A digital display showing posters and event information on the wall

The Dudley H. Davis Center has several flatscreen displays positioned around the building, including screens in the Tunnel, Brennan’s Pub & Bistro, Mansfield Room, New World Tortilla, Event Services and at the First and Third Floor Info Desks.  These screens run a continuous program which features a variety of information such as current building event data, UVM News, curated campus videos, and flyers and advertisements submitted from the UVM community.

SUBMIT TO OUR SCREENS!

FLATSCREEN GUIDELINES & FAQs

Our digital signage is intended to promote campus events, programs, student organizations, and other content related to the UVM community. To learn more about the submission process and our guidelines and requirements, please see below.

WHO CAN SUBMIT CONTENT TO THE SCREENS?

Any UVM Affiliate can submit content to our screens. This includes Student Clubs, Organizations, UVM Departments, and individuals submitting content on behalf of UVM affiliated and/or sponsored events. We currently do not publish content for non-UVM affiliates. We ask that the content of any slide be timely and relevant to the population visiting our student center. 

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS?

Digital communication strategies are different than traditional postering strategies; as such we go to great lengths to maintain the integrity of our building’s flatscreens as a viable resource to our visitors rather than just a digital bulletin board of messages. To do this we loosely curate the content on the screens to ensure the messages displayed are not only relevant to building’s population (students — current and prospective, and general staff) but easily seen and communicated. There may be times where we think your message would be better shared through different avenues (listservs, bulletin boards), and will work with you to identify what might best work for your specific case.

Audience & Content: The general population of the Davis Center consists of students (prospective and current) and UVM staff. Any content on the screens should speak to this population. We may suggest other marketing avenues if your audience is either too specific or outside the bounds of the building's population.

Dimensions: Any submitted content should be appropriately sized per the specs listed above. Content that is too small or inappropriately sized may not be able to be placed on our screens. Fonts: If your content is submitted as a word document or powerpoint, it must ONLY contain system fonts. Not all screens are able to support these types of documents at this time. Any additional fonts will not display on our screens and your content will not play as you intended. If you are using a variety of fonts it is recommended that you submit your content as an Image (JPG, PNG, etc) or PDF.

Additionally:
Commercial advertisement is prohibited.
All content must be submitted by and branded with the logo of an SGA recognized student organization or an academic or administrative unit or department.
All content must adhere to university policies, including Our Common Ground.
Content containing profanity, nudity, or vulgarity are prohibited.
Content that jeopardizes or otherwise goes against UVM’s commitment to creating a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and safe campus community is prohibited.
Submissions with spelling or formatting errors will be rejected and returned to the submitter for correction.
Submissions are only effective if they are legible for those walking past the screens — content that is over 50% text or has small or difficult-to-read text may be rejected and returned to the submitter for edits.
Content promoting a specific political party or specific candidate is prohibited.
Content containing copywriter or trademarked components is strictly prohibited unless proof of ownership or waiver of use is provided with the submission

As of November 2022, every content submission must include a written summary of text and information included in the image/video submitted, along with a description of any relevant imagery included.

The Department of Student Life reserves the right to accept or reject submissions for any reason, and additionally reserves the right to determine the duration, placement, and timing of content shared on the screens.

We recognize that these restrictions and requirements may not account for specific circumstances. If you’d like to discuss an exception to any of these guidelines, please reach out to us! We can’t guarantee that an exception will be possible, but we are always happy to have a conversation.

WHEN AND WHERE WILL MY CONTENT RUN?

Submitted slides will be added to our existing queue of content and will run for 10-15 seconds a piece continually throughout the day across all seven DC flatscreens. The frequency of their appearance depends on the amount of submitted content we have running at any given time. As our flatscreen network expands outside the Davis Center, some content may also play in other buildings on campus. We do not generally run content for longer than three weeks.
Please Note: Screens have automatic timers and are often turned off outside of regular business hours.

DOES IT COST MONEY TO PUBLISH TO THE DISPLAYS?

Nope! Adding content is free for UVM affiliates.

WHAT FILE TYPES ARE ACCEPTED?

Our flat screen system can accommodate a wide variety of file times including PDFs, Images (jpg, png, gif) and videos (without sound). To ensure your content looks as you intend it — we recommend saving your file as a PDF; this will ensure all parts of your flyer are saved in the document — especially fonts. We can accommodate a limited amount of video content on our screens. At this time we will not be accepting video content longer than 1:00 minute. Please note that the DC Flatscreens do not produce sound — so interview style videos or videos that require the audio to view will not work for our screens (and video content will require subtitles regardless for accessibility). Preferred movie format is .MP4 at 1920px by 1080px.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED IMAGE DIMENSIONS?

Our current flatscreen system currently has two different templates to accommodate posters and fliers of portrait orientation. Below are examples of these spaces and specs for you to craft your file(s). Files with different dimensions will automatically resize to fit the allotted space which may lead to undesirable results or quality.

LANDSCAPE
1920px1080px This content will fill the screen entirely. Great for showcasing major programming, engaging visual designs, or animated work.

PORTRAIT
700x1080px (or any preexisting 11 x 17 inch poster design) This content will appear alongside an RSS feed calendar. Remember to keep text large and brief when possible, as it will be difficult to read at a distance!

HOW DO I SUBMIT CONTENT?

Submitting content is easy — Just fill out the form linked above! If your file(s) are too larget to send through the form, you may send them using UVM's file transfer system. You will receive an e-mail confirmation from our office when your content has been added. 

Please note: Due to the large amount of submissions we receive, we ask that submissions be at least 7 days prior to when you wish your content to begin playing. Submissions received after this time cannot be guaranteed. If you have a unique submission, question, or a problem with the submission process, please send an e-mail to DCScreen@uvm.edu.

 

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION BEST PRACTICES:

Here are some tips and best practices to ensure your content is added quickly:

  • For the accessibility of information on our campus - digital signage should not be the only means of promoting your event. Please consider advertising your events in a variety of different avenues, including UVM BORED, Announcements & Events, and/or even an accessible PDF to appropriate listservs to maximize our community’s ability to access this information
  • Your ad should communicate your message quickly and effectively, at a glance and from a distance.
  • Make your your event title and date immediately visible so viewers can see it from afar. Keep long-form text or content brief and to a minimum; 15 seconds is not a long time to read descriptions, and most viewers won’t even try on our flatscreens. Screens are mounted on ceilings and walls. Think about if your content is easy to see from 4-5 feet away; if not, rethink your messaging for the flat screens.
  • Contact information (website, phone number, email -etc) should be prominent so viewers can easily learn how to find more information if they’re interested.
  • If you are sending a word document or powerpoint — please be sure to use default system fonts — or save each slide as an individual pdf otherwise your content will likely play with different fonts than you intended.

a wall lined floor to ceiling with student designed posters

Need Help with Design?

If you're an SGA-Recognized Student organization looking to create awesome marketing materials, the Department of Student Life Graphic Designers are here to help! Let a team of talented student designers create awesome visuals to help you promote your club, organization, or event - for FREE. And yes, that includes a beautiful slide to promote your organization on our flatscreens!

Submit a Marketing Request ➝

The FourWinds Interactive logo that says Four Winds Interactive

What's the Software?

All the digital signage in the Davis Center (including that of its vendors and services - and a number of campus partners) is powered by FourWinds Interactive (FWI).  If you have questions about the installation and/or expansion of the DC flatscreen network, please feel free to send an e-mail to dcscreen@uvm.edu.

Learn More about FWI ➝

 

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