ReQuest Targets Pros with Digital Signage Solution

There is no shortage of digital signage solutions, but ReQuest says its new Harmony digital signage product holds particular appeal for CE pros.

CEO Peter Cholnoky says ReQuest’s product stands out in a sea of CE pros’ digital signage options for a couple of key reasons:

• Most have heard of ReQuest.
• There’s a small learning curve.

Cholnoky isn’t joking about it being important that CE pros have heard of ReQuest. He says most CE pros understand that digital signage provides an enormous opportunity to expand their business into new markets while adding recurring revenue, but most of the manufacturers offering digital signage solutions are unknown to CE pros and unaware of their business models.

Adding the concept of adding recurring revenue, he adds, should be "invigorating" for the CE pro channel. "It will help make the CEDIA dealers stronger."

ReQuest, which will only offer its Harmony Digital Signage solution through the CE pro channel, will launch it at the Customer Engagement Technology World show in New York, Nov. 10-11. It’s offering a free webinar on Nov. 4 to explain how the product and business model works.

The Harmony solution costs “under $3,000 for two years of service, support and product,” says Andy Lopez, director of U.S. sales.

It allows CE pros "to build a new type of business easily and quickly," Cholnoky adds.

"Think about the numbers: If an integrator sells five Harmony players a month — this can be one customer with five screens or five customers with one screen each — it is a $250,000 business.

"So it's five units [for] 12 months times $3,000 equals $180,000 plus TV, service and install. During year two, they do the same or better. Year three, they renew year one clients for about $50,000 in recurring revenue.

"Considering the average CEDIA dealer does $400,000 to $500,000, this product and model can help revitalize them."

Harmony has both digital signage and music distribution components. From the press release:

"Harmony is a unique commercial music and video service providing complete flexibility for the client to build detailed schedules of their music and video either in a global, regional or local setting. The web-based application also integrates advertising and company messaging within the music playlists, or digital signage shows so businesses can promote specials or marketing messages during targeted times.

Harmony makes it easy for any size business to quickly leverage existing marketing material and blend it with real-time information from blogs, financial markets, and Internet feeds to create compelling digital signage. From engaging menu boards, to launching new marketing campaigns, to happy hour specials at the local pub… it’s your content, when you want it, and where you want it."

From the Field

ReQuest began offering the music component of Harmony to its CE pro dealers in July, and Cholnoky says its commercial project pipeline began filling up quickly. One of the first ReQuest Harmony users is California-based restaurant group Hillstone, which uses it for music distribution to 50 locations across the U.S.

Uploading playlists and programming is easy, according to Ricky Newton, Hillstone’s music programmer. “I just log in to the web application, upload content, build playlists, create schedules and deploy to the restaurants. Everything is managed over the Internet.”

Hillstone likes to fine-tune the music to each restaurant’s unique clientele, according to VP of design Brian Biel. He says the Harmony solution makes it easy to “customize music in every restaurant and create schedules to match mood and cuisine.”

Biel adds that he likes that it can remotely manage and pre-set music changes based on the time of day.

Digital Signage Made Easy?

“If somebody can use PowerPoint, they can use our online tool,” says Cholnoky of Harmony’s digital signage solution.

ReQuest lists the following Harmony features:

• “Drag and drop show builder for creating digital signage shows. It works just like PowerPoint. Click to add images, video and media. Incorporate live feeds from weather, stocks, and blogs or RSS feeds.”
• Media Manager to upload and organize digital signage content. Drag-and-drop playlist creation and organization of media.”
• “Schedule shows and music by location and time of day.”
• “Location mapping and control: all locations are mapped. Just click on a location and view what is playing (both digital signage and music) in real time.”
• “Dashboards that track every player, location, and sync status.”
• “The Harmony solution includes a web-based control system and local players that can easily connect to any TV or existing audio distribution system.”

Most importantly, Cholnoky adds, he hopes ReQuest’s Harmony music server and digital signage solution will “invigorate [its] dealer base.”

The concept of getting into new markets and expanding CE pros’ businesses, he says, is “something positive” for the industry.