Large car dealership uses Omnivex software in customer lounge

Customer overview

On March 3rd, 1958, Ken Shaw opened a small automotive service station on Dundas Street West in Toronto. From these beginnings Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota has grown into one of Canada's largest and most respected family owned automotive dealerships with over 5 acres to serve their customers' automotive needs.

Corporate is great but you can't beat the family and team spirit at Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota. This atmosphere has helped to build a local reputation for honesty and service satisfaction as well as making customers feel comfortable knowing they are receiving the best in professionalism and knowledge at competitive prices.

Project scope

As part of the dealership's on-going customer service initiatives, Ken Shaw's management installed a plasma screen in the facility's customer lounge to replace the existing television set. They wanted to engage their customers with information that fit the environment that they had created. This screen needed to be more than just a large television, as they wanted to incorporate Toyota's corporate marketing content as well as the dealership's promotional messages into the presentation.

"We looked at several digital signage solutions and determined that we could achieve everything we wanted using a PC based solution to show content on the screen", said Paul Shaw, Vice President of Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota.

Omnivex solution

Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota selected Omnivex software as the solution to meet their display requirements. The Omnivex Display Player assembles and displays content on the plasma screen, including satellite television, Toyota media assets and instant messages that are inputted by personnel within the showroom.

With Omnivex Display, the television signal from the existing satellite receiver can be placed and sized on the plasma screen exactly as required. The signal is not stretched or distorted in any way and they are able to take advantage of the plasma's wide format to include other information on the screen in conjunction with the television signal.

The satellite receiver's output signal is connected to a graphics card residing on the PC that drives the plasma screen. Omnivex Display is used to select the source from the graphics card and include that signal with other information to appear on the screen.

Other information such as Toyota's promotional video files (Apple QuickTime or Windows Media formats), product images and instant messages are assembled and transmitted across the dealership's computer network to the Player PC. The program is maintained and executed on that local PC, so network traffic is minimal. Promotional messages pertaining to new car purchases or servicing a current vehicle can easily be added to the Player content. Adding promotional messages to entertainment media allows customers to become better informed before they talk to a Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota employee and this benefits both parties.

Instant messages can be inputted and scrolled across the screen from any networked PC through Omnivex DataPipe.  "I can add or change a message from my desk and it will instantly appear on the screen", said Annie Lechtowski, Ken Shaw's Office Administrator.  "I don't have to worry about the font, colour or any other formatting. The software does that automatically for me," added Ms. Lechtowski.

The Plasma screen is automatically turned on before the dealership opens every morning and turned off shortly after closing using Omnviex Control.  "A simple thing like making sure that the screen gets turned off every night maximizes my plasma screen investment by extending the screen's life and I don't have to assign a staff member to do this everyday," added Paul Shaw.

Results

With the Omnivex system, Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota keeps their customers entertained with satellite programming and keeps them informed with their own messages and the latest news from Toyota.  "The system requires little maintenance and our customers comment on how much better the picture looks over the original television set. We also have noticed an increase in the number of product inquiries when we run specific promotional messages on the screen. Our customers are watching and are impressed," added Paul Shaw.

Better communications is just good business, whether it is for your customers, your employees or both. At Ken Shaw Lexus Toyota the focus is on creating the right environment to keep the customer informed and happy.