Out-of-home digital media is one of the fastest growing advertising media in the industry today. In North America, an estimated 200 networks comprising 300,000 digital signage displays are deployed in retail stores (grocery, apparel, pharmacy, convenience, sporting goods, service stations) customer service locations (doctor’s waiting rooms, hotels, cinemas, malls), transportation areas (elevators, airports, train and public transport stations, walkways, building lobbies etc.) and other locations. According to InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, industry revenue is expected to grow at a 35% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), such that the 2005 revenue of $1.13 will grow to over $3.4 billion in revenue and one million digital signs by 2009. Clearly, the industry has reached a tipping point.
Advertisers have already seen a dramatic increase in their ability to reach their audiences using this highly targeted and effective media. Performance metrics include a 70% increase in unaided recall, over 10% sales lift on product or service revenues and 2-3% increase in shopping basket size. These increases are driven by the compelling value propositions of out-of-home digital media:
- Audiences are ‘captive’ while waiting in a checkout queue, at a medical office, in an elevator or at a service station.
- LCD and Plasma IP connected screens provide useful, engaging content relevant to the viewer in the context of the environment as well as other information such as special offers, reminders, news, weather, etc.
- The environment is enlivened with the introduction of motion and visual stimuli. As other visual media have already proven, faces on the screen attract attention.
The above value propositions highlight the critical need to develop compelling content that leverages out of home media to maximize expected results. Good quality content also avoids ‘wear-out’ since out-of-home digital media is invasive, unavoidable and gets highly noticed. The four key principles to keep in mind when creating content to ensure it delivers maximum results are:
Principle 1: Design content for a specific audience, context and time of the day
The network connectivity of digital signage enables an advertiser to show a different ad for the same brand at different locations to target a different audience. For example, an antacid tablet advertisement could carry a different message to someone waiting in a doctor’s office and an entirely different message to a Gen Y person who is zipping through the mall prior to meeting his friends for pizza. Similarly, an office elevator ad for the nearest deli could advertise coffee and muffins in the morning, hot lunch sandwiches between 11 and 12:30 PM and a Café Latte in the late afternoon.
Principle 2: Design content to exploit the technology
Out-of-home digital is an extremely dynamic media, so it does not make sense to use existing magazine ads or TV spots for this media. However, one does not need to create an entirely new content for this media. The key is to adapt existing assets from your content library to bring out the interactivity in the message. For example, one can extract 5 seconds of content out of a 30 second TV spot or animate an existing magazine ad to create a very compelling ad for out-of-home digital media. This enables the advertisers and agency to ensure the continuity of their brand message, reduce the cost of creating content for this medium, and reduce the cycle time for airing.
Principle 3: Include a value proposition and a call-to-action
Out-of-home digital is a captive medium and affords the chance to clearly articulate the brand value proposition and provide a call to action such as visiting a web site, trying the product today in aisle number 9, calling now to make a reservation, or texting to a destination for additional information.
Principle 4: Build the brand by selling benefits
Ensure that the message drives home the benefits of the product to answer the question in the audience’s mind – what is in it for me? By answering this question, an advertiser increases the possibility of an immediate sale to the audience - the best possible way to build a brand is by driving revenue. Proximity to point of purchase and the captive nature of the media ensures that the audience is all ears when the advertiser answers that question.
Out-of-home media is clearly a fast growing and productive advertising vehicle. But without good quality content, advertisers risk de-branding their product, while seeing less than expected results from the campaign. However, by following the principles outlined above, an advertiser can develop cost effective content in order to make out-of-home digital media an essential and efficient component of their media mix.
About the Author: Lyle Bunn is Strategy Architect with Alchemy, the digital display division of Pi Media, North America’s largest producer of digital content for commerce. Alchemy is part of the 2,000-person, St. Joseph’s Communications Group, which has been meeting the business communications and marketing needs of consumer product, services, retail, government and other sectors for 50 years. For additional information on this topic, refer to his later white paper The new Madison Avenue Diet: The Strategy for Performance-focused Dynamic Signage content at http://www.digitalsignageforum.com/the-new-madison-avenue-diet-whitepaper.html.
