Digital signage: Cenareo aims to become European leader
In 2012, we saw that display screens were spreading throughout retail outlets, but these screens were mostly badly or under used: they were switched off, or black, or not broadcasting up-to-date quality content. The experience was not there. We saw that the main issue was mainly a technical one: the solutions for connecting up a screen were very complicated to install, reserved for experts and very often faulty.
So we decided to launch our own solution: a microcomputer that we completely transformed into a “magic box”, stand-alone and compatible with every screen on the planet. We mail it to our customers who simply need to plug it in to transform their screen into a smart screen. Our solution also includes a platform on which user ergonomics and the user experience are specifically thought out to easily control thousands of screens and content, as well as designed for collaborative work to share screens with multiple users (communicators at headquarters, store managers, advertisers, etc.).
In late 2018, we were reaching the end of a cycle: we had solved the historical issues in our market, but we felt that was not enough for the market to move forward and for screens to become within everyone’s reach. We decided to raise the level of the message so as not to limit ourselves to controlling the communication remotely, but allowing the communicator to create emotion in their dialogue with their consumers. Our CityMeo brand was too technical, but also too local - our target is Europe-wide at the very least and not French and our screens are already present in more than 25 countries. We also want to associate our brand with this international ambition, which is why we are launching this large-scale rebranding operation.
Cenareo is naturally pronounced “scenario” in English, and this is what we offer to our customers around the world: the ability to create countless broadcast scenarios to guarantee they deliver an ever more relevant message to their audience.
In 2012, the digital signage industry was looking a bit tired, and the platforms had all been working in the same way for years: playlists for individual screens. Although we are engineers, my three partners and I wanted to go down the path of design, the user and the communicator. We quickly joined the IOT Valley (internet of things) eco-system, and this mix of communication and IOT reflects our DNA fairly accurately: we want to create the Internet of screens, a simple and effective way to control a company’s communications through thousands of screens. Our mission is once again to make emotion central to the dialogue between the brand and its customers.
First and foremost, we are a software publisher: 94% of our income comes from selling licences for controlling a screen for a year. But providing a simple solution for the communicator also means removing all the points of friction over the entire value chain. For installations, we work with partners such as TMM, Econocom and Trison. As regards the supply of screens, we mainly work with Samsung, NEC and Sharp, with whom we have signed partnerships at the European level.
On the platform, our customers benefit from very sophisticated features: a gallery of “feeds” automatically updated in real time (weather, traffic info, news, etc.) and a tool for creating videos and creating scenarios, so that the content adapts to their context (position, date, time, weather, etc.). New features are added regularly.
A digital signage project may involve several actors. We are one of them and have forged very many partnerships with all the actors of the value chain. When the customer needs to create specific content, we work with agencies such as Altavia. When the customer wants to monetise their screens, we work with PhenixDigital or Smartmedia. Our customers are often very careful about ensuring their data is secure: we are very close to Microsoft with whom we have been working for years. Our customers are retailers (Axa, Boulanger, Supermarchés Match, V&B, Etam), as well as advertising companies.
We are financially backed by CapHorn Invest, a Paris-based investment fund specialising in European retail tech and we received Pass French Tech accreditation last year from BPI, which has been following us since our beginnings in 2012. It is a guarantee of credibility on the French tech scene.
We are four co-founders, still present in the company. We met during our engineering studies at INP-ENSEEIHT, specialising in Computer Science and Applied mathematics. We were very active in the school’s associations for three years (video, computer science) and this gave us the motivation to want to be entrepreneurial in this sector. The day after our graduation ceremony on 15 November 2012, we registered the company.
Today, we are a team of 38 people in five offices (Paris, Toulouse, Nantes, Lille, Munich). Currently, we equip more than 10,000 screens in 32 countries for customers of all sizes, from SMEs to CAC 40-listed groups.
The carbon footprint of a manufacturer of cardboard in-store advertising is similar to that of a screen manufacturer and only the energy consumed in the store is different. Digital signage displays and the associated hardware are energy efficient, and content is easily updated and reused. In addition, these screens can be configured to work only when there is a real need. Start-up and standby settings are managed remotely. Shifting to 100%-screen display in points of sale, means dramatically reducing the cost of retailers’ financial and energy costs: paper, ink, carriage, resupplies, etc. Our product is assembled in France and just one delivery is sufficient to equip the customer.
For the servers, we chose Microsoft for their responsible approach to the environment. Since 2012, the group has had a neutral carbon footprint. And since the creation of Cenareo, we have chosen to work on ultra-low-power players: using about 10 times less than conventional players, since they consume an average of 3.5W in normal use. All these choices allow us to limit the impact of our activities and we are constantly looking for ways to continue to improve.
The answer is very clear: Samsung is the manufacturer that sells most screens in the retail environment. In France, its market share in the retail sector is over 50%, so choosing to forge this partnership is not negligible. For our retailer customers, this guarantees they have the most suitable equipment for their needs and the widest range of equipment possible (high-brightness displays, stretch screens etc.). And all of this at the best price thanks to our partnership. But what it offers from a more technical standpoint is seamless integration which avoids using our players: low energy consumption, one fewer potential source of malfunction, simplified logistics and simplified installation. In a word, for our customers it is a fantastic opportunity and for us, a competitive advantage thanks to this European partnership.
Our goal is to become the European leader in 2022, with 300,000 connected screens. In 2020, we aim to record 5 million euros in sales, with three-digit growth, an expanded workforce of 50 employees and opening up in one or two additional countries.