It’s always exciting to see a customer’s use of digital signage develop over the years. So, it was fantastic to catch up with Apex2100 and hear how things have changed since our last case study in 2021. We met with Roni Hamilton, Commercial Manager, and Jonny Raby, Digital Marketing Manager, to talk about new initiatives throughout the academy for both resident athletes and visitors.
Apex2100 started using TrilbyTV for their digital signage when the academy first opened in 2020. A state of the art facility located in Tignes, France, Apex2100 offers young athletes access to year round skiing on 159 pistes over 300km² as well as classrooms, laboratories and sports facilities. They have also recently started offering ski training and racing all over the world in prime locations such as New Zealand, Chile and Norway.
During the school holidays the academy closes to resident athletes. Over Christmastime, New Year and Easter, the building operates as a hotel for paying guests. In the summer, Apex2100 runs a series of Perform Better camps. Taking the ski model and applying it to rugby and netball groups so that schools from abroad can use the venue for training. Having several audiences with different interests and requirements means that the academy has to carefully plan the content on their digital signage screens.
Showcasing the work of every department
Jonny manages the screens around the academy and told us that signage is divided into four key pillars: learn, train, perform, and house and wellbeing. This means that each area of the academy has a clear focus, sharing important information for athletes.
For example, nutritional information is displayed in the canteen to remind athletes how to fill their plates with different food groups. Jonny explained that the fact that it isn’t a static poster and is updated regularly helps to ensure that they keep noticing it.
Roni went on to tell us that the House and Wellbeing Team’s use of signage helps to create a family feel. They share updates on things like birthdays and free time activities so it helps to build a sense of community in the academy. Roni told us, “each area has its own digital voice.”
While signage is primarily designed to inform athletes, it can also benefit staff by increasing awareness of what’s happening elsewhere in the academy. Jonny explained,
“If you were a new ski coach coming in and you’ve just joined, for example, you have an idea of what the teaching side is doing. I think that indirectly benefits the athletes because each area has a better understanding of what an athlete might be doing outside their sessions.”
Increasing ownership
Jonny told us that a major change since the previous case study is that ten more members of staff across the academy have been trained to use TrilbyTV. This means that there’s more ownership from different departments and staff feel confident using the platform. Plus, the screens now showcase a wider variety of perspectives. Jonny said, “It’s been really beneficial because it gives people voices from throughout the academy.”
Jonny went on to explain that their focus on user-generated content from coaches and teachers also helps to make sure nothing is missed. That’s especially important when there are exciting things happening all over the world that Apex2100 wants to celebrate. Jonny told us,
“A priority of mine is to get more voices from the academy, so it’s not just coming from me and what I see, but including more people and getting a better overview of what’s going on.”
Welcoming guests to the academy
In the summer, Apex2100 welcomed their first cohort of rugby players to the campus for their Perform Better camps. Five schools from England and Scotland attended over three weeks for pre-season training with their own team, mixed sessions with others and training alongside a local rugby team in France.
Although it was Roni’s first time properly using TrilbyTV, it was important to get key messages to attendees quickly so that they knew what was happening each day. Roni’s favourite thing about TrilbyTV is that it makes it easy to instantly update signage to reflect what’s going on throughout the day.
During the camps, the screen in the main entrance was used to welcome each team with a personalised visual. There were also four screens in the canteen, each used for different purposes. There were up to two teams on site each week and each one had their own screen in the canteen with a plan for the day and the following day. The signage also showcased performance messaging like nutritional information, hydration and sleep requirements to support athletes through their training. Another screen was used for marketing, to showcase what happens at Apex2100 during term time. The final screen was used as a rolling display of photos and videos to welcome and celebrate the attendees, which Roni updated at the end of each day.
Plans for the future
In future years, Roni would keep the same concept as it worked really well both to celebrate and inform camp participants. However, there was some administrative work that could be streamlined. For example, the logistical details of the camps were managed in a spreadsheet which was not visually appealing and complicated to interpret. This meant that Roni needed to take this information and add some design to it. In future, tools such as Canva or Adobe Express could help to make this process quicker and easier.
Jonny and Roni also liked the idea of incorporating some of TrilbyTV’s newer features, such as Polls and Super Stats into their signage, both for resident athletes and visitors. For example, there is an awards ceremony at the end of each Perform Better camp. The TrilbyTV Polls feature could help students vote for the ‘player’s player’ of the camp in a visual and interactive way, while Super Stats could showcase athlete achievements.
Looking forward to the end of the year, this Christmastime will be the first time that Apex2100 will be operated as a hotel. So Roni will be focussing on what kind of content to showcase for another different audience, including live weather updates via an RSS feed which can be added to signage with TrilbyTV’s Web Content feature.
It’s inspiring to see the different ways that digital signage is being used at Apex2100 and the focus on tailoring content for audiences with different requirements. We’re excited to see what the future holds!
If you want to find out more about TrilbyTV and how we can help you to communicate effectively with audiences across your school, why not book a free demo with one of our digital signage experts. If you’d like to try the platform for yourself, you can also sign up for a 30 day free trial.