The Power of Digital Signage in the Power 5 Conferences

Connecting with students and faculty on a college campus—in a way that works for everyone—is a challenge that higher education institutions around the world face every day.

Between events, classes, and extracurricular activities, it can be hard to keep everyone informed and engaged. Many campuses have multiple communications tools in place for this very purpose.

This is where technology comes into play. And technology is something the Power 5 Conference schools know a lot about. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of campus communications technology for higher education institutions, illustrating this point with examples from Power 5 schools, as well as show how Poppulo serves the needs of these campuses.

Why Digital Signage is a Critical Student Comms Channel

Digital signage is one of the most critical student communication channels on college campuses because it can solve a variety of challenges. A campus-wide digital signage network is a great way to share information and announcements in real-time, which is especially important for time-sensitive communication such as emergency messaging.

Digital signage on your campus is also a great way to grab the attention of students, faculty, and visitors, as it's eye-catching and can be placed in high-traffic areas.

The Importance of Communications Technology in the Power 5 Conferences

Technology is a critical aspect of communication on college campuses, and it's no different in the Power 5 Conference schools. These schools are home to some of the best athletic programs in the country and have a large population of students, faculty, and staff to keep informed.

With the help of technology, schools can keep everyone up-to-date on events, process changes, and other important information.

There are several common digital signage applications used across Power 5 schools to keep everyone informed. These applications include event readerboards, menuboards, wayfinders, and meeting room signs, to name a few. Each of these applications is in use across the Power 5 conferences. Why? Because each campus needs to communicate those specific types of information, and digital signage from Poppulo is the most effective way of deploying that information.

At Poppulo, we understand the importance of these applications and have helped several universities, including Penn State, Arizona State, and the University of Colorado with their digital signage needs—both the common applications and the more innovative applications in use across some of the largest schools in the world."

How We Meet the Needs of the Power 5 Conferences

When it comes to the Power 5 Conferences, we understand the unique challenges that come with serving these large campuses. Our team has worked with several schools across the Power 5 and understands the importance of scalable campus-wide communications.

Poppulo’s digital signage platform is built to power hundreds of screens—from wayfinders and readerboards to study room signage, stadium signage, donor walls, and more. In fact, Poppulo powers 4,800+ screens across the Big Ten Conference, 1,000+ screens across the Pac-12 Conference, 1,000+ screens across the ACC Conference, 1,500+ screens across the Big-12 Conference, and over 300 screens in the SEC Conference.

With almost 9,000 screens across the Power-5 Conference schools alone, it’s clear that some of the top colleges and universities in the US rely heavily on Poppulo for student communications.

In Higher Education, the focus has been on consolidating like services for a couple of years, and when we took a look at digital signage, we needed a solution that would be both reliable and highly customizable to meet the needs of Penn State’s unique use cases. Working with Poppulo, we were able to consolidate into one centrally managed cloud-based system that worked for all of our use cases.” —Curtis Thompson, Systems Design Specialist, Penn State

Going Beyond the Expected to Deliver a Better Student Experience

At Poppulo, we strive to go beyond the expected to deliver a better student experience. We work closely with campuses to identify common use cases for digital signage, then explore other opportunities to create more unique, memorable experiences.

We take a consultative approach, partnering with schools to ensure their immediate needs are met, while also equipping them with the tools they’ll need for future growth. Often, we’ll partner with individual buildings to create unique student experiences. For example, we worked with the University of Calgary to create location-specific signage for the 265,000-square-foot Taylor Family Digital Library.

The Taylor Family Digital Library’s 35 kiosks, five media walls, and 84 interactive meeting rooms all run on Poppulo’s software, helping the University of Calgary streamline content management and enhance the library’s digital communications capabilities.

In addition to libraries, many schools turn to Poppulo for help with streamlining student communications within athletic venues, residence halls, and student unions, as well as for donor and alumni recognition. And in some cases—like the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Poppulo helps combine those use cases.

In the university’s North stadium entrance, visitors can use an interactive kiosk to learn more about current players and coaches, see historic game highlights, and even identify where donors’ names are on the large adjacent donor wall. With the right platform, both standard and unique applications can be created, deployed, and managed.

No Faculty or Staff Left Behind

While student communication is critical, it's important not to forget about faculty and staff. We know the student experience hinges on the faculty and staff at each campus. We understand the communication challenges facing higher education and have solutions that can solve these challenges.

Our email communication capabilities allow schools to personalize, target, and track email communications at scale, letting you personalize comms for departments, and faculty type, department, and more.

This level of personalization ensures you can reach your staff with the type of information they need to better serve students. Just take a look at how Augusta University uses Poppulo to reach faculty and staff, in addition to its students.

Or check out how Cambridge University Press and Assessment (yes, THAT Cambridge), used Poppulo’s analytics to create more engaging comms for its employees."

For years, Poppulo has been helping colleges and universities improve their communication with students, faculty, and staff. We understand the unique challenges that come with serving large campuses, and our solutions are built to handle these challenges.

Whether it’s digital signage or email communication, we have the tools and expertise to create a more engaging and personalized experience for everyone on your campus. To learn more about how we can help consolidate your communications stack and improve communications at your school, contact us today.