“I was so glad to have WAND Digital’s participation in our Hospitality Marketing Conference. Because of their support, we were able to utilize their innovative digital display boards and smart tags for our conference signage. Their partnership was a huge benefit to our organization and a wonderful opportunity for our members to experience their cutting-edge products in action.”

Victoria Marley, Manager of Partnerships & Programs, Hospitality Minnesota

We’re still buzzing from Hospitality Minnesota’s October 2023 marketing conference at Maddens on Gull Lake (Brainerd, MN). The conference brought together the state’s vibrant hospitality industry to have engaging conversations, learn and share relevant and forward-thinking ideas, and dive into opportunities for hospitality marketers. 

We at WAND Digital were delighted to support the event and share the magic and real-life utility of WAND’s digital signage technology. We’re grateful to Hospitality Minnesota for inviting us to share our expertise in hospitality marketing in the space of digital menu technology and customer experience.

• Marketing as an Experience vs. a Product/Service. Along with focusing on the value of your products and services, always take a step back to see how marketing these products can make for a great customer experience. Learn how WAND customers put customer experience at the forefront with digital signage technology and strategy.
• Employ dynamic and enticing animation and design. On digital signage, using dynamic and enticing animation and design can drive sales and guest loyalty. Instead of static or over-used (familiar) design, dynamic animation creates a modern experience that can delight and surprise guests. Read more on adding movement to your designs in this WAND insights article.
• Meet with and learn from other hospitality industry experts: We loved meeting and hearing from other hospitality industry experts. Hearing what challenges you are facing and what opportunities are out there for hospitality businesses was refreshing and motivating. If we met you or reconnected with you, thank you! We look forward to staying in touch.

“Building great relationships with guests has always been a passion of mine. We were thrilled to share our 15 years of experience at this year’s Hospitality Minnesota conference and help businesses connect with their guests in more meaningful ways.”

Bill Graham, VP WAND Digital

Congratulations to our clients at Auntie Anne’s for gaining significant efficiencies through WAND Digital’s complimentary integration with the Revel Systems’ POS (point of sale) system. This integration allows for Auntie Anne’s to ensure all prices displayed on their digital menu boards automatically match the pricing in the Revel POS Management Console. 

Leveraging this flexible cloud POS system paves the way for multi-location growth. By integrating this best-in-class quick-service restaurant POS system with WAND Digital’s high-performing digital menu board technology, Auntie Anne’s has been able to streamline their operations, reduce costs, and increase overall revenues.

Revel–a pioneer of the cloud-based iPad POS–is one of the best restaurant POS systems to integrate with WAND’s digital menu solutions. On top of a seamless integration, WAND Digital’s Intelligent Menu System provides clients with further controls and override capabilities to edit item values.

We will work side-by-side with your team to integrate and set up your POS system platform of choice with your WAND digital menus. Whether it’s a new POS system or you’ve already been using it, we’ve got you covered.

Paul Cingolani, Resident District Manager, San Jose State University, Compass Group USA

Twenty-eight San Jose State University (SJSU) dining and retail locations:

• Student Union (main dining hall, catering, chefs kitchen, restaurants, retail, etc.)
• Ginger Market (a popular grab-n-go market with autonomous checkout)
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library

As a client of Compass Group USA, SJSU chose WAND Digital to support their vision for a modern university experience through digital displays and accompanying technology in their food service locations on campus, including the Student Union, the popular grab-n-go store Ginger Market, which was the first autonomous checkout store in Silicon Valley, and San Jose’s largest library, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library. 

WAND consulted with Paul and his team through a site survey and tailored planning process to ensure the installation and placement of the displays were optimized in each of the 28 food service locations on campus. The commercial-grade digital displays and tablets provide menu and item information and branded signage, which is easily edited in real time, creating a seamless, modern food service experience for patrons, a simplified workflow for food service and retail staff, and easy digital display management for IT and marketing staff at SJSU.

“Great communication! WAND was flexible to our needs and schedule and the technology and service is in demand by other departments.”

Paul Cingolani, Resident District Manager, Compass Group USA for SJSU

Jason Neilsen, Technology Delivery Manager, Compass Digital for client American Airlines at their new hospitality complex in Fort Worth, Texas.

American Airlines opened a new hospitality complex for visiting employees at the heart of their $1B Fort Worth, Texas headquarters in early 2023. The complex features a 600-room hotel and an endless list of amenities, including several dining options such as a cafe, dining room, tavern, grab-and-go market, eurobar and more.

American Airlines’ vision was to “simplify team members’ visiting experience by building a modern hospitality complex at the heart of our campus. A place where visiting team members can lodge, eat, socialize, and work out.” 

As a client of Compass Digital, the digital and technology innovation arm of Compass Group North America, American Airlines chose WAND Digital to support this modern experience through digital displays and accompanying menu technology in their food service areas of the complex. 

