My colleague Daniela Stewart had the opportunity to ask a couple of questions about the new revolutionary branch office of T-Mobile in an interview with Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications

Immediately behind the entrance there is an LCD display of non-standard format attracting customers to come in.

In the centre of the shop there are two multi-touch displays in the horizontal position like tables. One allows for browsing through the tariffs and their comparisons, and the other is designed for entertainment and is equipped with music, ringing sounds and videos to download.

There are three more touch screens on the walls presenting the shop offer from accessories via telephone apparatuses to tariffs. Another large LCD screen with directed sound feature broadcasts advertising spots, news and tips for customers.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: We recently interviewed your colleague, Ms. Lucia Tarbajovská, about the 3D screens you have deployed in three of your Prague shops. Have you already evaluated this pilot project in any way?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:We have evaluated numbers of visitors to our shops, records of the shop assistants, who note down all questions about the digital technology, and other members of our staff, who have monitored the screens and the happenings around them. These data are hard to interpret, as they are very soft. It is difficult to specify whether the visitors came in the large numbers because of the digital imaging technology or for other reasons.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: Following the words of CEO of T-Mobile, Mr. Miroslav Rakowski, the main feature of the branch office is the freedom of movement. The recently launched new branch office of the Czech Post also emphasizes this feature as the main element of the new concept. Why is it so important?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:T-Mobile is a lifestyle brand harmonising with our claim “For Common Experiences”. That is why experiences and contacts are already important in the shop. Zličín is an experiment, which breaks the barriers between the customers and the shop assistants, who can be in close and permanent contact. The other shops only have a single contact point at the counter.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: This suggests another question: What is the reaction of your employees, for this certainly means more work for them.

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:To tell the truth the employees were not too enthusiastic in the beginning, for they lost their chair to sit down on and their background. Nevertheless I believe they finally coped with this, when they were instructed about the philosophy of the new branch. The motivation and the objectives of these shop assistants are also different from those of the staff of the other shops.

This is the pilot shop. The first similar shop was launched in Germany, the second in England and we are the third in the row. More shops of this kind are going to be launched in other European countries. Then we will be able to compare changes in customer behaviour and in staff motivation. After the pilot period we will assess whether to open more similar shops or not.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia:Will you assess the pilot shop within the framework of the Czech Republic or on the European level?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:The project will be assessed in the framework of the whole group. But we all know that there are certain specifics in the individual countries. People in our country are for example used to take a brochure and go. The new shop also offers this brochure, but on request only, which make the customers interact.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: The new shop may leave an impression that it has mainly been designed for the young generation. People used to taking a brochure and leaving immediately will not know how to interact.

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:The question is who these older people are, for they mostly use the Twist tariff and do not visit the shops. The young generation does not visit the shops either for they do not offer any great experience. The shops are therefore focused on the middle-age group who represent the majority of the shoppers. A shop exclusively designed for young people has been launched in Berlin, where the shop also includes a music club interconnected with the shop.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: What are your greatest expectations concerning the new digital technologies?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:The first expectation is to attract attention and to draw the customer to the shop. If the visitor enters the technology should invite him/her to explore new things to get as far as the product offer. The new digital technology thus offers a new enriching experience to the customers.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: What is the planned breakeven for the initial investment? Do you for example think about acceleration of progress to the breakeven point by renting advertising time of the digital platforms?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:We have invested not only to the shop, but also to the brand. If one of the values of our brand is innovation, then we want to be innovative.

At present we have executed contracts with phone apparatus manufacturers on presentations of selected products as the “tip of the month”, when the apparatus will be displayed within the broadcasting loops.

Within the short-term horizon we do not plan to sell advertising time, but we certainly will not be against it in the long run. At present we also sell advertising space of our web portals and start targeted advertising focused on our customers. So if an advertiser wants to address for example males around 30 with a particular profile then he will be able to send them a SMS with his offer. This has already been publicly tested. Of course one of the future options is to increase the number of carriers of promotional messages with the very digital signage. We will have to carefully consider, though, whether the financial asset will not be exceeded by the negative aspect of the customer confusion when he/she sees another company advertisement when entering a T Mobile shop.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: The shop has been in operation for a couple of weeks now. Have you already received any customer responses?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:I could obtain some next week when we will go to visit the shop.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: What criteria should be met by the initial evaluation of the shop?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:We expect favourable business results such as increased number of visitors, increased number of questions asked and answered by the shop assistants, increased sales… Simply speaking, these hard metrics is what we expect. We further assume some support of customer relationship to the brand, increased loyalty and brand awareness.

