Morton Salt
Interactive Video Wall Technology Creates Statement Piece for Iconic American Brand’s HQ
When Christian Herrmann was named CEO of Morton Salt, his overarching goal was to, “empower the people again and bring this company back to life.” As part of his plan to achieve this, Herrmann moved his 350 headquarters staff to a brand-new location inside the River Point Tower in Chicago. The 52,000 square-foot space is open, modern and packed with the latest technology. With amazing views, sit-stand desks, and plenty of collaboration space, it had everything a modern office and its associates could need…
Or did it? The space was great but Herrmann knew that it needed a statement piece: something to draw visitors in, let them interact with Morton’s latest marketing campaigns, and learn about the company’s history. That’s where Diversified came in.
Working with creative partner, VisionThree, the Diversified team developed a custom gesture-controlled, interactive portrait video wall. The wall is comprised of 12 HD video displays, powered by three Microsoft Kinect motion sensors, and invites passing associates and visitors to step forward and reach toward the wall. From the main menu, users can choose to explore the different methods of salt production, watch the newest marketing videos, and see the evolution of the Morton Salt girl. The interface is simple, intuitive and beautifully crafted.
The whole system was built from scratch. “We’d never done anything quite like this,” said Jeff White of VisionThree. “It took us a month to build the gesture controls alone. You wouldn’t imagine all the ways that people point.”
The outcome of all this hard work is the creation of a true centerpiece for an already impressive office. On the first day at the new location, associates and visitors stopped to interact with the video wall as soon as they entered the lobby. After watching his associates interact with the wall, and trying it out himself, Herrmann said that he was extremely pleased with the display: “Everyone who’s coming here—vendors, contractors, clients, even new associates—are learning about what Morton stands for.”
