Mark Hemphill of ScreenScape with video bulletin board. CBC

Charlottetown company ScreenScape has attracted more than 1,000 customers in the last couple years and now has the support of a major investor.

Canada's largest IT services company has taken a major interest in the Island business.

Last week, Hartco Corp. invested $6 million in ScreenScape shares and they'll also have a spot on ScreenScape's board of directors.

"It's another new era for us. We're able to sort of pursue our priorities a little bit faster and make a few new investments in sales and marketing for example, in product development," said Mark Hemphill, the company creator and a media and communications professor at UPEI.

A few years ago, Hemphill noticed video ad displays in stores had gone a little stale.

So, he created the ScreenScape network — a way for businesses to not only update their displays, but to form advertising partnerships.

Charlottetown company ScreenScape has had 1,500 business pay to use its product in two years. screenscape.net

"They can log into ScreenScape, discover that other members of the service are actually in their own back yard, and actually engage that other members to share content on whatever terms they like," said Hemphill.

"So now you have a way of reaching audiences inside a variety of places where your target audience might go."

Real estate agent Joel Ives said he's no master of technology, but with a few clicks of a mouse, he's able to upload real estate listings and videos to a digital screen in Century 21's lobby.

He can also transfer material to other digital screens at other businesses.

"There's a company downtown — Kwik Copy — that's showing our video that we've made for a condo project right behind their building, cause they found they were getting questions about the building. And they asked for information from me, and we were able to share the data," said Ives.

In two years, more than 1,500 businesses in 14 countries have paid to be a part of the ScreenScape network.

Charlottetown's Confederation Centre is among them.

"So for example info about the Confederation Centre can be seen on screens at the visitor information centres that we've partnered with, as well as golf courses and other high traffic areas across P.E.I.," said Penny Walsh McQuire, the Confederation Centre's marketing director.

"Our customers range from the very smallest cafes and pubs to the very largest retail networks, healthcare networks, food and beverage chains, you name it," said Hemphill.

Hemphill said ScreenScape's client base is growing 10 per cent each month and he expects that by the end of this year, they'll have more than 3,000 clients.