While most retailers can’t wait to see the results of Black Friday sales, customers of the Dallas, TX Neiman Marcus flagship store and their children are more excited about the opening of the second in a series of innovative holiday window mini-theme parks.
The tubular system, which winds its way through a series of front display windows – even extending outward over the sidewalk – has become a favorite crawling experience for children of all ages, especially for those 4-10. The creation, which is the brainchild of Ignaz Gorischek, vice president of store development for Neiman Marcus, is a 200 ft. crawl tube accessible from the sidewalk and outfitted with more than 75 viewports. The design allows the pint size patrons to “live” the story told in each display window, while their parents and other children awaiting their turn can see every move via a series of 28 Vector Security video cameras located throughout the tubes.
According to Bill Dito, Vector Security’s National Account Manager who handles the Neiman Marcus account, the video system serves two distinct purposes. “First and foremost, the ‘kid cams’ give parents peace of mind, since they can see their child while in the tubes, and store personnel are aware of any safety-related issues within the tubular system. Secondly, adding even more to the fun of watching the kids in action, additional monitors allow for implementation of an exciting new interactive feature this year. ‘Texting points’ in each display window will trigger one of six special effects inside the window (displaying the last 4 digits of the phone number that triggered the event/activity).” A complete DVR recording system is also provided and is designed to record all activities during the program duration for the Neiman Marcus loss prevention department.
In 2009, when the interactive concept was introduced, the theme was entitled “Innovations in Energy,” with each display window dedicated to promoting a different form of future energy sources. The 2010 theme takes the children on a fantasy tour through space, and is entitled “Big Encounters of the Little Kind.” The display includes 800 stars, decorated by the Big Brothers – Big Sisters programs of Dallas.
Neiman Marcus expects more than 7,000 children to participate in the event this year. The program opened on Saturday, November 20th and runs through the end of the year. According to Gorischek, nearly two dozen talented painters, sculptors, and surveillance specialists (Vector Security) dedicated themselves to this project. “The kid cams installation was designed and installed by Vector Security, a proud sponsor of this year’s holiday window experience.” The Ganz cameras and recording units used for this project were donated to Vector Security by one of its CCTV vendors, CBC (AMERICA) Corporation.
To view a video clip of the window display and its creation, visit
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/templates/F0.jhtml?itemId=cat35160731