Barclays banks on a-v experience

Barclays posted £6.1bn in pre-tax profits for the year ending 2008 as AV was going to press - not bad for a recession. In fact, ever since the credit crunch started, the bank has taken a contrary approach to that of many of its rivals, snubbing Government bailouts and strengthening its balance sheet with cash from the Middle East.

It's a stance that is holding strong when it comes to the customer experience in branch.

Rather than tighten its belt, just before Christmas, Barclays unveiled a hi-tech concept at its new Piccadilly Circus site in London, elements of which will eventually be rolled out across its 1,733 branches. Central to the interior is a-v, and while the bank won't reveal how much it cost, the concept takes in more than 40 screen technologies and ultrasonic audio.

Informing and entertaining

For Nicolas Parmaksizian, Barclays head of business development, the key objective was to 'improve the customer waiting experience in a way that is interesting, informative and entertaining.

'A-v technology facilitates an engaging interaction across rich and varied content, for example, by providing information and entertainment at the counter line and in other waiting areas. We also decided to use a-v technology at the front of the branch, day and night, to draw attention to it in a fun and interactive way,' he says.

So when visitors walk through the bank's huge, curved glass doors to a line of ATMs, opposite is a 6x4 flat panel Orion videowall. Passing through the branch, customers come across digital signage behind the customer services' desks and sensor-activated picture frames, which are programmed to run video clips on demand when visitors stand in front of them. Ceiling-mounted cameras pick up visitor proximity to the display and ultrasonic speakers activate the speakers.

The counters are open, there are no glass dividers, giving customers a sense of inclusion. Additional staff, equipped with handheld PCs that are linked to customer information, walk around the floor assisting customers.

Touching the Surface

The bank is also piloting Microsoft's Surface technology, which enables users to interact with digital content through natural hand gestures and touch. Located on the top floor of the Piccadilly branch, in the Premier Lounge, the tables offer information and infotainment to customers, which Microsoft developed specifically for this project. The Premier Lounge is also used for training and meetings and has a Sanyo projector and retractable screen.

'Early research shows Microsoft Surface is popular with customers and staff, providing information and entertainment in an interactive and innovative way. The tables have proven to be a fantastic tool to entertain customers, but also inform about the features and benefits of our products,' says Parmaksizian.

Adopting such a technologically heavy project is a brave step for a bank, where the target market spans the entire adult demographic. As you'd expect, it's not something that has been undertaken lightly.

Parmaksizian explains: 'Customers decided what element of the design and components would be included in the store. As part of our programme, we developed an Innovation Test Centre, where more than 200 customers were invited to test and provide feedback on what made a difference to their experience and what did not.

'A-v technology was strongly highlighted as a key driver to an enhanced retail experience,' he says.

Night vision

Outside of opening hours, the front of the branch is transformed into the 'Night Life' screen. This installation picks up the image of passersby using face-recognition technology and broadcast-quality cameras and creates moving silhouettes on the screen, together with thought bubbles containing random messages.

While the scheme is impressive, the glaring omission is the absence of video-conferencing facilities. Parmaksizian says Barclays uses video-conferencing internally, but although it was trialled at the Innovation Test Centre as a means to communicate with customers for specialist consultations, face-to-face contact came out on top.

Safety first

The installation was done by DRV and Barclays Media Services team. DRV installed the audio-visual equipment and worked with creative agency The One Off to realise the concepts for the Barclays branch in a tight eight-week schedule.

For John Eden-Green, DRV's systems design and development manager, it was the out-of-hours installation that proved challenging. The seven-metre-wide rear projection screen comes down behind the branch's doors when it is closed. 'There were a lot of concerns about safety,' he says. 'The bank was worried about what would happen with the screen in an emergency or if the screen didn't retract when the bank opened at 7am. These are questions we had to resolve to marry the conceptual design and reality of the working branch.'

Screen content in the branch can be changed as required. All screens run C-nario digital signage software delivering primary content or as a back up and are driven from rack-mounted PCs supplied by Digital Video Systems. The signal distribution for the content is over CAT5 cable using Mauve and Adderlink interfaces.

A Crestron AV2 Control processor monitors the timing of the 'Night Life' display and status of a-v hardware, emailing fault reports to DRV support staff in the event of equipment failure. A Crestron TPS6x touch screen provides limited local user control, with full control provided to the Barclays multi-media helpdesk over the Barclays data network. The Orion videowall was provided by PSCo.

As well as innovative technology, the Piccadilly site has full banking functionality for all personal, Premier, mortgage and local business customers.

Mike Amata, Barclays chief distribution and product officer, says inspiration for the branch came from retailers such as Apple and Nike to build 'not only a branch of the future, but one befitting the iconic setting at Piccadilly. 'We have embraced innovative technology, which we expect to attract the interest of the Piccadilly community and, of course, enable our customers to interact with us in a way that suits them.'

AV KIT
- 1 x 7m x 4.5m motorised rear-projection screen - Screen International
- 1 x projector - Sanyo XF47 with 0.8:1 Lens
- 1 x projector hoist - Audipack 1070
- 9 x cameras - Sony HQ1 bullet cameras
- 1 x seamless videowall - 24 x Orion 4230 plasma screen with
Burn-in-Compensation software. Running at 3,200 x 1,200 resolution
- 7 x touchscreen podiums - Elo 1537L
- 8 x 21in gallery screen - NEC E221W
- 1 x 32in gallery screen - NEC LCD3215
- 6 x HSS H450 directional ultrasonic loudspeaker
- 6 x Banking Hall screen - NEC various sizes