The document imaging industry business model is continuously evolving from a hardware and hardcopy orientation to the management of all types of content and information. This change in landscape offers new opportunities to provide different kind of solutions and services to the SMB market in a way that is familiar to traditional office equipment dealers: the annuity model.
Last November, ENX Magazine attended Toshiba America Business Solutions’ LEAD 2013 annual sales conference and got a first-hand look at how TABS is expanding as a service-led business, most notably through their new digital signage solutions. Their dealer event had great demos of their products, especially the larger units that are perfect for showrooms to demo products to end-users. TABS understood that dealers needed more than just hardware to win the big sales, and came up with a comprehensive solution that will catapult your dealership into the go-to partner for this market. So we spoke with Bill Melo, Vice President of Marketing, Services and Solutions, about this intriguing new opportunity.
- Toshiba has placed a major focus on the digital signage market during its recent dealer events. Tell us about the digital signage market size and opportunities.
Bill Melo
Vice President of Marketing, Services and Solutions TABS
The market size for digital signage is exploding. Dynamic digital displays are more and more a distinct presence virtually anywhere you go from a video wall at your favorite retail outlet to digital menu boards guiding your lunch options to the display ribbons providing game scores and branding at your local sports venue. According to TheEconomist, digital signage will be a $5.2 billion business by 2016 and Intel predicts as many as 22 million digital signs will be in place by next year. As those in Orlando, FL at our annual sales conference – LEAD 2013 – last November learned, we recently launched our Ellumina digital signage brand so we are certainly excited about immersing ourselves in this market.
- Is there anything different Toshiba is offering vis-à-vis other manufacturers?
While conducting our background research on the sector, we concluded that there are several manufacturers offering display hardware. Additionally, we discovered many companies offering software to build and manage your digital signage and a few creating the accompanying content. However, we were hard pressed to find another vendor offering a comprehensive digital signage solution from start to finish.
Toshiba is unique in this market because we provide customers with a complete solution to achieve business objectives – everything from hardware to content creation and management, to installation and even financing. Our portfolio includes indoor and outdoor displays, video walls, kiosks, QSR menu boards, and custom interactive touch displays using best-in-class equipment. We offer content expertise, professional design, worry-free operation, and a single point of accountability from a trusted technology leader. From site assessment to content creation, design and implementation, our team works together with each customer to ensure complete satisfaction every step of the way. Once an installation is complete, we offer on-going content management and service agreements to ensure maximum performance and uptime.
- What do the opportunities in this market mean to Toshiba and its dealers?
As the sheer number of prints is diminishing, the advent of digital signage represents an entirely new revenue stream for Toshiba and our dealer partners. And while everyone at our corporate office was excited about the initiative, we had to ensure we created an offering that our dealers could easily sell, manage, and service. And I believe we’ve done just that.
Our newest launch – Virtuoso – is a line of interactive solutions that deliver engaging and interactive customer experiences via the power of touch. We have a wide variety of packages and templates available to end users in key markets including retail, hospitality, automotive, healthcare, real estate and more. Once a dealer sells a unit to an end user, Toshiba assumes the heavy lifting. A Success Manager works with each client to identify goals and objectives and then creates the system and content to deliver on those. Both the dealer and end user are involved every step of the way, ensuring complete satisfaction to everyone.
Much like selling managed print services, digital signage includes annuity-like opportunities with respect to content creation. Digital signage presents an opportunity for dealers to sell content maintenance packages and service agreements to ensure customers’ content remains relevant, hardware has maximum uptime and business objectives are met. With substantial profit margins available, our dealers are pleased about the potential revenue generated from the sale of digital signage.
4. How will Toshiba assist its dealers in profiting from these opportunities?
As MPS required a learning curve when it was launched a decade ago, our partners will need time to learn technical and other nuances of digital signage. For that reason, Toshiba has created a comprehensive and dedicated digital signage group to assist dealers in their prospecting and sales activities. Once we engage with a client, our team jumps to action while performing all of the necessary functions such as site assessments, solution design, content creation, implementation and more, working collaboratively with both the dealer and end user to ensure all goals are met. Toshiba has an online community where questions can be posed and best practices can be shared, etc. We will also launch a digital signage curriculum for our dealers to become proficient in all areas relating to the business.
5. What investments do dealers need to make to get into this market?
Toshiba dealers do not need to invest any dollars to sell our Ellumina line. However, to better assist them in their selling efforts, Toshiba has created a Virtuoso product for dealer demonstration purposes. This interactive kiosk showcases Toshiba’s complete offering including MFPs, software solutions, and digital signage. Dealers may purchase a unit in a variety of sizes and use co-op funds to cover the costs. To help dealers realize an even quicker return on their investment, we include comprehensive demonstrations specific to nearly a dozen different vertical markets.
6. Is Toshiba exclusively utilizing its display products or partnering with other vendors?
Our main goal is to develop a solution that best suits our customers’ needs. Therefore, we are using both Toshiba display technology and also partnering with an array of other manufacturers to ensure we are providing premier digital signage solutions for companies within virtually any vertical market.
7. Are there any existing implementations you can discuss?
Yes, after only one year since beginning our digital signage business, we are already profitable with a number of impressive implementations including Qualcomm Stadium, The Palace at Auburn Hills and Live Nation. Also, before the first pitch is thrown by the Charlotte Knights this spring, our latest digital signage implementation will be on display throughout the team’s newly minted BB&T Ballpark. Perhaps most notably, we are installing the widest scoreboard in minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A team.
8. What are some of the inherent challenges for Toshiba MFP dealers seeking to sell a brand new product line?
As touched upon earlier, the most challenging aspect of Toshiba dealers selling our Ellumina products includes learning the various nuances – technical and otherwise – of the products.
Because of our sensitivity to this challenge, we are developing a strong curriculum around Ellumina while having our internal experts present information on the products to our dealer network in a clear manner through regular webinars, product materials and Exchange – our online community where questions can be posed and best practices shared.
9. What does Toshiba’s Ellumina line currently consist of?
The Ellumina line consists of two platforms, Virtuoso and Experience Manager.
Our Virtuoso platform features interactive displays with touch screen technology. They are designed to enhance the consumer experience while presenting information in a compelling new way to promote products and services.
Best suited for an audience of one or a few, Virtuoso boosts content and user interaction by providing access to information in an intuitive format allowing them to explore, expand and mark-up content, watch videos, play games and more. By combining the latest in interactive and display technologies, it is ideal for such diverse markets as education, real estate, auto dealers, restaurants, shopping centers and the hospitality/hotel industry. Virtuoso is available in an array of sizes – from a 23-inch all-in-one PC version up to a 70-inch floor stand display.
Toshiba’s other digital signage platform – Experience Manager – is a completely customizable solution for managing networked interactive media applications. Including both live and pre-programmed content in an engaging platform, it delivers targeted content by time, location, and demographic.
Experience Manager is particularly ideal for implementation wherever people congregate, including malls, airports, concert and sports venues, as well as grocery stores and other retail outlets. Capable of incorporating live data, Experience Manager allows companies to quickly change or update information at a moment’s notice. The platform’s cloud solution further enables sophisticated planning, distribution and seamless management of digital content across an entire network of displays.
