The University of Utah in Salt Lake City is Utah’s oldest institution of higher education, founded in 1850. With about 37,000 students and 25,000 staff and teachers, it is a small city of its own, and a lot of information has to reach a lot of people every day.
The challenge: five or six systems at once
Jake Sorensen, Director of Sponsorships & Advertisement, found that screen communication across the university was completely decentralized. Departments picked their own software, so the campus could easily have five or six signage systems running at the same time.
That made it nearly impossible to send one message to everybody, to give the screens the same look, or to get urgent information out quickly. Bringing every campus, building and faculty into one system was a big job that nobody had taken on.
The solution: one account, a team for every department
Jake learned that a department on campus already used Play, tested it himself and contacted the Play team. Together they set up:
- One main account for the whole university, from which Jake’s team can publish to every screen at once.
- A team for each department and building, so each one creates and schedules its own content without seeing anybody else’s.
- A link to the university’s emergency system through the Play API, so emergency alerts appear on every screen on campus.
“It is a partnership, not just a purchase relationship, and that is something we truly value.” – Jake Sorensen
The result
Every screen on campus now has the same visual identity, is managed from the same place, and is connected to the emergency system. Departments schedule their own content, which takes a large workload off everybody and keeps students informed at the same time.
Jake names the reasons for choosing Play: the price, a working API, scheduling, tags and teams, and support that helps make new ideas happen.
What other universities can take from this
- Start with one account and give each department its own team. Central control and local freedom don’t have to compete.
- Connect the screens to your emergency system, so the most important message can reach everyone at once.
- Schedule content ahead, so screens stay current without daily work.
Read the full University of Utah case story, or see how Play works for schools and universities.
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