The former may be simply measured. The latter is harder to measure and we still work on a methodology of measurement of that, perhaps we will use a questionnaire or any other survey method.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: If the pilot project proves to be successful, do you know how you would like to proceed?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:If the results of the hard and the soft metrics turn out to be good, we would like to open more shops of this kind next year.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: Can you see a future in digital marketing and communication? Say within the horizon of a decade?

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BTL and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile CR:I personally believe that Digital Signage will be a supportive element which should become an integral part of communication and promotion. I think that the number of digital platforms will keep increasing. But the goods displays will not be eliminated by this, for we will still need to touch the actual product and try it, which is not possible yet through the digital platforms.

Daniela Stewart, PR and Marketing Manager, SuperMedia: Thank you very much.

About T-Mobile:

T-Mobile Czech Republic has been active on the Czech market since 1996. Since its incorporation it has placed emphasis on quality of the services offered and excellent care of its customers. As to 31 March 2009 the company served more than 5.4 million customers.

T-Mobile has been operator of a public mobile communications network with the GSM 900 MHz and 1800 MHz standard authorised to operate UMTS network. The company was the first to launch this third generation technology in the Czech Republic on 19 October 2005 under the name Internet 4G.

T-Mobile has been member of the international telecommunication group T-Mobile International. Thanks to the international background the customers can count on availability of services they are used to at home when they travel abroad, or make use of a single beneficial toll price.

Ing. Miroslav Jiřík, Senior Manager for BLT and Interactive Communications, T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s.

Ing. Jiřík took up the position of Senior Manager for BLT and Interactive Communications with T-Mobile Czech Republic in 2005, but he has been with the company since 2003 already. Two years before taking up this position he worked as Brand Manager with T-Mobile Czech Republic. Before that he had been Electronic Media Manager with Czech Telecom.

Miroslav Jiřík is a graduate of the College of Economics in Prague.

The LCD displays at the counters are used as a flexible communication tool controlled by the counter staff from the touch screen of an IP phone. In addition to the standard content of the screen, consisting of the photograph and the name of the staff member behind the counter and the digital customer call system, the screen may also be used for further information needed by the client and for marketing communications.

A large LCD display, visible from all corners of the branch office, informs about postal products, services and recent developments. The bottom text line of the display shows information taken over from ČT 24 TV channel. The screen audio signal uses the AudioSpotlight technology, and thus the customer sitting on chairs and waiting may listen to the news and current information without the staff working behind the counters being disturbed by the sound.

I had a chance to ask a couple of questions about the new branch office of the Czech Post in an interview with Mr. Petr Dobrý of brand marketing department.

What was the primary impulse for establishment of the modern branch office of the Czech Post? Did you take inspiration abroad, for example?

The first impulse came directly from the customers, who required open counters and direct contact with the staff, and was followed by the requirement for a better work environment for the staff. All this was supported by the idea of a unified modern appearance to serve for the purpose of improvement of the company image.

We did look for examples internationally and created a benchmark before the work commenced. We personally visited for example the Slovak Republic, where open counters are already in operation.

What is the expected purpose of the new digital communication at the branch? What do you expect from its deployment?

Better information for the customers, followed by quicker satisfaction of their requirements.

Your company is the first company in your field in the Czech Republic using the directed sound technology Audiospotlight®. How did you decide to make use of this technology?

We believe that a combination of image and sound is more effective than just an image without sound, for two senses and involved in the perception instead of one.

Do you plan selling advertising time of the audiovisual screen?

We will see. First of all we need to build the business case and then we may decide on its basis.

The Czech Post periodical informs that the new branch shows the direction in which your company plans to continue in future. Do you plan opening more such branches in near future?

This post office is a pilot one and more will follow. But please do not expect a rocket start, for the new branch first needs to be tested and then the next branches need to be selected for the remodelling.

Will you assess effectiveness of digital communication at the new branch office in “Eden”?

Digital communication at the Eden branch is mostly image-based, we may measure the reach on the basis of the number of visitors to the branch and increased sales of the communicated services.

Have you already collected the first reactions of your staff or your clients on the new branch?

Yes, we have already received the first positive reactions of our employees and our clients.

Is the pilot branch post office a “model” for the next implementations or will you design installation of Digital Signage individually for every branch?

My answer to this question will be a little Salomon-like. Of course the pilot branch is a “model”, but we will also proceed with regard to the individual needs of the other branches.

What in your opinion is the greatest asset of the new technology for Czech Post offices?

