Krispy Kreme optimizes the customer experience with a complete digital signage solution

The infrastructure has different solutions such as menu board, in different formats and configurations, vertical totems and videowall. To manage this complete digital signage network, Embed Signage software is being used.

Krispy Kreme is a company whose origins go back to 1937 in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). However, will be in 2003 when disembarking in the United Kingdom, in Harrods. currently, sells its donuts at gas stations, shopping malls and hypermarkets. It has a presence in more than 1.100 stores with partners like Tesco, Morrisons, Welcome Break and outlets Center Parcs.

With the aim of carrying out a complete digital transformation, commissioned your IT solution provider, Theravada, that subcontracted to Eclipse Digital, to provide a variety of digital signage services, including hardware architecture, supply, installation and support.

Krispy Kreme UK has been deploying digital menu boards in its Theatre stores, Rockets, Drive Thrus and fresh produce from across the UK. These have been designed in different configurations and formats including totems Drive Thru verticals and landscape internal promotional screens, as well as single screen portrait and landscape equipment, in 5×1 and 2×1 in portrait, in 3×1 in landscape, and large format.

Theravada proporciona la solución completa a Krispy Kreme UK con la tecnología de pantalla, installation services and support. Provisioning and configuring media players, software and hardware has been in charge of Eclipse Digital.

Embed Signage is the digital signage software that has been used in this project and offers support for unlimited resolution settings. Provides tools that allow campaigns to be easily scheduled and rules are specified to trigger different content.

The software includes functionality to synchronize the content, integrate external systems such as Led lighting and for devices to activate content on other devices… in addition to many more features that Krispy Kreme uses depending on the store and the experience you want to offer the customer.

The content displayed in the board menu consists of a combination of images and prices along with animated promotional sections. Some animations cover only one screen, others than small sections of a screen.

“The main reason for choosing this technology is the user experience. I think it's the best option and not just visually, but also intuitively. In addition, the features are extensive and the team has provided great support”, comments Mike Tinnion, Senior Manager of Creativity and Content at Krispy Kreme UK.

Although digital menu boards are a key element for in-store initiatives, Krispy Kreme has gone much further to deliver customer experiences like GEN8 digital cabinets, located outside the premises and using presence detection as well as experiences Hot Now with dashboards that trigger content and lighting changes. All this is possible thanks to the integration.

“We are able to do things like content synchronization, integrate external systems for processes such as lighting control and presence detection, use tablets to activate content on other screens, add tags for playlist creation, program specific content for each place, in addition to having all kinds of different resolutions, what is very important for our stores, where we use unique screen sizes such as headers and Led walls", explains Phil Goldsmith, Content Executive of Krispy Kreme UK.

Menu board

Digital menu boards are used in most Theatre and Fresh stores across the UK and have been deployed in various configurations.,s as a single screen in portrait format, vertical 5×1 and 2×1, landscape 3×1, LCD videowall, large large format header screens, labels for outdoor shelves and IP65 solutions.

The primary board menu setting is 3×1 and each screen is used to display different content with promotions on either one or all screens.

In single store configurations, as Canary Wharf, where it extends along a walkway, a different approach is needed. With limited space, elongated header screens, shelf edge labels and direct view Led walls (Direct View) are used to deliver product information, prices and promotional messages.

“The infinite range of resolutions supported, through embedding, means maximum flexibility. When designing new stores or improving old ones there are no restrictions on what we can do with digital signage., which gives our stores a really fun and creative feel. practically, all devices are compatible and variety is there to meet every need”, clarifies Goldsmith.

GEN8 Cabinets

Krispy Kreme was looking to make fundamental changes to the way donuts were presented and sold in stores on partner sites like Tesco and Welcome Break., through the introduction of digital technology in their cabinets. The new digital cabinets, called 'GEN8' aimed to increase sales.

In January 2020, started a pilot project in 15 Tesco premises and 5 of Welcome Break. The results were analyzed according not only to income, but also to the behavior of buyers. The test was considered very positive and 140 more digital cabinets were deployed in Tesco stores in October.

“The initial trial has gone very well and now we will continue the deployment in many more. We are only at the beginning of this journey and there are great opportunities to further develop content to surprise and delight our customers at the point of sale.”, says Suk Nichols, Sales Director, Krispy Kreme UK.

