Item: Poppulo
Rating: 9
Author: Ben Erling

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Four Winds Interactive is being used to power our nationwide network of screens that entertain, educate and help process queues of people in captive waiting environments. It addresses the problem of frustrated consumers who may need or want more information about the venue or their transaction, and with the help of our partners, organizes and processes transactions with visual cues on screen.

Pros and Cons

The FWi platform handles very complex or unique situations better than other signage solutions. They support every standard type of data and web service, and through a supplemental Integration Framework product they can support almost anything out there... or things that aren't even out there yet.
Their support and assistance has gotten very good over the years; I'd say it is now excellent. Their team of sign builders and engineers have advanced knowledge of the product and how it can be used; you won't get a "did you try restarting it?" when dealing with them.

The documentation for their products is lacking. I'm a fairly capable IT professional, so often times I just need something to point me in the right direction. Unfortunately, for their flagship software products, the documentation is very basic, and sometimes non-existent for more advanced capabilities.

Return on Investment

It has provided us with a reliable and capable platform to build our business model on. Advertising revenue is our main source of revenue, and FWi has provided us the only solution that can accommodate both the needs of our sponsors AND the needs of our venues. The successful ROI of FWI cannot be overstated.

Alternatives Considered

Simply put, FWi outperforms just about any other software solution by being more adaptable and more reliable, while being competitively priced for its class (top shelf). It's not as cheap as using "free" signage software that's in the cloud, or built into display screens (LG), but if you plan on doing more than running slides and you plan on doing it in multiple locations and screens, this is the platform to do it on - especially if your venues and needs vary across the network.

Key Insights

Do you think Poppulo delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Poppulo's feature set?

Yes

Did Poppulo live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Poppulo go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Poppulo again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

If you have need of a signage solution for a single screen or single location, this may not be the best choice. It is a feature-packed solution that can outperform even the highest-priced signage software companies, but if you don't need to take advantage of these capabilities and just need some powerpoint slides on a screen, I wouldn't recommend Four Winds Interactive (FWi). If you have need of a multiple location, multiple-screen signage network, this is your solution - especially if you have to integrate with other solutions, vendors or data.

Support Rating

Their support is always spot-on, although they can be a bit delayed following up depending on the type of issue you're having.

Four Winds Interactive is the most capable, adaptable solution I have used - it's the only one that could handle ALL of our needs.

Overall Satisfaction with Four Winds Interactive