The Bowery Bay Shops at LaGuardia Airport by Marshall Retail Group

Challenge

The challenge of this project was to meet the content, presentation and merchandising objectives of Marshall Retail Group in the most natural way possible. Multi-panel arrays needed to offer the flexibility of presenting content as a single canvas or as individual displays as required by dynamic content strategies. Media players and cabling had to be invisible to the customers to establish a seamless implementation. The first challenge was met by the capabilities of our NEOCAST digital signage platform to flexibly manage various screen configurations, orientations and resolutions. The second challenge was met by racking powerful, multi-output media players in a remote wire closet and using extenders to run CAT6 cables to the displays across the store.

Solution Experience

The store aims to honor the culture, arts and products of New York, and does so by creating an immersive and engaging digital experience throughout its massive space. Nearly three dozen digital screens are powered by Real Digital Media’s NEOCAST software, ranging from traditional 16:9 displays to 88” stretch displays and a dominant LED array at “Queens Corner” celebrating products Made in Queens (“MIQ”) and promoting those local brands. 

Technology products popular with travelers are merchandised on accessible tables with large LCDs framed at waist height and running content describing the brands and products on display. New York souvenirs sit below a stunning three-screen array of portrait-oriented stretch displays running NYC-centric content, such as an homage to the iconic Broadway playbill. Additional displays throughout the store make it easy for customers to find the products they are looking for while on the go.

Real Digital Media’s digital signage deployments in the store are augmented by impressive, interactive installations created by Brooklyn-based Patten Studios that reinforce the local flavor of The Bowery Bay Shops. Patten Studio’s work includes a 150-foot wide LED screen that features stylized cityscapes of New York that actually respond to the movements of customers as they are tracked by an array of cameras. A popular interactive mural wall lets travelers take a “selfie” portrait with themselves inserted into aerosol street murals done by famed 5 Pointz artists, another tip of the hat to the neighborhoods near LaGuardia.

The Bowery Bay Shops scream New York from every angle. The digital signage powered by Real Digital Media’s NEOCAST blends seamlessly with the open aesthetic of the store, guiding customers to what they need and want, from candy and beverages to books, gifts, souvenirs and tech gadgets. The traditional digital signage is augmented by Patten Studio’s immersive and interactive salutes to New York’s architecture and culture. Bluestone Management provided AV integration and installation services to the project. Marshall Retail Group’s internal Construction, Marketing and Graphic Design teams were also heavily involved.

Results

Feedback on the project has been very positive from both travelers and Marshall Retail Group. While airport traffic has been effectively throttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, business trends point toward a very robust future for The Bowery Bay Shops as the travel sector rebounds. The reduced traffic due to COVID has actually provided an extended “soft” opening, providing Marshall Retail Group and its suppliers the time to test messaging, enhance processes and prepare for what will be a success story “Made in Queens”. If city traffic allows, arrive early for your next flight out of LaGuardia and walk through the new gold standard of airport retailing: The Bowery Bay Shops from Marshall Retail Group.

About Marshall Retail Group

Marshall Retail Group is the nation’s largest specialty retailer in the airport and casino-resort marketplace. When you collaborate with MRG and assign us the task of building, staffing, and operating a retail space, you benefit from 65 years of industry expertise and an undisputed reputation for running efficient retail operations.