AccuWeather and WireSpring Make Digital Signage Content More Compelling

Companies partner to integrate AccuWeather’s weather and news modules with WireSpring’s FireCast software

STATE COLLEGE, PA – AccuWeather, Inc. announced its partnership with WireSpring Technologies, Inc. to deliver dynamic weather content to digital signage networks using the FireCast® digital signage platform. The companies aim to create more effective digital signage content by offering an affordable, customizable, and fully licensed way to display localized weather content on digital signs.

Digital signage has become a popular way to reach captive, out-of-home audiences, but, without relevant content, viewers may pay less and less attention to these displays over time. Including dynamic weather information in digital signage content loops can help to combat viewer fatigue, as widespread interest in weather ensures that audiences are attracted to the screens. However, previous attempts to leverage weather content on digital signs have suffered from a lack of timeliness, localization, and effective on-screen presentation.

“Weather for digital signage needs to be more than a scrolling ticker or side bar,” notes Scott Homan, AccuWeather’s Director of Public Displays. “Making weather an integral part of the show allows it to command the same power on digital signage as on the local evening news, and the FireCast system makes it easy for network owners to realize that value.”

To best address the needs of this emerging market, AccuWeather and WireSpring are offering weather and news content modules optimized for either full-screen or multi-frame digital signage applications. The modules, which provide text, video, and animated graphics, are easy to use, can be customized for different types of weather (e.g. local forecast vs. weather trivia) and automatically show content that corresponds to the physical location of the digital sign. Since all content is delivered securely to each sign, it will continue to play even if AccuWeather changes its website or the screen’s Internet connection is temporarily disabled.

Given its near-universal appeal, weather and news content is expected to play a role in many digital signage deployments in 2007. AccuWeather’s compelling graphics, animations and videos overcome the negatives of presenting weather content in a scrolling ticker. Tickers may actually decrease advertising recall as viewers focus on the ticker and not the advertisements.

As Bill Gerba, WireSpring’s CEO notes, “Working with AccuWeather, we can now deliver news and weather content that complements the merchandising and marketing content running on many of our networks. This provides new benefits for digital signage network owners, while improving the in-store experience for shoppers.”
About WireSpring Technologies, Inc.
WireSpring helps retail organizations streamline their sales process and communicate more effectively with customers at the point-of-decision. The company’s FireCast product line is used to power new merchandising initiatives, including instant credit kiosks and in-store TV networks, for retailers worldwide. For more information visit www.wirespring.com.

About AccuWeather, Inc.
AccuWeather, The World’s Weather Authority®, presents accurate, localized, branded forecasts and severe weather bulletins to over 106 million Americans each day via the Internet, mobile devices and IPTV, through the airwaves, and in print. AccuWeather delivers a portfolio of customized products and services to media, business, government, and institutions, and informs millions of visitors worldwide through the free AccuWeather.com website. AccuWeather also provides content onto more than 20,000 third-party Internet sites, including CNN Interactive, ABC’s owned and operated stations, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Visit www.accuweather.com for more information.

AccuWeather, Inc.
385 Science Park Road
State College, PA 16803
Contact: Scott Homan
(814) 237-0309 ext.7743
homan@accuweather.com
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