Our challenge was to update the signage surrounding Morgan Stanley’s iconic New York HQ, in the heart of Times Square. With the location attracting high and varied footfall, it was important for the content to be both impactful and informative; Morgan Stanley wanted to not only appeal to their financial clients but also to the everyday passer-by. They needed to be able to display a feed of breaking news, market data and ever-changing forex as well as a range of graphics, text and video formats. We designed and implemented a custom hardware system which would allow Morgan Stanley’s marketers to efficiently create and display content within provided designed templates, alongside live data inputs and visualisations. The dynamic nature of the content, driven by real-time data, marked something new for LED displays of this kind.

We created multiple hand-coded dynamic templates to display current market data across seven screens, which would draw on information from more than 15 world markets. A content management system was also created, allowing Morgan Stanley to select the most important breaking news and price shifts internally.

Working with an additional creative partner we developed an innovative graphical display for the seven screen set-up, with visuals featuring Morgan Stanley’s recently launched Capital Creates Change ad campaign, insights from the company’s latest Research Blue Papers on topics such as the future of autonomous cars, and stories about community impact schemes like the firm’s Healthy Cities initiative.

One template in particular highlights three prime US commodities: oil, gold and corn. These three tangible goods, displayed as bright visuals across the distinctive barrel screens in five dynamic levels, bring the meaning of the markets to a wider audience instantly, prompting optimum reaction and impact upon passers-by.

A specialised multiple layered redundancy system was also built, meaning that if one player was to fail, another would automatically take over almost instantaneously. The ensured consistency of the feed works to cement the presence of the bank’s LED display on the neon landscape of Times Square, one of the world’s most prominent advertising spaces.

The finished dynamic screens are visually stunning, with clients and members of the public alike responding extremely positively. The market data is displayed in an innovative and easily readable way, with up-to-date price shifts keeping viewers informed throughout the working day.