Communications Guidelines
Checklist
At a high level all content creators and managers should be committed to ensuring content is fair, relevant and appropriate for digital signage at Trent University. Content should support our brand and highlight the personal, transformative, interactive and purposeful while being specific to the program, services, event or product that is being promoted.
Consider these aspects when creating digital messaging
- Target Audiences
- Clear Messaging
- Aligning the message with the Trent University principals
- Relevance and accessibility of the information
- Design and layout of the message
Content Review
Typically all messaging will incorporate locations-based messaging with news, weather and a social feed.
Content to be displayed university wide must follow these guidelines
- Marketing and Communications will approve only upon request content to be distributed on digital signage across the university
- All content is subject to editorial review
- Digital signage content should be relevant to the community as a whole
- Third party advertising is not accepted on the digital signage network
Content to be displayed on location specific monitors is subject to the following
- Content on local digital displays is subject to the discretion of the location specific content auditor
- Best practices require that a minimum of 10% of content reflect Trent University’s brand content and that it be shown for ~12 seconds
Permissions
It is the responsibility of the content creators to ensure that words, images or video used for messaging are:
- royalty free
- if not royalty free, the media royalty has been paid or written permission has been obtained from the creator to use
- any recognizable individuals in the images have signed the necessary waiver
Compliance
Content creators must familiarize themselves with these rules and assume full responsibility for ensuring that the rights of materials, imagery, and artwork used in the content has been cleared prior to posting.
Communication Integrity
Digital signage is intended to display content that is relevant to, and supports the mission of Trent University. Using digital signage is subject to the normal requirements of legal and ethical behaviour. Content should be appropriate for display in a public space.
Content Framework
Trent University’s digital signage network is a high profile broadcast medium that displays content from a wide variety of content contributors and signage owners. The complexity of multi-user-generated content combined with the multi-location that’s time sensitive requires organizing content at a high level.
Content should be submitted by category. Filtering through these formats provides a logical structure and the ability for content creators to think strategically about how and where content is displayed so that it is meaningful to target audiences and consistent our Trent University’s communication goals.
Content has been divided into 7 categories
- Events
- Announcements
- Campus Updates
- Community Content
- Emergency Broadcasts
- News
- Branded Content
Template guidelines
Content creators will have ownership of location-based signs specific to their physical location. As a department, Communications will be able to edit and update the signs and may occasionally insert campus wide announcements. Communications can also override the screens in an emergency scenario should one arise.
Identified Stewards/Content Creators
- AC - coffee shop: Emily Neuman (Deborah Bright-Brundle)
- Bata - Tim Hortons: Loretta Durst (Dwayne Collins)
- Bata - lower bus entrance: Loretta Durst, (Dwane Collins)
- Bata - IT service desk: Sean Daniels (Tanna Edwards)
- Champlain - bookstore entrance: (Melanie Sedge)
- LEC - Dining hall: (Lindsay Morris)
- LEC - bridge entrance: (Lindsay Morris)
- Wenjack: (Ashley Wall)
- OC - Dining hall: (Ashley Wall)
- OC - Education wall: Rich McPherson, (Tom Forter)
- GC - Dining hall: (Lindy Garneau)
- DNA: (Ashley Wall)
- ERS: (Ashley Wall)
- GC - lower coffee atrium: (Lindy Garneau)