looks as good as it tastes.

This was the objective for AV Media, a systems integrator with extensive experience in the world of retail deployments and a long-standing technology partner for the Lindt & Sprüngli Group.

Located on one of Prague’s busiest and most iconic streets near Wencelas Square, Lindt’s flagship store in Prague needed to do more than just sell a well-established brand of chocolate.

Martin Zikmunda, senior sales consultant, AV Media, explains: “Our story with Lindt started around eight years ago. They invited us to tender, and we were one of a few potential vendors to deliver AV for their new office in Prague. Based on the presentation of our proposal, they decided to go with us because we persuaded them that we could become a long-term AV partner for their office.

“Since then, we have delivered two upgrades for their current office in Prague, and they later approached us with an idea when they were planning to open a flagship store in the centre of Prague. In Europe, Lindt’s standard approach for information and digital signage displays is to use local content input from on-site memory sources, such as USB sticks, running a fixed infoloop with no option for central content control. Because of these long-term relations with the client, Lindt came to us for advice and asked us to suggest how we can improve this setup, with a vision to deploy this model of digital content to more shops.”

AV Media saw the formation of a concept beyond just the flagship store itself, identifying two kinds of shops: flagship stores with greater investment in technology in prestigious locations, as well as more traditional outlets in shopping malls.

Building a template

Working closely with the Lindt team, Zikmunda and AV Media devised not just a single-store installation, but a template that can be rolled out across multiple stores, using consistent technology and zone groupings across global locations.

“Lindt defined groups of typical ‘positions’ where content would be delivered in the store,” says Zikmunda. “I was presented with visualisations of the shop, which featured static lightboxes and content which is not changed over the year. In this visualisation, there is a corridor space where there is a static image of a chocolatier. I believed this could be converted into a stretched display presentation with dynamic content, with a large display inside the shop where big pictures are shown.

“We defined a few ‘positions’, and due to the vision of the deployment, we started work on a fixed structure. If another shop is opened that wants to deploy digital signage displays, we can do it in the same way as the flagship store.”

The Lindt store has what it terms as the “chocolate position”, featuring an assembly of three displays with a menu board. In this position, there is an offering of chocolate in the winter, or ice cream in the summer. There is also a point of sales position behind the counter which features a presentation of static content featured in all shops, as well as a third position called the special presentation area which can alter based on the size of the shop or special arrangement within the store.

The secret recipe to this installation comes in the form of the store’s content management system. AV Media specified SignageLab’s SignageOS CMS platform which enables not just remote content changes and updates, but also remote health monitoring per device to allow rapid and accurate troubleshooting of devices.

Zikmunda explains: “All of these positions should present the same content, aside from country/language based modifications depending on the location. The visual presentation of the chocolate or ice cream should be the same. As a result, we needed a proper content management system to allow Lindt to apply language or currency based modifications without changing the graphical content.

“Lindt works in clusters, where part of the management is in Prague, others in Warsaw or Budapest. As such, the content management system must allow the team to work in a virtual environment from anywhere in the world.”

Layers of chocolate

The operating system allows for effective structuring of Lindt’s system through multiple layers, from the country level down to the store type and position within the store. Each layer can have its own access rights for the appropriate users, with access granted for the AV Media team and the responsible parties within Lindt.

Zikmunda adds: “There is also a layer of content creator users which upload content to the system, but they cannot break the basic structure of setting content definitions in the system. This was a very important part for us.”

There are plugins for various players built into the SignageOS system, allowing AV Media to have the flexibility to mix and match content distribution between different brands without affecting the rollout of content throughout the store.

“The application layer does not see any difference in the management of these different displays,” says Zikmunda. “This is a great feature that allows you to clearly distinguish between the technical layer and user layer.”

AV Media supplied five displays for the Prague flagship store, specifying LG 43-in, 75-in and 98-in displays around the store, supported by Chief and Vogel’s wall mounts. Zikmunda says: “In Lindt, we have two or three positions where we could not use LG displays, so they asked us to reuse an older videowall which we could integrate using Brightsign players. The system sees this as one ‘point-of-sales’ position.”

Installation of the LG displays in each position within the shop was greatly simplified by the CMS system, allowing each display to be added to the overall system through a quick configuration process.

Zikmunda explains: “When you install displays in the shop, you write a special access address which is a URL address. Through this, the display connects to the CMS server, and when you define position of the display in the system, there is a specific connection code that is generated. When the display is connected to the server, it asks for this code, and you just write the code that is on the display, and the display connects to the CMS automatically and uploads content which is related to this specific position. This is a simple process that allows almost anybody to integrate a display into the system through simple instructions.”

Today, Lindt’s flagship store in Prague stands out as the foundation for future expansion across Central Europe, establishing a template that enables rapid, standardised rollouts through a system that can be managed as simply as it can be scaled.

AV Media has also delivered other stores in Central Europe, using the same technology template, as well as Leyard Planar URW105 displays and 86-in LG displays where applicable.

Zikmunda closes: “Our current vision is to deliver more shops which are now in the pipeline for completion by the end of this year. We think this will be a typical model for retail brands which expand over the years. My vision is to present this model to Lindt management in Switzerland to roll it out across Europe. We can set the standard for this.

“We have more ideas to deliver digital content, and we have achieved a good balance in the store. When visitors come, they can experience the whole holistic experience with beautiful colours, smells and digital signage that finds the right balance to suit the look and feel of this store. The general manager saw the shop and approved this model for future rollouts. We have delivered 12 shops in the region, some with the full five-display composition and we are preparing for more shops in Hungary and Poland. We manage everything from the Czech Republic, and we have created a model that allows us to expand this network very smoothly.”