WAND helped Compass install and integrate WAND’s software and hardware technology solutions in several spaces, which were still under construction at the time. “Will [from WAND] took notes and made sure he had all the equipment we needed for an efficient installation. Even though the spaces were still in construction, he had a vision,” shares Jason.

The commercial-grade screens and tablets display brand assets and menu information, which is easily edited in real time, creating a seamless modern dining experience for patrons and a simplified workflow for food service staff.

“When it comes to digital signage, WAND Digital is top tier. We get what we pay for with the quality and level of service.”

Jason Neilsen, Technology Delivery Manager, Compass Digital

Leah Gayowski, Division Marketing Director, Eurest USA (division of Compass Group)

At the Tesla Cafe located in Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, employees and visitors can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner cafeteria service with daily hot entree specials, sandwiches, burgers, grab n’ go items and more.

Tesla wanted to upgrade their static printed menus and signage to digital displays to make the dining experience at their new global headquarters enjoyable and efficient for employees, customers and visitors alike, as well as to align with their mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy. 

WAND helped Tesla install and integrate WAND’s software and hardware technology solutions at the cafe. The commercial-grade screens display brand assets and menu information, which is easily edited in real time.

Tesla Cafe also updates their mobile and web menu weekly so patrons can easily check out what the cafe is serving that day and week.

“Scheduling was prompt and installation was quick. The [WAND] team was very flexible to work with us by transferring all of their materials into our vans so we could get them into the Tesla factory.”

Leah Gayowski, Marketing Director, Eurest USA (division of Compass Group)

Leah shares that Tesla is often rebuilding and renovating at their headquarters to continue to optimize the spaces and keep things fresh. So, they plan to install more monitors in more locations at Tesla’s headquarters.

Known for their heavenly chocolate malts, delicious grilled-to-order burgers, and all-around quality, Becks Prime quick-service restaurant (QSR) is considered an institution in Houston, Texas. The original location, on Kirby Drive, recently underwent a remodel, the first major facelift (inside and out) since their doors opened in 1985. 

“We’ve always had quality of food, service and experience as a top priority, so we wanted to ensure we continued to meet that standard with the remodel. From upgrading the drive-thru with digital menu boards, to sourcing premium, long-lasting wood for the new patio deck, it all had to reflect our service and values,” shares Mike Knapp, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Becks Prime.

When Knapp and co-founders Win Campbell and John Storms first opened Becks Prime, they had spent a year developing a menu with first-rate ingredients. They wanted to turn the fast food and drive-thru model upside down by sourcing fresh (never frozen) food and ensuring every detail of the experience–from the napkins, to the drive-thru speakers, to the design–was congruent with the quality of food and service.

Fast forward to 2021 when Becks Prime kicked off their original restaurant lcoation’s refresh in order to continue to meet their guests’ expectations and uphold their standard for quality. With more than 50% of their business being drive-thru orders, they knew their static plexiglass drive-thru menus and “stick-in-the-ground” promotional signs were no longer cutting it. The static menus and signs were not only costly and time-consuming to update and susceptible to weather damage, they also made for a less-than-pleasant experience for guests and were a disadvantage in a competitive digital market.

Becks Prime turned to WAND Digital to upgrade their drive-thru static menus with digital menu boards and accompanying technology, including WAND’s digital menu board software and commercial-grade, weather-resistant displays. The objectives for the upgrade? Stand out with quality drive-thru experiences, grow revenue, and increase efficiency in operations. 

WAND experts worked alongside Becks Prime to install the new hardware and software, integrate their POS system, and onboard their team with the new technology. 

“We have been very detailed on what we want, and WAND has been able to deliver.” –Mike Knapp, Becks Prime Co-Founder

With the new digital menu boards and technology, employees can easily change menu item prices, schedule day-parts, upsell items with dynamic designs, run promotions, and more. 

The upgrade to digital menu boards has helped Becks Prime improve order accuracy and speed, increase ticket size, reduce printing and shipping costs, make real-time updates to the menu, and provide a better experience overall for their guests and employees. Feedback from managers is that people love the look.

They are seeing their dedication to all-around quality pay off. “We had a ‘quiet’ reopening after the refresh and still had 1,000 people show up in one day,” shares Knapp.

Now that they have digital drive-thru menu software made for scaling, Becks Prime hopes to roll-out the WAND digital menu board system at additional restaurant locations and use the technology to create an even more personable experience for guests.

“We’re big on personable service. About 80% of our customers are repeat guests, so we would like our employees to recognize them. We’re hoping to use technology to support that personable service as well, like having intuitive ‘Welcome back, this is what you ordered last time…’ messages on the screen when a returning guest arrives,” envisions Regional Operations Manager Alan Underwood.