I will first answer as the post office customer: I can see the asset in the fact that this is another place where I will not be disturbed when I will not want to. If I passively wait for my turn and I do not need to concentrate on my next communication, I can (this is primarily male art) perceive other information flows, which might help me or attract me.

And now I will answer as the post office staff member, who works in a similar branch office before Christmas – I will not be disturbed and after a time woken up from my night sleep with the never-ending Christmas carols.

How are the employees accepting the new technologies? Are they not afraid, for example, that the new technologies threaten their employment?

By no means, they perceive the new technologies as great support for their work, and what is most important, they feel in the branch office equipped with these new technologies as part of the modern business world.

The content of the broadcast is provided by the Czech Post or by someone else?

The content on the screens is provided by the Czech Post in cooperation with external suppliers.

Do you want to say something as a conclusion?

Apart from the new branch office we have introduced the unified visual style to our web site, all publicity campaigns and printed promotional materials.

The SuperScreen.cz project is taking steps to change this situation. We have come to realize that information must get through to people who are involved in the construction, reconstruction or innovation of buildings like hotels, shopping and business centers, and social, sports and cultural buildings …

The international trade fair For Arch has a long term tradition in the Czech Republic and is a place where architects, designers and investors from Europe and beyond can meet up every year. Such a concentration of the right people in a single place provides an excellent opportunity to guide them towards the digital future of communication with the public as well as companies, which should not be missed!

For Digital Signage is the first Digital Signage exhibition in the Czech Republic. Being under the same roof as the For Arch trade fair guarantees a high number of visiting investors and developers i.e. people who decide on the future of the digital face of buildings in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe.

The objective of the event is not only to present the state of the art in Digital Signage technology but also to give a clear declaration of the way in which digitalization will develop both in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe, on which the FOR Arch trade fair has a fundamental influence.

For Digital Signage will include a conference zone focusing on the individual disciplines of Digital Signage, where exhibitors will have the opportunity to present their digital solutions for hotels, shopping and business centers, and sports grounds.

We have learned more about this pilot project from Lucia Tarbajovská, Vice President for Marketing Communications of T-Mobile, in our interview with her.

Daniela Stewart, SuperMedia: What was the decisive aspect of your decision to use 3D displays by Spatial View for your company promotion? Did you choose from more product types?

Lucia Tarbajovská, T-Mobile: We always try to present our offer to our customers most effectively, build image of our company, engage and educate our customers. We wanted to attract more people to our stores by this novel way, and also to test the new medium. The current 3D display project begins with a two-month pilot run in two different localities. After that we will see how successful the new medium was and on that basis we will decide about how to continue.

DS: Placement of a digital display behind the glass of a shop window is not always the best choice for the glass sometimes blurs the image. Did you count with that?

LT: The Spatial View Company guaranteed no refraction of the image and no distortion of the 3D effect.
I think that the screen effectiveness is much enhanced by the very placement of them. This will clearly be the main factor deciding about effectiveness of use of the new technology.

DS: What content will be displayed on the screens during the two-month pilot operation?

LT: The screens will show a single spot related to our ongoing campaign. The installation of these monitors has been a challenge for our agencies for they were for the first time commissioned to prepare spots for this technology.

DS: What do you expect from deployment of the digital 3D displays?

LT: The main objective is to attract more customers to our stores.

DS: Do you try to keep pace with the young generation by the application of digital signage and to address this age group in that way?

LT: Our stores are not focused on the young generation but they are for all customers interested in our products and services. Of course we try to keep pace with technological progress but every new technical development must first serve its respective purpose.

DS: How do you view use of digital signage in the media mix of your publicity campaigns?

LT: By means of digital media we are able to increase variability of our communications more than by means of the static media. I can see a great potential in this area but everything always depends on the chosen communication objective. That is the purpose of the digital media, their role in the communications, the moment at which they affect the customer and obviously what you expect from them.

Nevertheless, advertisements should not be bothering. Enforced advertisements do annoy. The advertisers must think like the customers, must be able to view things through the customers´ eyes and plan the media accordingly. On the other hand the media should represent added value for the customers.

I can imagine a situation of not having my favourite music in my player and being bored on a bus stop and suddenly seeing the digital panel offering download of music by my favourite performers. In that situation I would probably buy something. Or I would like to listen to something through the medium or find out information interesting for me.

Digital media open incredible horizons thanks to their interactivity. They are able to penetrate further, and they allow immediate transaction, with increased freedom for the customer.

DS: If the pilot run proves good, how will you proceed?

