1. OVERVIEW
Dynamic Visual Systems (DVS) helps advertising, retail
and corporate clients deliver marketing campaigns on
digital displays across Australia and overseas. DVS also
provides services for managing and updating digital
content on screens in multiple locations simultaneously –
all at the push of a button.
THE PROBLEM
Darren Coles, Business Development Manager at DVS, says
that loading content on digital displays was very hands on,
until recently.
Just as printed billboards are refreshed by hand, most content
on digital displays used to be manually updated by technicians.
This meant plugging in a memory stick to load each display’s
hard drive with new images and software.
Clients that wanted to frequently refresh content across a
network of screens faced the added costs of extra site visits by
technicians or the large upfront expense of running fixed line
internet connections to each site.
In March 2010, DVS rolled out new services for advertisers
on those displays that were connected to the internet. The
advantages of internet-connected displays were obvious:
images and software could be updated on demand from a
central control system; and DVS had a fast way to deliver ‘live’
updates and interactivity to screens in shopping malls, offices
and pedestrian concourses.
As Coles explains, when you have remote access to the
computer inside the display screen then information can flow
both ways – opening up new opportunities for connecting
with consumers.
However, while it’s fairly easy to get electrical power to
displays, getting fixed line internet access in places like
shopping centres is a whole other challenge.
DVS needed a better way to set up and manage real-time data
connections for all sites – at a price clients were willing to pay.
THE SOLUTION
DVS quickly ruled out connecting fixed internet lines to
more displays mainly due to the costs of putting new cables
in at each site.
“If the screen is in the middle of a concourse you’d have to
run cables all the way from the exchange,” explains Coles.
“Try turning to the owners of the shopping centre and
saying: ‘You know that lovely marble that you’ve laid? I want
to dig it up’ –they tend to frown upon it.”
Standard wireless was also dismissed because DVS would
still have to install a fixed line connection for a Wi-Fi hub at
each location. Plus, because reinforced concrete interferes
with the signal, several wireless transmitters would also
have to go in just to bounce the signal to each display.
In February 2011 DVS tested mobile broadband modems
and 3G SIMs using the Telstra Next G®
network to transmit
data between a content management system in the Sydney
head office and displays in shopping centres.
M2M AT THE HEART OF DYNAMIC VISUAL DISPLAY NETWORK

2. TELSTRA M2M EVERYTHING CONNECTED
™ and ® are trade marks and registered trade marks of Telstra Corporation Limited
ABN 33 051 775 556.
Coles says it was an easy decision to stick with its existing
communications provider. Telstra’s Next G network already
delivered fast and reliable national connectivity to team
members’ own mobile devices when working in the field:
“We knew Telstra’s mobile network worked for us. In addition
they offered us their Telstra Wireless Machine-to-Machine
Control Centre platform which is a unique web-based
management platform for managing all the SIMs and mobile
data plans required for the signs to function on the network.”
From there, DVS saw a window of opportunity to be a market
leader in the advertising industry and pioneer new formats.
By May 2011 DVS had put hundreds of Telstra Next G SIMs
into displays so more customers could run engaging ‘live’
advertising campaigns across the remote data connections.
Maintenance tasks became easier too, as the software on all
displays with SIMs inside them can be managed from a central
server, reducing the number of technician call outs, which
typically cost $150-450 each.
As data usage increased so too did the pressure on DVS to
control costs. New SIM management tools were added to the
Telstra Wireless M2M Control Centre in December 2011, which
Coles describes as ‘lifesaving’:
“The Telstra Wireless M2M Control Centre’s complete view of
data usage down to individual SIMs and plans shows us which
units are using the most data. We can go back to a client and
say, ‘You’re absolutely storming through your data, we need to
assign you a different group plan’. This means we are better
placed to manage costs for our customers and ourselves.”
BUSINESS BENEFITS
DVS now manages around 600 SIMs inside displays for its
customers. As Coles notes, these clients specialise in media,
not IT, so having more control over data usage is reassuring:
“Being able to micromanage every SIM in your network and
adjust plans for the most cost-effective bandwidth is what best
serves the client – that’s what it’s about.”
When new campaigns are booked DVS typically orders large
bundles of SIMs online from Telstra. From the moment a SIM
in a sign is provisioned, which is done remotely, it becomes
trackable. This also saves costs as the service only incurs
charges once it’s provisioned.
Coles says both the technical team and his MD and CFO have
embraced the new reporting tools in the Telstra Wireless M2M
Control Centre, which he notes makes it easy to update clients
on how their campaigns are tracking.
“Manually monitoring the system used to be hours of work,
now it’s minutes,” he notes. “And because we’ve automated
the alerts we’ve cut the time it takes to put a detailed report
together from 3-4 hours to less than 30 minutes. The Control
Centre gives us a lot more analytical data to help us forward
plan. As one headache is out of the way and everything is
automated, you can move on to concentrate on growth.”
The combination of the M2M Control Centre functionality
and the speed and reliability of the Telstra Next G network
helps drive growth in new areas, such as live feeds of locally-
relevant content and interactive screens.
Coles says a key factor in the success of any innovative
campaign is the reliability of the system delivering it: “The
responsiveness from Telstra means we get the updates we
need, we’ve got the Next G network that works, and the Telstra
Wireless M2M Control Centre gives us the micromanagement
of our SIMs. The biggest thing with all of this is that it works
for our clients. When they’re happy, we’re happy.”
The company’s commitment to delivering innovations to its
clients has helped increase revenue “exponentially” over
the last 12 months says Coles: “The network has doubled to
more than 600 displays, each with its own SIM, at more than
150 locations nationally. Having the right technology in place
means we’ve been able to quickly expand our reach – and as a
result we’ve doubled the business we’re doing.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT YOUR
TELSTRA ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE OR VISIT
telstra.com/business/m2m
dynamicvisualsystems.com.au
DATA CONNECTIONS MAKE ‘LIVE’ UPDATES ON DISPLAYS POSSIBLE