With their drive-thru digital menu technology, made-to-order food, and vision for the future, there is no doubt Becks Prime will continue to wow their guests and hold on to their place as an institution in Houston.
Learn more about Becks Prime and see a list of their locations.

Meet Devin Davis, Senior Marketing Manager, Chartwells Higher Ed, University of Chicago and WAND Digital client. Devin is an innovator on a mission to make UC the top academic dining experience in America. We’re just happy to play a role in his story and help him along the way. But don’t take our word for it, hear what he has to say about the efficiency of WAND Digital menu technology 😉

Hello my name is Devin Davis, the Senior Marketing Manager for Chartwells Higher Education at the University of Chicago. We’re here at Woodlawn Dining Commons, one of our newest dining facilities. This is one of the top universities in the nation. It’s such a diverse crowd with students are from all over the world but they all have stories with food.

Growing up in rural North Carolina, my parents to go out to eat was too far away so my parents cooked a meal just about every day.  The food brought us together so food was love. That’s how my family shared love with me and that’s how i want to share love with the students.

We wanted to have a strategy when implementing the digital displays. One of the most important individuals on campus is our campus registered dietitian, Cecily Martinez. Cecily worked closely with WAND Digital figure out what to pull from Webtrition, which is our menu item database, and she puts it on a plate.

Our unique stations such as our kosher station, halal station, our rooted station which is completely vegan… we wanted to list all the ingredients so we added 22-inch displays where we can have more information to have the story along with the food really went a long way to the guest satisfaction and overall guest experience

People is truly my passion bringing joys and smiles to our people. Food is just one channel I can do that and I try to move people in that way.

Devin first implemented digital menu boards while with Northwestern University  and fell in love with them right away. They showed bright, stunning visuals that perfectly depicted the food offerings and created an extra level of excitement and enjoyment for the students before they even ordered their meal. However, Northwestern’s additional Print ID (PID) food station labels were cumbersome, costly and inflexible. Devin knew there had to be a better way.

When Devin was promoted at Chartwells Higher Education to lead dining experience and marketing at University of Chicago in Illinois, he immediately engaged WAND Digital to collaborate on a solution to complete the digital transformation. Together, a plan was formed to replace the legacy PID with WAND Digital menu kiosk software and 22 inch Chromebook OS tablets supporting 4 dining halls and dozens of food stations.

Devin plans to implement the WAND Digital menu kiosk solution across all four dining halls at University of Chicago to take advantage of efficiencies of operations and to scale the experience. Continued testing and optimization of promotions and seasonal offerings is easy with WAND Digital and keeps the menu fresh for UC student, faculty and guests. Devin intends to share best practices to replicate his success across other Chartwells Higher Education partners.  No doubt he is setting the benchmark. 

Upgrading your restaurant signage to digital menus isn’t just to align with a tech-forward future or keep up with the fast-food Joneses. Engaging digital menus have been shown to not just enhance the overall customer experience, but they also show menu items in an irresistible way. Bright colors, subtle movements, and informative photos light up the senses—and your bottom line. How do we know? By conducting our own digital menu case study.

WAND Digital conducted a test with a major deli concept to show the impact of our unique technology and creative solution. The sales results were measured across over 70 locations with half utilizing WAND’s digital menu technology and creative design, and half using static menus. The results showed that the deli concept could influence over $2 million of increased sales in their stores by utilizing WAND’s solution.

The Challenge: Cracking the code to influence customer behavior to drive orders of featured items and add-on purchases to increase average check size.

The Result: An increase in average check size of 6% in stores using WAND’s technology and creative.

WAND’s user-friendly menu software solution gives customers full control to customize and edit their menus in real-time. The system is fully scalable across one store or thousands, and it’s cloud-based, meaning customers can access their system online from any device and make changes within minutes. Day-parting is done automatically to change between breakfast, lunch, dinner, and happy hour or snack times. The power to make quick changes empowers owners and operators to adapt quickly to the changing needs of their customers day to day or even minute to minute.

Industrial-grade hardware is specifically built to withstand the challenges of a restaurant environment. WAND works with leading manufacturers to provide customers with hardware built for heat, moisture, dust, grease, and other factors, including the need to be up and running all day, every day. WAND’s unique TechProtect solution also guarantees all hardware for 5 years, and if there is ever an issue, it is repaired or replaced on the next business day. Reliable hardware can be the difference between selling more and shooing customers away.

WAND’s award-winning menu design squad is fully dedicated to creating powerful menus that drive sales lift for restaurants. Our experienced team of designers work with customers to provide the right solution to help meet their business objectives. Your restaurant, your menu, and your customers are all unique—one-size-fits-all photos and videos just won’t cut it. Instead, the best digital menu solution is tailored to what you offer and showcased in the best light possible.