Ecast announced Wednesday (Sept. 10) an upgrade for its digital touchscreen jukebox network in bars and nightclubs. The new Ecast product, dubbed Ecast EQ, sports larger screens and new interactivity.
Full nationwide distribution across 10,000 bars and nightclubs is scheduled for later this year with current installations in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
EQ features a vertically-oriented, 40-inch flat-panel design with a 1080p high-definition touchscreen. Like the previous incarnation of Ecast, the network is powered via broadband Internet. New interactive features allow patrons to text message each other, share photos and content, along with accessing Ecast's vast catalog of music, games, surveys and advertising.
Full nationwide distribution across 10,000 bars and nightclubs is scheduled for later this year with current installations in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
EQ features a vertically-oriented, 40-inch flat-panel design with a 1080p high-definition touchscreen. Like the previous incarnation of Ecast, the network is powered via broadband Internet. New interactive features allow patrons to text message each other, share photos and content, along with accessing Ecast's vast catalog of music, games, surveys and advertising.
Our take:
With this announcement, Ecast has essentially stated that they will have one of the largest and most technically advanced digital signage networks anywhere in the country -- soon. Given their huge footprint already and the positive results they've seen with some pretty creative alternative marketing schemes using their jukebox network, we imagine that the upgrade to larger screens and more elaborate content management capabilities will further their ability to monetize network time while still delivering their trademark digital music programs.
The Ecast network has also proven to be a valuable research tool for those wondering how social media might work in out-of-home environments. Again, their upgrade to larger screens that can compete with the big LCD TVs frequently found in bars should improve their performance in this sector as well.
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