John Deere adds digital signage to 34 retail sites

MOLINE, Ill. — Nortrax Inc., a John Deere distributor, has deployed a digital signage network from StrandVision LLC at 34 sites across North America. The digital signage displays, large-format flat-screen LCD or plasma monitors, are located at Nortrax dealer service and parts counters. They present a range of information from local weather and news, product profiles and promotions, to John Deere videos and advertisements.

The network began as a single-screen pilot a few years ago at a dealer in Eau Claire, Wis. Other locations across the U.S. and Canada signed on with StrandVision. Now, under a corporate agreement that covers all of the licenses, Nortrax has expanded the network to all 34 locations.

“What started as an experiment at one of our locations has developed into a major point-of-sale communications tool for us,” said Clark Johnson, vice president, product support, Nortrax. “StrandVision worked closely with us to develop a system that gives us the ability to communicate a consistent message, while empowering our locations to customize and control the presentation at the local level.”

Corporate control, local flavor

Nortrax developed a corporate template for the digital signage pages for a consistent look and layout. It shares a number of fully prepared content pages with dealers based on the region or type of store. In addition, local and regional administrators add their own specific content to individual or regional display networks.

Using StrandVision’s Web-based dashboard, administrators log onto the password-protected server over the Internet and, based on their authorization levels, access their regional signage network. Nortrax corporate has authorization to update all screens on the network, while regional administrators have control of only their assigned local screens.

Nortrax also distributes videos, including commercials and product demonstrations, from the StrandVision servers. The videos (some with audio) are automatically stored locally on the dealers’ digital signage systems to minimize network traffic. The videos are mixed in with the digital signage page lineup and automatically run as they come up in the rotation.

The Nortrax network includes locations in Florida, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as Ontario, Canada. More than 12 corporate and regional administrators manage the system. Additional users, including information technology/technical and administrative/accounts payable, also have appropriate administrative access.