Source: Digital Signage Expo 2008
Award Submission
Company: Scala Inc.
(www.scala.com)
Client: Holzer Clinic


Exton, PA, May 2007: Scala Inc., the industry leader in end-to-end digital signage software, has teamed with Hammond Communications, a Scala Certified Partner (SCP), to provide Holzer Clinic a state-of-the-art digital signage network called “Holzer Clinic TV”.

Holzer Clinic is all about people. It’s about an amazing staff of over 100 board-certified physicians and 800 dedicated support staff in eight (soon to be nine) convenient locations in the Southeast Ohio River Valley. But most of all Holzer is about the patients, and nearly half million healthcare consumers that are cared for each year by local, highly skilled medical practitioners visit Holzer Clinic locations each year. Holzer’s primary service area covers eight counties: six in Ohio and two in West Virginia. Many patients come to the clinics from over 60 miles away. The clinic’s main facility is located near Gallipolis, Ohio, an historic community with a total population of about 10,000 people.

Each of the eight locations varies widely in the number of specialties and services offered. One location might offer 20 specialties and 18 additional services while the next location has 3 medical specialties and 7 services. Cross-promoting services from one location to another became essential to Holzer’s main goal, providingcomplete and excellent healthcare to all patients in need.

Hammond’s Challenge: In essence, the interest in “Holzer Clinic TV” came from inter-department goals and trying to find ways to reach patients more efficiently. With nearly half million consumers visiting Holzer Clinic each year, “Holzer Clinic TV” was seen as the perfect way to capture the attention of the target audience.

When Holzer’s Marketing Manager, J.R. Sauer, asked the clinic’s marketing company to research the available systems, Tim Maxwell, President of NVC, visited Scala at their offices in Exton Pennsylvania. Scala, in turn, recommended Hammond Communications Group to explore the possibilities of a digital signage network. Hammond responded with a team approach to analyzing the clinic’s needs in depth, leaving no detail unexamined. The resulting proposal led to a pilot installation at Holzer Clinic’s Gallipolis, Ohio facility.

Hammond learned that of paramount importance was selecting a system that would not place an additional burden on hard working medical and professional staff. That demanded a centrally controlled and ultimately flexible system of networked monitors that would eventually number over 25 screens in nine locations, all displaying both global and unique, location specific content. Holzer also wanted patients with hearing and seeing limitations to benefit, this meant larger screens and close captioning.

Hammond’s solution: To meet all of these requirements and more, Hammond recommended Scala InfoChannel® software for the pilot installation. Hammond, a Scala Certified Partner, had recently installed InfoChannel at the Cincinnati Convention Center.

The Hammond/Scala digital signage solution for the Holzer Clinic is a three-zone display design that includes live TV cable feed, a rich media area to promote the clinic and locally controlled text scroll message. These displays are located in the clinic’s waiting areas for which Holzer’s marketing department had already created a library of content.

The left side of the screen is for slides of Holzer Clinic general information and advertising of services. The right side of the TV plays cable news, so that patients still have the option of watching current events. There is also a text crawl at the bottom of the screen that displays Holzer Clinic information. From the marketing department’s control room they can play Holzer TV campaigns, past commercials, and documentary information.

“Working with renowned organizations like Holzer Clinic and Hammond Communications puts a different perspective on Scala’s digital signage software solution,” says Gerard Bucas, President and CEO of Scala Inc. “Not only can we provide the best software platform in the industry but we have a unique opportunity to benefit the thousands of people Holzer Clinic ministers to in the Southeast Ohio River Valley.”

About Hammond Communications
Hammond Communications Group is a full-service multimedia communications company specializing in digital signage applications. For digital signage, Hammond provides turnkey solutions with core competencies that focus on content creation, content management, custom Scala programming, database integration and network operations. For multimedia, Hammond provides video/film production, video news releases, DVD presentations, 3D computer animation, virtual tours, Web site development, interactive sales and marketing presentations, computer-based training applications and CD-ROM development. www.hammondcg.com.