SNA Displays, a manufacturer of custom LED display solutions, joined DPAA in 2018. Mel Stott sat down with Mitch Leathers, SNA’s Senior Director of Communications, to learn about how the company competes in the glutted LED display market.
What is SNA Displays?
SNA Displays is most known for its highly customized large-scale MEGA-SPECTACULAR™ LED displays. Headquartered in Times Square, SNA Displays celebrated its 10th year anniversary as a North American company in February of this year.
A little history: our parent company, Shanghai Sansi, was established in 1993. It quickly became one of the most prominent LED display suppliers in the Asian market, particularly in the transportation sector.
When was SNA Displays established in North America?
After several years of selling digital screens in the US through OEM suppliers, Sansi North America (SNA) was established in New York in 2009.
The success of the North American branch of the company was immediate, as it was awarded several projects within months.
SNA Displays’ first completed project was a transparent ThruMedia® building-façade display at the Carpenters Center in Boston. Soon after, the company had manufactured and installed LED displays across the country.
In 2011, SNA Displays was awarded its first major LED spectacular contract. It was a multi-display project outside Minskoff Theatre at 1515 Broadway in the heart of Times Square.
In 2015, the company moved its North American headquarters to 1500 Broadway. SNA Displays is now the first and only major LED display manufacturer with a fully staffed office in Times Square.
The company supplies LED displays in two of the world’s largest cities, Los Angeles and New York City.
Recently, SNA Displays deployed the highest-resolution LED screen in the history of Times Square. The 24.7-million-pixel, wrap-around display at 20 Times Square overlooks the iconic red steps. The company also manufactured the largest-ever outdoor digital display installed in downtown Los Angeles at Circa Towers.
However, we are also present in other US cities.
SNA Displays provides signs for three major segments of the digital display market: custom-engineered digital art, large-format spectaculars and fine-pitch indoor LED displays. We sell these displays and services through a network of AV distribution partners.
SNA Displays’ digital billboard
What software do you use to run content on your displays?
Since our focus is hardware, SNA Displays does not produce any content-management software. Our partners find the correct software solutions for each customer. In fact, many SNA Displays clients appreciate the fact that our control systems, are open-ended. This allows customers to choose the best software for their application or even switch software providers if they see fit.
What are the venues where one could see your displays?
Common venues for SNA Displays screens are sports and entertainment areas, such as CapitalOne Arena and LA LIVE. OOH ad operators in New York City and Los Angeles use our screens for digital out-of-home advertising. Companies use them for corporate communication and branding.
What are some of your most prominent installations?
I’ll try to name a few.
Salesforce locations in San Francisco, New York, London, etc. Most prominent is the lobby at 50 Fremont St., San Francisco.
Then I can name the LED human-shaped head art sculpture at Greater Columbus Convention Center.
The highest-resolution display in history of Times Square at 20 Times Square– 701 7th Avenue, New York.
Most of the spectaculars in Times Square installed in the last five years, including 8 Times Square , 10 Times Square , 719 7th Avenue, LED Cube at 11 Times Square, multiple projects at 1515 Broadway, to name just a few.
We also have some very large and high-profile projects on the horizon which we should be able to announce in the coming months.
What can we expect to see in the near future with regard to LED innovation?
The improvements in LED display technology will come largely for interior spaces. LED technology becomes more cost-effective as manufacturers improve their ability to place tiny diodes and pixels closer together. These improvements result in much higher-resolution displays.
As LED displays are able to pack more and more pixels, content creators and artists will further improve digital content, enhancing both viewer experiences and returns on investment.
In the outdoor space as well, more and more advertisers will discover the new capabilities of the display technology.
To learn more about SNA Displays, visit: https://snadisplays.com/
This is a DPAA-sponsored feature.
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