LT: We will first wait for the results. But we will certainly not place the 3D screens to all stores. If the monitors increase numbers of customers coming to the stores than we would probably place them in the stores with low customer frequency.

DS: Thank you for your answers.

Bc. Lucia Tarbajovská, Manager of Marketing Communications of T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. Ms. Tabajovská accepted the job of manager of marketing communications with T-Mobile Czech Republic in June 2006.

Before that she had gathered professional experience not only in Slovakia, but also in the United Arab Emirates and in the Czech Republic. She had worked in different marketing positions for example with Globtel GSM, ČESMAD SLOVAKIA, Samsung Gulf Electronics or Bang & Olufsen Middle East and Montblanc.

Before joining T-Mobile she had worked with Vodafone Czech Republic, where she significantly contributed to rebranding communication. Lucia Tarbajovská took a BA course with major focus on marketing at National American University in the United Arab Emirates. Currently she is a MBA student at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership, Steinbeis University in Berlin.

About T-Mobile: T-Mobile Czech Republic has been active on the Czech market since 1996. Since its incorporation it has placed emphasis on quality of the services offered and excellent care of its customers. As to 31 March 2009 the company served more than 5.4 million customers.

T-Mobile has been operator of a public mobile communications network with the GSM 900 MHz and 1800 MHz standard authorised to operate UMTS network. The company was the first to launch this third generation technology in the Czech Republic on 19 October 2005 under the name Internet 4G.

T-Mobile has been member of the international telecommunication group T-Mobile International. Thanks to the international background the customers can count on availability of services they are used to at home when they travel abroad, or make use of a single beneficial toll price.

For more information about the company please visit www.tpress.cz or www.t-mobile.cz

I will be looking at their new strategy of using digital media in-store within the Czech Republic.

Nonetheless, I was delighted when the company Dallmayer Kaffee made 200 coffee machines available with a waterproof 19” digital display last spring – this is a nice example of digital street furniture and uses BroadSign software we believe, Ed. These electronic machines are linked with a control computer and communicate with a control room through a Wi-Fi Internet connection.

Watching the screen whilst waiting for your coffee makes the wait far more pleasant even if you are only watching adverts as some of them are quite funny. The machines can be found in locations which have been selected based on the number of drinks sold there. I myself have bought one of these digital coffees at a fuel station and one in a shopping center. Further machines can be found in certain hospitals, governmental authorities, office buildings and other frequented places.

Apart from the fact that the screens provide waiting customers with amusement, they also give the advertiser accurate information on the recipient of the advert which can be deduced from the number of drinks served. By installing these advertising screens the operator has gained control over the amount of coffee mixture, sugar and water in the machines.

It would also be a good idea to introduce “tailor-made adverts” based on the type of coffee bought and thus the target group or it would also be possible to install touch screens offering entrainment and maybe discount coupons, in addition to their commercial uses. They could also be connected to your mobile to be used even more effectively.

This is possibly the future in the Czech Republic and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for it!

By the end of the year there will be 800 of these coffee machines in the Czech Republic entertaining you whilst you wait for your coffee.

Anyway, the investment in renewal of the Prague ZOO counted on the building of an information centre, an internet presence and subsequently also information kiosks. Eight outdoor kiosks are situated in the busiest locations within the ZOO as shown here.

In addition to the map of the ZOO the kiosks detail the inhabitants of the zoological garden, including photographs and descriptions of the animals living there.

The visitors to the ZOO can also see the most recent (animal) acquisitions and various planned events at the ZOO.

Another nice function is taking one´s own photo with a mini camera placed right in the kiosk. The visitors can then have their photo sent to any e-mail address selected by them.

The recipient of the e-mail will subsequently receive the photograph in a nicely designed frame of the Prague ZOO. You may thus have a nice memory of the day in the ZOO or a tip for a trip for your friends. This is an excellent marketing move for recommendation is one of the most effective forms of promotion.

The kiosks also attract children for simple games with animal themes. The information content is completed with an abbreviated version of the ZOO web site and the visitors can communicate to the ZOO management their observations and comments.

Thanks to the information kiosks, among other things, the number of visitors to the Prague ZOO keeps increasing year by year and on 4 April the daily visitors´ record was exceeded by 20,048 persons.

Whilst Euro 2008 may not have ended up too well for the Czech national football team the demand for rental LED screens in the Czech Republic has increased exponentially since then – most notably at large music festivals and various summer promotions.

We are seeing some serious sized screens on some crazy vehicles as shown here.