Keeping the Office Vibrant and Relevant

In 2024, commercial real estate markets across the country continue to experience declines in utilization. According to Cushman and Wakefield, St. Louis office space was 17.2% vacant in the second quarter, reflective of a range of 15% to 22% vacancy rates across major metro areas in the U.S. Nationally, a vacancy rate approaching 20% is a sharp increase from pre-pandemic levels in 2020. Despite mandates from companies for employees to return to the office, there has been resistance to leaving the convenience and comfort of the home office, and the hybrid work model is largely responsible for a decrease in overall demand for office space. 

What does it all mean? It’s not all doom and gloom, and in fact, premium office space with enhanced amenities continues to be in demand. Those buildings offer a different, more engaging experience than working from a home office environment. While the word experience may be used a little too much (guilty as charged here), it does matter. One area where we have significant experience building workplace experiences (sorry again) is in the commercial use of business displays in corporate and office environments. And we think this is an opportunity for businesses and commercial property owners to build unique experiences (we’re searching for another word) that will entice people back to office buildings, downtown areas, and more because the net impact of that is positive in so many ways for businesses and the communities in which they operate. Let’s explore several ways McCann Systems has used business displays like digital signage and LED walls to build unique environments that staff, customers, partners, and clients are eager to return to over and over. 

SEE ALSO: Why Content Is King for Commercial Digital Signage Displays

LED Technology

One key driver for creating these experiences is LED video panel technology. With its high resolution, fine pitch, low power use, and modular panels that can now be shaped in many ways, it is revolutionizing the display of images, animation, and video in many settings. McCann has used LED panels to wrap around columns, create massive curved video walls in casino sportsbooks, and build immersive virtual learning experiences for some of the nation’s top universities and corporations. Perhaps the only limit to today’s technology is imagination, as creating these video-rich experiences isn’t limited to popular extravaganzas like the Sphere in Las Vegas.  

Cafeterias and Communal Spaces

One way to entice workers back to the office is with appealing communal areas. Digital signage and video walls can deliver engaging messages that inform and entertain while workers eat lunch, have coffee, or just escape with a laptop outside the confines of an office or cubicle. The displays can talk about organizational initiatives, community and volunteering efforts, new products and services, employee recognition, or a host of other content. With large formats like video walls or other signage, the messages can be delivered with greater impact than a standard computer screen. 

Conference and Huddle Rooms

As hybrid work is here to stay and high costs reduce business travel, the new normal will be that almost every meeting has remote attendees, whether they are internal staff, partners, suppliers, or clients. The need for high-quality video conferencing is a must for large meeting and huddle rooms alike. Using multiple large commercial displays or video walls in these settings can improve collaboration and inclusivity, with large screens for sharing information and displaying remote participants. Those who attend in person can benefit from the fluidity of in-person interaction while not limiting the remote experience. 

Lobbies and Event Spaces

LED technology’s ability to turn any wall into a display solution is driving innovation in creating engaging spaces that invite people to visit and gather. For example, In Viacom’s New York City headquarters, we designed and integrated advanced LED video walls that combine artistic flair with the latest technology. The lobby features two large 4-foot by 4-foot video walls, each with sixteen 55″ ultra-slim bezel LED monitors capable of both unified and individual content playback. Once implemented, this type of infrastructure can be used for all-hands meetings, announcements, client events, and much more, creating a draw for encouraging personal interaction away from the individual screen. 

We’ve only covered a small fraction of what you can do to foster communication, collaboration, and engagement across all your constituencies with video displays in your business. Want to learn more? Start the conversation using the chat button below or fill out our online contact form. We look forward to connecting!