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Bobcat Digital Signs achieve safety, service, and synergy
Kimberly A. Conner, IT Communications Specialist, Office of Ken Pierce, Vice President for Information Technology, Texas State University
Kimberly A. Conner, IT Communications Specialist, Office of Ken Pierce, Vice President for Information Technology, Texas State UniversityINSTITUTIONAL PROFILE
Texas State University is a doctoral-granting, student-centered institution dedicated to excellence and innovation in teaching, research, including creative expression, and service. The university strives to create new knowledge, to embrace a diversity of people and ideas, to foster cultural and economic development, and to prepare its graduates to participate fully and freely as citizens of Texas, the nation, and the world.- Mission, Values, Goals2017
ABSTRACT
High-quality, well-integrated digital signage is one of the most prominent features of successful campus digitalization. Effective signage must be strategically placed, collaboratively governed, reliable, and sustainable. For optimal utility and relevance, stakeholders and advertisers require easy access to a managed service designed to support and coordinate the display of requested information. Bobcat Digital Signs is Texas State University’s answer to the digital signage question. A cooperatively governed, self-sustaining blueprint, Bobcat Digital Signs unifies the university’s digital communications ecosystem and delivers vital information to the campus community.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Despite the host of screens dotting Texas State’s campuses in 2019, the university’s digital signage model still fell short of expectations. Foremost among its limitations, the existing system lacked the critical capability to deliver emergency notifications campus-wide. Disconnected units, running on a variety of hardware, each required different types of support. Disparate stakeholder access, inconsistent messaging, and a lack of centralization plagued attempts to coordinate and display relevant and timely information to students, faculty, and staff. In 2020, a surge in campus digitalization gave rise to Bobcat Digital Signs. This self-sustaining, paid advertising model has unified the university’s digital communications ecosystem and now deploys essential information promptly and efficiently.
As part of its campus wide digitalization campaign, Texas State’s Division of Information Technology prioritized digital signage efforts. Ken Pierce, Vice President for Information Technology and CIO, explains the division’s concept of digital signage as a “managed service.” Pierce’s goal was to create a centralized system of strategically placed displays used to deliver relevant communications and marketing content from across the university. Most importantly, sign configuration would support immediate and simultaneous emergency messaging campus wide.
The IT division's plan was mapped out in three primary stages: explore each stakeholder’s communication use; set up a branded services to re front to coordinate messaging and paid advertisement; and create a unified digital signage ecosystem. Ken Pierce enlisted the help of the division’s Technology Innovation Office, led by Dr. Carlos Solís, to support the effort. In the words of Dr. Solís, the newly branded Bobcat Digital Signs (BDS), would “... optimize the use of digital signs on campus and truly make [them] part of the university’s internal communication system.”
THE PROCESS
After investigating the university’s digital signage communication needs, Pierce and Solís narrowed their project priorities to emergency notifications, sign management, and financial sustainability.
Campus safety came first. Consolidation of the emergency notification system served as the Division of Information Technology's primary impetus. Reaching this goal meant connecting signage to a managed dashboard under a single software umbrella. The IT division implemented emergency management capabilities and configurations to ensure student, faculty, staff, and visitor safety.
Managing a connected signage network required a thorough understanding of how stakeholders used existing digital signage. Sign managers owned and maintained their own signs, generating and governing digital media relevant to their needs. Stakeholders without dedicated signage had few controllable options. This decentralized model resulted in a patchwork of unreliable information, inconsistently formatted displays, and divergent messaging. Centralization and standardization would be imperative to a cogent digital signage service from which all stakeholders could benefit equally.
Campus information sources included multiple stakeholders. Student affairs, university advancement, academic affairs, athletics, and university administration each had an interest in how the centralized BDS service operated. A governance committee with representatives from each segment of the user base was formed to give stakeholders a voice in the operation of the BDS system. Ongoing conversations with those stakeholders afforded the Division of Information Technology valuable insights into user needs and expectations. Policies and standards were devised to ensure consistent messaging, reliability of information, and equitable access.
The Division of Information Technology understood the importance of affordability. Digital displays are costly to install and maintain. The cloud-based software program selected, On Sign, also brought annual licensing fees. To offer stakeholders relief from the financial burden associated with installing and maintaining their signs, a paid advertisement structure was devised. Increments of signage time are sold to offset fees, with input from stakeholders resulting in well-defined parameters. Ads are sold in 15 second increments and run at specific intervals throughout each hour.
Negotiations took time, transparency, and cooperation. Dr. Solís recalls, “The whole concept of displaying [paid] ads on university signs was met with some resistance. So, one of the things we had to do was work really hard with the sign managers to make sure we came up with a formula that would produce both a good financial framework...and at the same time, be the least impacting on their ability to deliver their content.”
The subsidized BDS model offers significant incentives to sign owners:
● University purchases and supports digital displays
● Department/Sign Manager manages content
● Digital display equipment provided, installed, and maintained as part of service
● On Sign software license provided
● Funded by paid advertisements
A managed BDS storefront offers a point of sale for entities wishing to buy advertisement time. The storefront also accepts requests from university stakeholders. A dashboard displays to the campus community and advertisers the breadth of the BDS system across Texas State’s campuses. While BDS displays remain a dedicated part of Texas State’s campus digitalization campaign, strong collaboration and partnership among departments unified the effort.
THE TAKEAWAYS
As Bobcat Digital Signs continue to enhance Texas State’s campus safety and communication systems, its Division of Information Technology will carry forward lessons learned throughout the process. At a time when the tides of campus digitalization shift quickly and often, stakeholders experienced only minor changes. Beyond adapting to standardized formatting, consistent messaging, and a periodic interruption to content, stakeholders are able to conduct business as usual while saving thousands of dollars on the purchase and maintenance of digital signs.
Rapid transformation in a digital age is inevitable. For institutions of higher education, swift and sweeping digitalization is imperative to survival. People, though, need time, and collaborative planning is vital. The humans behind the systems appreciate the opportunity to adjust and give feedback. Dr. Solís seems to concur. Above all, he says, it is wise to“...be more deliberate in your timelines and pay attention to what people have to say. I think we were very thorough in our approach and, as a result, we really are in a very good space today.”
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