Parker Hannifin: Engage, Entertain and Inform

Brian McCollum, AV Assistant at Parker Hannifin, takes the TV in AxisTV seriously. “One of my ongoing projects is to continue with a three or four part series about where the food served in the cafeteria comes from. We’re covering the process of growing and harvesting and serving, from planting all the way through to harvest. I went to a local farm with the chef and we filmed and did an interview. Another idea is an info series for the entire building on recycling, and we just finished the first of that,” said McCollum. “Entertaining and drawing them to our message is the goal.”

Parker Hannifin is the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems. They deployed a corporate digital signage system powered by AxisTV digital signage software at its headquarters in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, near Cleveland. Though he joined the team after the initial purchase, McCollum quickly put his experience with media management to work.

McCollum explained what he does once he gets the green light to produce a video. “It’s a typical video workflow. I plan the shoot, shoot it, edit it and get a final approval before making a final file that I can upload to the AxisTV content manager and play it from there.”

Of course, the company also uses AxisTV for the purpose they originally intended it for: to communicate organizational news to the people who work there.

The company’s five media players drive content to four screens in the lobby, two outside the amphitheater that show the day’s events for the space, and three in the cafeteria. Most have scheduling information for the more than 20 meeting rooms presented fullscreen, and all run the company’s stock ticker.

Every morning McCollum inputs announcements and bulletins sent to him from various parts of the organization, and he uses the company’s Lotus Notes meeting manager to create a posting of daily events. Though a manual process, McCollum says that the time spent on the task is minimal since AxisTV easily imports files from other software. “I create many messages in AxisTV, but for anything complicated with layers, I use Photoshop and all my videos are edited on Final Cut Pro.”

McCollum notes that as the facility expands, it’s implementing additional LCD monitors and media players. He also says the organization plans to continue AxisTV upgrades to incorporate new technology and features as they’re available.

McCollum explains, “It’s a good way to broadcast in a closed environment. The messages that you deliver are more dynamic than just some email, so it’s an opportunity to entertain at the same time you inform. That’s what I’m trying to do more and more.”