OMNIPLAY: Empowering Credit Unions with In-Branch Digital Display Control

By John San Filippo

For credit unions looking to enhance their in-branch member experience, OMNICOMMANDER launched OMNIPLAY, which is designed to give credit unions “complete control” over the video content displayed on lobby monitors. This solution addresses common challenges faced by financial institutions in managing digital signage, offering an elegant, user-friendly platform.

The Evolution of In-Branch Displays

Eric Isham

Before OMNIPLAY, many credit unions struggled with outdated and inefficient methods for managing digital displays. Eric Isham, CEO of OMNICOMMANDER, recalled observing clunky legacy solutions in financial institution lobbies as early as 2018. “They really didn’t have an elegant solution for digital displays in their lobbies,” Isham noted. He described common setups such as a cable running from a TV to a laptop, or the use of USB drives that required constant manual updates. “They’d have to pull it out, go over, update it, go over, and put it back in,” he explained.

San Bernardino, Calif.-based ThinkWise Credit Union ($118 million; 6,000 members), an OMNICOMMANDER client for several years, previously relied on OMNICOMMANDER to manage their six digital display screens across two branches. Lauren Morris, Marketing Manager at ThinkWise, explained their former process: “We would put in a request every month of what we wanted our displays to be changed to, if any changes.” This often led to “late starts for the month” due to the back-and-forth of submitting requests and approving proofs. Similarly, Celeste Kaylor, president and CEO of Temple, Tex.-based Scott and White Employees Credit Union ($70 million; 4,600 members), previously managed the credit union’s digital content in-house with a manual USB drive process.

A New Era of Control and Flexibility

Lauren Morris

For Morris, OMNIPLAY enhances this process by providing her with direct control over the credit union’s digital signage. “OMNIPLAY has given me the ability to go in and see what playlist is playing on each TV at any given time,” said Morris. A significant improvement is the ability to remotely reboot a TV if it stops playing, eliminating the need to contact OMNICOMMANDER for support, Morris added. She can also quickly add or remove slides, which is especially useful for time-sensitive content like rate changes or promotions. “In the past, we did have a problem where the old rate would be up for maybe an extra couple of days, until it was able to be changed,” Morris explained. With OMNIPLAY, she can immediately remove an outdated slide even if an updated version isn’t ready.

Kaylor also highlighted the ease of content modification with OMNIPLAY. “Being able to schedule things has been really nice with the OMNIPLAY,” she stated. While the scheduling feature is still under development, the current drag-and-drop interface for managing playlists is highly intuitive. Kaylor demonstrated how easily assets (images or videos) can be added or removed from a playlist. This immediate control is crucial for displaying timely information such as holiday closures or expiring promotions.

The Technology Behind OMNIPLAY

Celest Kaylor

OMNIPLAY leverages a cloud-based software solution combined with a small physical device, a version of a Raspberry Pi, that plugs into the back of the monitors, explained Isham. This device, roughly the size of a deck of cards, connects to the credit union’s WiFi network or can be hardwired. “It’s an easy plugin. You power it by the TV, you plug it into the HDMI. That’s it,” said Isham. Once connected, the credit union can control all monitors from anywhere in the world.

A key feature of OMNIPLAY, he added, is its ability to manage multiple screens individually. “Each monitor has its own playlist that you can create,” Isham explained. This allows for diverse content in different areas, such as promotional material in the lobby and training information in break rooms. For larger credit unions with multiple branches, OMNIPLAY offers significant efficiencies. “Their head of marketing may be in their Andalusia, Alabama location, but they can push (with one click of a button) content to all those monitors at any branch at the exact same time,” Isham stated.

Member Engagement and Future Enhancements

Credit union executives are finding that digital displays effectively engage members. Morris noted that members tend to look at the screens placed behind the teller line while waiting or conducting transactions. ThinkWise displays promotions, standout rates, and upcoming events. Scott and White Employees CU also uses lobby displays for promotions, including auto loan rates with QR codes for direct application access. “Everything is really communicated through that digital display,” said Kaylor, replacing many traditional handouts.

Looking ahead, Morris expressed a desire for editable templates within OMNIPLAY, which would allow her to quickly modify rates or other information without needing to create new slides. Isham hinted at exciting future developments for OMNIPLAY and other OMNICOMMANDER products, stating, “We got a lot of interesting things on the product roadmap, but nothing I’m ready to talk about just now. But we will have some news this fall that’s going to be a pretty big game changer.” He emphasized that OMNICOMMANDER’s mission is to empower financial institutions by giving them control over their digital marketing, including their physical digital displays.