Digital signage and integrated marketing

The critical question for marketers today is how to effectively target this audience. How can today’s connected consumer, with all this technology at their fingertips, who is still time-poor, be reached? How can advertising be made fresh and relevant to this increasingly sophisticated and sceptical audience?

First, they must be engaged by what they see. Second, it must be targeted and address the key question for any consumer: “what’s in it for me?”, and it must also be in context and relevant to their activity at the time. While these issues might be obvious, putting them into practice is another matter entirely.

Does digital signage offer a solution?

In North America alone, the digital signage market is expected to grow from US$148.9 million in 2004 to US$856.9 million in 2011^[1].

But the problem so far has been that marketers are wrestling with where digital signage fits into their overall strategy. However, consider that digital signage is not simply ‘advertising’ but an integral part of the customer experience with the music and images they see on screen all part of their visit to the store. This can be used to reinforce brand and create a sense of identity for a store.

It is a medium for actively communicating with the shopper and fits in with the recent shift in consumer habits – the concept of moving away from “mass media” to “my media” – today’s consumer seeks interactivity and more personalised communication.

Therefore, creative agencies shouldn’t be thinking of it in terms of an alternative advertising format to posters, for example – there has been the view that digital signage is more expensive when compared to traditional in-store media, such as print posters and shelf strips. But this is a short-sighted view.

Digital signage is a different medium – it is not merely a digital replacement for traditional posters. It is a truly interactive format that should be considered as part of a broad marketing strategy. It is an active medium, unlike the poster or the leaflet. It is harder to ignore and it engages the consumer. In many senses, it has more in common with TV advertising than posters, but with the key advantage that digital signage is seen at the point of purchase and there is now a view in the industry that the two formats should work side by side, complementing each other.

This does, however, raise questions about how to use the format effectively. Consumers don’t want to be bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information. But, used in context, digital signage is already proving its worth in delivering strong brand awareness, and increased sales.

One study cites that the average recall of a brand advertised on Wal-Mart television is 66%, compared with 24% for brands advertised on in-home television^[2]. Another study found that 7-Eleven in Denmark increased its coffee sales by 30%, while sales for a new soft drink went up by 109% after installing digital signage^[3].

Sony talks about the ‘rule of three’ as key to success – content on digital signage should consist of the right mix of promotions, information and entertainment. Finding the right mix should capture the shopper’s attention and drive them to action.

Finding the ‘me’ factor

Digital signage gives marketers greater spontaneity. There are no delays or extra printing costs if a promotion needs to change quickly. Adverts can be disseminated rapidly to a whole chain of stores or they can be changed according to the demographics of an area. In-store promotions can be measured and any subsequent alterations made in a timely fashion. In essence, marketers can move at the speed of thought, not the speed of their printers.

Crucially, digital signage is also all about being at the right place at the right time. Seventy four percent of purchase decision-making takes place in-store – the consumer sees the advert or the promotion on the digital screen, they are in the corresponding aisle standing next to the product – and they can immediately relate to the “what’s in it for me?” factor and immediately select the product off the shelf.

Digital signage brings the awareness of a brand closer to the point of purchase – logic dictates that this has to lead to a positive increase in sales. While many in the world of advertising will talk about making a rational and emotional connection with the brand, digital signage connects retailers with the consumer’s wallet – it’s just so much more immediate and even lends itself to a directed, ‘impulse purchase’.

It is also more sophisticated than even a digital poster. Digital signage is versatile and enables marketers to put together an advertising package that enhances the particular lifestyle they might be trying to convey, it can also reinforce the brand, and deliver the more explicit promotional aspects. It can be both subtle and direct.

You can engage the audience through entertainment – it can grab their attention and put them in the right mindset. Say, for example, the weather forecast predicts sunshine for the next week, you can instantly change your digital package to highlight the fun of barbecuing, and tailor your promotions for meat products accordingly.

The technology can be used to gather information about consumers. Some displays offer the facility to obtain data through touch screens or motion sensors. Find out who is looking at the screen and when. What are they viewing most, what are their ages, their backgrounds and their brand preferences?

There are creative opportunities, too, in where the screens are placed. Floor panels, for instance, provide an element of surprise to capture initial attention, or screens can be themed according to the aisle in which they are located.

The power to entertain

Advertising has moved on a long way from being able to beam a television advert straight into the living room of the consumer and know that if it is good enough, it will have the desired effect. Marketers need to address the fact that people are continually on the move and traditional boundaries have been blurred – TV is not just watched in the home, the news is not just read about in the morning papers, work not just done in the office at a desktop PC. How can you target such fidgety consumers?

The key is in being relevant – digital signage is in-store and out-of-home and must be appropriate to the customer’s current activity. Today’s consumer also looks for added value in their activities and, used effectively, digital signage can offer them entertainment on a routine shopping trip whilst providing targeted promotions that offer real incentives to purchase.

Five steps to reach the mobile consumer

1. Be explicit in what’s in it for the consumer – the direct benefit
   
2. Be relevant – get into the minds of the audience and tailor the advertising to current activity
   
3. Be timely – use technology to change promotions according to internal and external factors
   
4. Provide added-value – entertainment or additional information such as recipes related to a product
   
5. Use technology to your advantage to be more spontaneous and creative.
   

^[1] Frost & Sullivan estimates the size of the North American Digital Signage Systems Markets comprising of revenues from sale of digital signage systems including displays, software, software maintenance, media players, design, installation and networking services at US$148.9 million in 2004 and forecasts the market to reach US$856.9 million in 2011 at a CAGR of 28.40%.

^[2] “Wal-Mart Adds In-Store TV Sets, Lifts Advertising”, Wall Street Journal (22 September 2004)