Smart SignsThe Goal: Deliver onproperty messages and announcements about events and activities at The Cosmos Club with more immediacy, customization, and an increased “wow”factor. The Plan: Develop LCD notice board that can be programmed to display PowerPoint slide shows and interface with Catering database. The Payoff: Updates now can be completed in two-thirds less time, and “action” format improves member recognition of notices. |
The Cosmos Club is a private social club, incorporated in Washington, D. C. in 1878, that has based its election of members since its founding on “scholarship, creative genius or intellectual distinction.”
With such active brains on property, the club’s staff is always looking for more effective ways to capture members’ attention and convey needed information about club events.
So when Club Operations Manager Peter Lovelace was attending an event at the Washington, D. C., Convention Center, and saw how electronic LCD notice boards were being used at that venue to present information, he felt there was no reason why the same technology couldn’t also be put to the same good use at The Cosmos Club.
The new electronic LCD notice board at The Cosmos Club grabs the attention of even the most active brains on the property. |
“I’m certainly one who embraces technology and sees the value in it, and therefore was willing to explore this concept,” says Lovelace. He first did some research to see what commercially available electronic message boards might cost, but found they were out of his club’s budget range. But being in such an intellectually charged environment, Lovelace still felt he had the resources at his disposal to help him find a cost-effective solution.
“I was convinced that our staff could develop something internally, and so I went to work with our ITteam to develop a working concept,” Lovelace reports. “We are lucky to have two extremely talented IT staff members and in the end, we were able to build the perfect solution for a fraction of the cost.”
Now, members and guests entering The Cosmos Club immediately see an LCD monitor, mounted in a wood frame crafted by the club’s Building Engineer to match the lobby decor, that provides the latest information about current club events in an animated “slide show” format.
“Our IT staff developed an attractive template and a system for updating and presenting the daily events electronically,” says Lovelace. “The daily AM and PM events are displayed, as well as any special announcements about upcoming exhibits or functions at the club.
“The system is powered by PowerPoint software,” Lovelace adds, “and that allows us to easily incorporate photos and other marketing materials that can help to grab the members’ eyes as soon as they walk through the front door. We can also interface with our Catering database, to help keep up with the latest changes in the event schedule.
“Updates are now completed by our Concierge in less than 10 minutes, compared to what used to take 30,” he reports. “We still use manual signs elsewhere in the club to display messages that are relatively constant—but this electronic sign now allows for immediacy, customization and a “wow” factor we didn’t have before.”
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