GEN8 cabinets are a first for the Krispy Kreme brand worldwide. Include stretched header screens and shelf edge labels (SEL) that are designed to capture the attention of customers. Brand reinforcement content, as 'Made Fresh Daily' is shown in the headers along with a waterfall covering all SELs, giving the whole cabinet an undeniable presence. Curious consumers approach the cabinet and once they are close enough, their presence is detected and the content of the SEL changes to present the name of the product, the description, price and allergens.

Each cabinet, which has been designed and manufactured by Alrec and Theravada, has digital header screens (a front 37 inches and one on each side of 21 Inch), that are used to reinforce key brand messages, like 'Made Fresh Daily', as well as to provide specific and personalized content, depending on the store, the time of day and the season.

likewise, there is a high definition display of 15 internally mounted inches that are used to convey brand messages and promotional material such as “how it is done” or “Buy a dozen”.

Showcases also include digital shelf edge labels (SEL) that are used to display looping images (For example, a waterfall of 'donuts') to get the attention of customers, as well as complete specifications of the ingredients of the product, allowing customers to check for allergens.

Presence sensors are used to detect when someone is within a specific area in front of the cabinet. This causes content to change in SELs, that go from a cascade of donuts to fixed product information for the customer to make their purchase decision.

The cabinets include a led light strip at the bottom that illuminates the floor below giving a 'floating' effect. The color can be changed to match the brand's content and message.

All content, sensor parameters, the triggers and colors of the Led strip are controlled through a cloud-based digital signage software Embed Signage.

“The introduction of the GEN8 cabinet has rewarded Krispy Kreme with unprecedented sales and revenue in the off-premise business, and we hope that this will continue with the introduction of more such solutions in the near future.. None of this would have been possible without the experience and support of Embed Signage”, comments Phil Goldsmith, Content Executive at Krispy Kreme UK.

Led Direct View

Krispy Kreme UK first experimented with Led Direct View technology in its Baker Street store, where a long and wide space was transformed into a digital screen. This served to attract customers from afar.. Given its success, has expanded its implementation in other stores and with very creative ways.

Eclipse Digital opted for the solutions of Absen to install in different locations of interest. Screens that offer a pixel pitch of 2,4 mm in different formats and sizes.

In Canary Wharf two banners in portrait format have been installed on each side of the store that attract the attention of people who pass by; while the baker street has a header in portrait format. At the Westfield Stratford store, there is a curved concave Led screen that wraps around the area of the condiments, providing opportunities for smart, creative content to flow through the space.

Other stores will see the introduction of LED as Krispy Kreme adopts this technology..

With Embed software, Krispy Kreme can integrate direct vision Led displays in all ways, sizes and resolutions and also has the ability to control brightness with TCP or RS232. Embed has several features designed specifically for the deployment of Led screens, such as the ability to specify the exact size and position of pixels for content playback, as well as creating designs with the exact resolution of pixels.

Hotlight Experiences

At your Westfield Stratford location, a solution was sought that offered a real 'spectacle' when making donuts. In the Hot Now are made in the moment and customers see it. This is known as Hotlight.

It all starts with a touchscreen tablet 10 inches where staff can activate the Hot Now countdown. They press a button on the screen and this starts the countdown on the digital menus board of 5×1. While this is happening, the content changes every time 5 minutes, including a full-screen promotion in crescendo in both the digital menus in 5×1 portrait and in the portrait format of 2×1.

Once the countdown is over, the content changes to the menu Hot Now and promotional, the lights are dimmed in the store and the main entrance of the store is activated.

Para offers this experience Hot Now a POE touch screen is used 10 Inch, for the activation of the countdown; videowall screen of Samsung with digital signage media players iBase for portrait menus of 2×1 and 5×1, and Tiger power units with iBase players for lighting control.

Content integration, communication with the device and lighting system is managed through embed signage software.

Drive Thrus

The 'Krispy Kreme Drive Thrus' are highly successful locations in the UK and Ireland, and every year more are launched.

In addition to the digital board menus inside the stores, Krispy Kreme also needed digital displays to provide promotional material and menu content..

Theravada designed, supplied and installed Krispy Kreme's custom-made drive thru totems in collaboration with IVC Signs. These include Samsung's high-brightness outdoor displays along with iBase's digital signage media players..

Other articles on Absen, Absen LED, Alrec, Eclipse Digital Media, Embebed Signage, iBASE Technology, IVC Signs, Krispy Kreme, Samsung, Theravada