Mills Malls

"Mills TV" is the distributed television system used throughout the common areas of Mills Mall locations to broadcast mall events, stores sales and more. Electrosonic's processing and control systems make it simple to create compelling, customized messages for last-minute promotions and events.

Shopping isn't just about shopping anymore. It's a journey, entertainment, an adventure to experience. And The Mills Corporation is in large part responsible for that transformation. The company is one of the pre-eminent developers and operators of entertainment and mega malls in the United States, with seven malls, 11 community shopping centers, and more under development. The malls are enormous. Each average 200 stores and 1.7 million square feet of leasing area. Impressive as they are, though, statistics don't begin to describe the experience. As Larry Siegel, chairman and CEO of The Mills Corporation says, "We invented 'destination shopping' to excite shoppers and outshine the competition." And they do: on average, 18 million people visit each center every year. Electrosonic Systems plays an important role in helping Mills Malls to shine.

Technological wizardry

Electrosonic Systems has 30 years' experience in designing and engineering technical systems to control animation and light, process audio and video and run complex electronic entertainment systems. The company's engineers are technological experts and problem-solvers who help many high-profile retail developers stay ahead of the competition and in the forefront of shopper's minds.

Electrosonic designed, engineered and installed a variety of video display solutions for six Mills Malls shopping centers: Potomac Mills, Washington D.C.; Sawgrass Mills, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Gurnee Mills, Gurnee, ILL.; Ontario Mills, Ontario, Calif.; Grapevine Mills, Dallas, Texas and Arizona Mills, Tempe, Ariz. The creative and customized solutions include a sophisticated distributed television system with oversized monitors, videowalls and displays of suspended video cubes.

Tune in to Mills TV

Daniel Barnycz, senior creative and technical director for Mills Malls, called in Electrosonic Systems to help design the fiber optic, digitized distributed television system called "Mills TV." The in-mall TV network uses various Electrosonic high-resolution video display devices - linked by Electrosonic's proprietary processing and control systems - to saturate the common areas with commercial messages. While strolling through the mall, shoppers can simply look up at a monitor to learn about mall events, store sales, new tenants and more.

Daniel discovered Electrosonic about 10 years ago and has worked with them ever since. "Electrosonic understands my design concepts and they have the engineering expertise to bring them to life," he says. "Their responsive service and maintenance has been a major benefit."

High-impact, low-cost commercials

Each Mills Malls site is equipped with a complete video production studio and full-time staff to keep the creative product consistent and production costs affordable for tenants. "Often, store managers have no warning about what items are being shipped from their distributors, and that gives them little time to prepare in-mall promotions," says Barnycz. An on-site studio and in-mall TV offers the advantages of customized messages, low cost-per-impression and high impact. And its effectiveness is proven. "Retailers have sold hundreds of items that were only advertised on Mills TV," says Barnycz.