Detroit Nonprofit Deploys Carousel Signage to Split Kids' Content and Parent Info
2026-09-11 · via Digital Signage Today
The Children's Center, a Detroit nonprofit offering behavioral health and child welfare services, has deployed Carousel Digital Signage in its lobby to run two types of content on the same screen at once: cartoons for children and event or program information for parents and guardians, according to a press release from Carousel.
The project illustrates a use case that comes up often outside retail and corporate settings: shared waiting spaces where two audiences with different needs occupy the same room. For operators managing screens in clinics, community centers, schools or similar facilities, the split-screen approach is a straightforward way to serve both audiences without alternating content on a timer.
Rachel Eaton, the center's manager of marketing and communications, brought the idea from a previous role in university athletics marketing, where she had worked with Carousel on campus-wide signage. She said the center's small IT team and limited bandwidth had kept digital signage off the priority list until she pushed for a platform that could handle scheduling and run without constant hands-on management.
According to the release, the center evaluated several signage platforms before choosing Carousel, and some competing options could not run simultaneous video and messaging content on a single screen, a requirement given the two-audience layout. The release does not name which platforms were considered or say how many screens are involved.
The center reports increased attendance at events including a health and wellness fair, a trunk-or-treat and a back-to-school backpack bazaar, which it attributes in part to the more consistent branding and communication the signage enabled. No figures were given for attendance increases.
Vendor advice for smaller deployments
Amber Ward, senior marketing director at Carousel, used the case to lay out general guidance for organizations starting a signage project, aimed mainly at resource-constrained teams. She said content creation is often the biggest obstacle for smaller organizations because signage duties tend to land on staff who are already stretched, and recommended building a content plan before launch rather than after.
Ward also advised buyers to check whether a CMS can scale from a couple of screens to a larger network without adding administrative overhead, and to look for automation such as calendar or RSS feed syncing to reduce manual updates. She said IT should not be made responsible for day-to-day content, and that IT and communications teams need to agree early on who owns content creation, uploading and system access.
The announcement does not detail pricing, contract terms, or the specific hardware used to run the displays.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from Digital Signage Today for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
The Children’s Center in Detroit teamed with Carousel Digital Signage to deploy a digital signage system that delivers important information while engaging children with comforting content.
September 11, 2026 by Judy Mottl — Editor: RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com, Connect Media
The Children's Center, a Detroit non-profit providing behavioral health and child welfare services, tapped digital signage to meet two primary goals: deploy important information to the community it serves while engaging young children with familiar, comforting content all within its lobby space.
For the organization, every point of contact is an opportunity to reinforce that the center is a safe space. Something they want families to feel from the moment a child walks through the door.
The digital signage strategy was introduced by Rachel Eaton, who joined the center in early 2025 as manager of marketing and communications.
Eaton gained extensive experience with large-scale digital displays during a previous role at a major university, and views the technology as an asset for the Children's Center.
In her previous role as assistant director for marketing and fan engagement for the university's athletic department, Eaton worked with the department's in-house creative team to implement digital signage across campus in partnership with Carousel Digital Signage.
"As I developed marketing campaigns for athletic teams, I understood how signage functioned as a strategic marketing channel to promote ticket sales, events and fan engagement. That perspective allowed me to think about signage as part of a broader communications strategy," she said in a press release .
"So it was a natural fit for the Children's Center to partner with Carousel to drive better communications on events, connect with families and inspire more parents to become foster parents," said Eaton.
The Children's Center's internal team had considered digital signage for its lobby TVs, but the project hadn't been a priority given its small IT team and limited bandwidth. About five months into her, role the digital signage strategy was back on the center's to do list and Eaton knew it had to be more than a slideshow approach.
"We needed a system that allowed for scheduling, organization, and flexibility," Eaton said. "I needed a platform that would allow me to upload content, schedule it and trust that it would run seamlessly without requiring constant management. That's when I knew a system like Carousel would be the right fit," she said.
Creating a welcoming and comforting environment for children entering the center was essential, so the lobby display uses a split screen to play cartoons for young clients while communicating important information to families, helping create a safe, calm and less clinical space.
"Being able to display both simultaneously ensured that we didn't have to choose between engagement and communication. It allowed us to prioritize the child experience while still effectively sharing key messages," Eaton said.
During the technology evaluation process Easton and the internal team explored several options – some lacked a much wanted functionality such as the ability to run both video content and messaging simultaneously. The team wanted to schedule and automate content as well. It also wanted a strong level of support.
"From the beginning, I had access to guidance, the ability to ask questions, and even test the platform. That kind of partnership makes a significant difference, particularly in a nonprofit environment where time and resources are limited," said Eaton.
The Children's Center met both its initial goals with the help of Carousel Digital Signage and reaped a few more success points.
One was the establishment of consistent and organization-wide branding. The second was the implementation of a cohesive brand across all channels.
"We're also seeing increased brand awareness and engagement within the community. This is reflected in record attendance at several of our events, including our health and and wellness fair, trunk or treat, and back-to-school backpack bazaar."
Digital signage success is not only tied to working with an expert partner. Organizations and enterprises need to start with asking four fundamental questions – who, where, what and by whom, said Amber Ward, senior marketing director at Carousel Digital Signage.
"Take our work with The Children's Center. They knew they had two distinct audiences occupying the same space: children and parents/guardians. They targeted the waiting room, a high-traffic area where children need to be entertained and parents/guardians have a few uninterrupted minutes to absorb information," Ward said in an email interview. "While the kids needed engaging content, the center needed a way to share upcoming events and information with parents and guardians. To solve this, they split their screen layouts to accommodate both audiences simultaneously: streaming YouTube videos on one side and broadcasting events and other information on the other."
One of the most common challenges to digital signage success is content creation, especially as small organizations where everyone already has too much work on the plate.
"This is often the biggest roadblock, especially for smaller organizations where digital signage usually gets dumped onto someone's already overflowing plate. Keeping screens fresh without burning out your staff is a massive challenge, but if you map out a sustainable content plan ahead of time, it transforms a potential bottleneck into a huge win," Ward said.
Ward offered several tips an enterprise should consider before officially kicking off a digital signage project.
"You might start with only one or two screens, but teams quickly realize the value of digital signage and want to expand. Not all CMS platforms are created equal; ensure the software you choose can scale seamlessly from a couple of displays to an enterprise network without multiplying your administrative workload," said Ward
A critical rule of thumb for long-term content strategy is simple: do not make IT responsible for day-to-day content. IT and communication teams must collaborate early to define ownership, she added.
Organizations need to ask and answer several questions at the start. Those questions include who will create and upload the content, how many users will need system access, where will the content come from and can you leverage existing tools.
"Look for automation integrations like syncing with a specific calendar or RSS feed to keep your screens fresh without adding a massive manual burden to a staff's daily workload," said Ward, adding to check if the CMS integrates with tools already using so you can easily repurpose and share content from one platform to another.
"Choosing infrastructure built for diverse, evolving enterprise environments guarantees durability and minimizes friction during deployment," she said.
Judy Mottl is the editor of RetailCustomerExperience.com and DigitalSignageToday.com at Connect Media. She is an award-winning editor, reporter and blogger who has worked for top media for nearly four decades, including AOL, InformationWeek and Internet News, as well as for leading technology providers including HP. She’s written everything from breaking news to in-depth industry trends and reported on technology long before the internet arrived, including the debut of the first smartphone. When she's not sharing insights on digital signage deployments and trends in retail customer experience she's on the beach or watching the latest live murder trial.
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