Partner Profile: BlueFin Brings Screens to Every Experience, for just about Every Kind of Space

In the kaleidoscopic arena of modern marketing, where consumer eyes are perpetually darting across a multitude of screens, customizable digital signage solutions emerge as the game-changers. By breaking free from the one-size-fits-all approach, these innovative displays in varying shapes and sizes defy traditional confines, engaging consumers in a multisensory dance of imagery and information.

At Creative Realities, we’re passionate about helping our customers integrate the best digital signage components and strategies into unforgettable displays. This is why we’re excited to partner with Bluefin, a company that provides a spectrum of digital signage options that align with any installation requirement or software ecosystem, ensuring digital signage solutions that are as versatile as the clients we serve. Today we’ll be exploring what Bluefin offers, and why customizable screens and displays are integral in today’s evolving digital signage landscape.

What BlueFin creates

BlueFin offers a versatile hardware solution in the form of customizable displays, available in both unique configurations such as stretch or shelf edge form factors, and standard sizes to suit various needs. These displays can be tailored to come with or without frames, and with the option of touch or non-touch functionality. One of the most distinctive aspects of BlueFin's approach to digital screens is its creative array of shapes and sizes to fit specific market demands. They offer the top operating system platforms in digital signage built into their displays, providing an extremely compatible platform for CMS partners. Their Flex-OS HDMI connectivity ensures high-quality, responsive, easy-to-update content that keeps pace with the fast-moving nature of modern businesses.

“Here at BlueFin, we're redefining the digital landscape, one pixel at a time," says Frank Pisano, CEO of BlueFin. "Our custom screens are not just displays – they are visionary canvases that meet the precise needs of any industry. We’re proud of our 'no job is too small' philosophy given we own our manufacturing facility: we tailor every project to our client's unique requirements, because we believe the right size screen makes the biggest impact."

Pisano highlights that BlueFin's bespoke designs are creating waves across sectors—from retail to stadiums/arenas, healthcare to hospitality. "Our smaller screens are like digital haikus – they deliver a powerful message in a compact form. They're perfect for tight spaces where getting up close and personal with the consumer is key. Then there's our stretch screens, which are sleek, impressive and impossible to ignore. They turn heads and make every message feel like a premiere."

Some specific strongpoints in Bluefin screen designs include:

• HD: The crispness of BlueFin’s screens makes them ideal for high-traffic retail spaces where the vibrancy of a digital display draws in the consumer’s eye. The clarity and detail offered by their screens mean that every pixel works to create a deeply immersive experience, whether it's for displaying intricate designs in architecture, providing crisp, clear diagnostic images in healthcare or showcasing vivid advertisements in retail.
• Stretch: BlueFin’s stretch screens are ideal for immersive advertising or informative displays in corporate settings. These displays can be elongated and shaped in ways traditional screens cannot — allowing for creative expression that can fit into unique spaces, turning previously underutilized surfaces into canvases for information and engagement.
• Touch: Touchscreen technology allows users to interact directly with displayed content, creating a tactile relationship with the information. This has transformative implications across sectors. In retail, customers can explore products in detail with a touch, and in corporate settings, touchscreens are ideal for room schedulers, wayfinding and other collaboration and communications. The combination of these technologies means that experiences can be tailored to the user in real-time, offering a level of personalization and engagement that was previously unattainable.
• Ability to integrate any CMS, with the ability to integrate the top operating systems in digital signage, including BrightSign. Integrating technology inside these all-in-one displays makes it easy, scalable and future proofs installations.

No job is too small when it comes to custom-made

BlueFin stands out in the digital signage industry as a manufacturer that intricately combines in-house LCD integration with the top operating system platforms in digital signage built-in during the assembly process. Their dedication to quality extends to producing their own units — they own their manufacturing. This autonomy allows them to construct highly unique digital signs and to accommodate small minimum order quantities, setting a remarkably low threshold for MOQs (minimum order quantities). Their agility in the market is further demonstrated by their capability to swiftly produce proof of concepts, offering a flexibility that larger competitors, with their high-volume production commitments, often cannot match. “We’re not going for ‘what’s good enough’ for a customer: we go for what’s exactly in their wheelhouse,” says Frank Pisano.

For small businesses, this means that even with limited budgets or requirements for only a few units, they can still access high-quality, custom digital signage solutions without the need to commit to large orders.

For larger corporations, BlueFin's ability to quickly pivot and produce proofs of concept allows for rapid prototyping and deployment of new designs or technology updates across their chains or offices without disrupting large-scale production runs. This can be a game-changer for retail chains looking to test market reactions to new digital signage campaigns in select locations before rolling them out nationwide. It also enables quick adaptation to changing marketing strategies or consumer trends. Bluefin provides ongoing support of your design, so you don’t have to worry about display sizes changing or mechanicals changing during the life of your project.

A masterclass in retrofitting

BlueFin capitalizes on the concept of retrofitting by engineering custom digital displays that can be integrated into existing infrastructures with minimal disruption. Their approach involves assessing the current setup and then designing digital solutions that can be inserted, mounted or attached to the pre-existing framework. For instance, they might develop ultra-thin screens that fit into the same space as old signage, or they could create flexible, stretchable displays that conform to unique contours and spaces where traditional screens cannot fit. This modularity allows for the retention of original materials and structures, thus conserving the custom aesthetic and physical investments previously made.

From an efficiency standpoint, retrofitting saves time and resources. There is no need to dismantle the entire installation, which means less downtime for the business and a quicker transition to using the new technology. This efficiency translates into cost savings, as it reduces labor and materials expenses. Sustainability also plays a significant role; by updating only the technology component, BlueFin helps companies reduce their environmental impact, especially with their Power of Ethernet screens. This method decreases waste generated from discarding obsolete signage and lowers the carbon footprint associated with producing and transporting new materials.

Specifically for custom builds, retrofitting is invaluable. Custom-sized displays, those made with unique materials or in non-standard shapes, can be particularly expensive and complex to design and install. BlueFin's ability to retrofit these custom solutions means that businesses do not have to abandon their distinctive signage when technology advances. Instead, they can update their unique installations with the latest digital technologies, ensuring that custom-built signage remains both state-of-the-art and deeply integrated into the business's branding or architectural ethos.

Creative Realities and BlueFin: Dedicated to Customization

The collaborative partnership between Creative Realities and BlueFin marks a new era in having access to custom digital displays for a far more imaginative, visually-forward solution. Powered by a "quick and quiet" ethos — delivering swift, seamless installations and updates that minimize disruption, all while maximizing engagement and impact — these kinds of collaborative efforts in the digital signage space ensure that businesses across various sectors can captivate, enlighten and convert their target audiences with precision.

In an age where customization is not just a luxury but a necessity, Creative Realities and BlueFin stand at the vanguard, ready to meet customers in the midst of their journey with digital signage solutions that prioritize the user experience above all. But this dedication to customization is more than just meeting a demand — it's about creating a dialogue with customers in a language they understand, within spaces they frequent, using technology that speaks directly to their needs and desires. As the demand for tailored digital engagement continues to grow, this partnership is poised to deliver solutions that not only meet but exceed the dynamic expectations of businesses looking to make a lasting impression in the minds of their consumers.

BlueFin is currently quoting projects for Creative Realities in stadiums and arenas across the country, as well as in PatientPoint in the healthcare industry. They additionally provide support with working projects in CPG, Quick Service, and convenience stores. BlueFin is a great compliment to Creative Realities’ end-to-end offering, allowing both companies to deliver best-in-class solutions – together and independently.

To get in contact with Frank Pisano and BlueFin, reach out to him at frank.pisano@thebluefin.com.