Flight Centre Australia’s Project Manager for Property and Technology Danny Do is, as his surname would suggest, a ‘doer’ in every sense, with an abundance of decisiveness and undeniably devoid of dithering.
So when he pondered Flight Centre’s purpose a few years back, the word ‘see’ struck a chord and set him on a path that has now seen over 10,000 VitrineMedia static backlit LED screens rolled out at some 800 outlets of the Australian arm of parent company and one of the world’s largest travel agency groups, Flight Centre Travel Group.
…we have not only experienced a surge in visits to our windows but have been inundated with favourable comments on the vibrancy of our displays.
“Our Group purpose is to open up the world for those who want to see it – and what better way to do so than by providing them with the most beautiful and alluring images of the many amazing places across the globe,” says Danny while looking in on one of the first Flight Centre Australia retail stores to receive the VitrineMedia makeover back in 2016.
“Our iconic character ‘The Captain’ has always been there to invite customers in but our previous displays didn’t give them that ‘wow’ moment. Sometimes the technology was on the blink, on other occasions the direct light washed out the visuals.
‘Our desire is to give customers enticing visual marketing messages around the clock, each and every day of the year, and when I put that to VitrineMedia Australia’s Managing Director Mike Toweel and he boldly stated that was precisely what his screens would do, I remember chuckling as in my line of work, a zero per cent hardware failure is just about unheard of.”
The laugh turned out to be on Danny as Mike’s pledge was not cheap talk, but a commitment based on experience and backed by VitrineMedia’s extensive research and development, meticulous manufacturing process and stringent quality control checks.
To date – that’s some three years and 10,000-plus screens later – there has not been a single hardware failure.
The Flight Centre installation comprises a mix of screen sizes and quantities depending on the nature and location of the retail outlets, with all stores having a least one A1, a drop of four A2s and a further drop of four A3s…and the larger sites multiple drops.
“Our shopfront windows are, second only to our staff, our biggest assets as they provide an opportunity to advertise our products, airfares and specials and increase our street presence,” continues Danny.
“And since the installation of the VitrineMedia screens, we have not only experienced a surge in visits to our windows but have been inundated with favourable comments on the vibrancy of our displays.
“We’ve now turned our attention to the remaining 250 or so stores in the Flight Centre Australia family – which includes the likes of Travel Associates and Student Flights – and aim to have all 1,100 outlets fitted with the flexible and modern VitrineMedia solution by the end of the current financial year.”
“So yes, you could say ‘see’ remains the operative word.”
“We’ve seen the light in VitrineMedia, our customers are seeing us in a far more positive light and are increasingly engaging with us, and Flight Centre is seeing a positive impact on our bottom line.”
