RetailWire: Media Follows Consumers Outside the Home
This article was originally posted on April 3, 2009 at RetailWire.
By George Anderson
It’s the holy grail of advertising. What medium, what message will it take to break through the clutter and influence consumers to buy whatever it is that is being pitched?
Most advertisers and agencies today have accepted the notion of targeting messages to specific audiences as the means to most effectively generate the type of response desired.
Rocky Gunderson, co-founder and vice president of marketing and network development for SeeSaw Networks, believes that digital signage networks are a solution that literally can go wherever consumers go to work, play, shop and socialize.
He pointed to research conducted by OTX (Online Testing eXchange) for SeeSaw that found the average consumer notices six to eight digital signs in different places over the course of a week. That number goes up to eight to 10 times with younger consumers.
Reaching younger consumers is a key selling point for in-store digital signage. Today, the young are greater consumers of all media and frequently are making use of a variety of message delivery systems all at the same time.
“Companies are looking to brand a new consumer base as the older one is leaving. It should be easy for an advertiser to see they’re not going to be able to brand the new consumer base with TV the same way they did with the old consumer base,” Mr. Gunderson told RetailWire.
Digital signage also holds the promise that comes with connecting with other media.
Although a relatively small number of advertisers are making use of digital signage and mobile or online technology today, there is interest and signs of progress.
Mr. Gunderson pointed to a campaign run across a variety of digital signage networks to support a campaign for a new Bloomingdale’s in Orange County, California.
“We ran a highly targeted campaign within zip codes with an invitation to a pre-opening party and a coupon offer. We put texting capability into the program and had the campaign running at gas stations, health clubs and coffee shops. We tried to pick areas where we could target Alpha Moms, places where they would hang out during the course of their daily routines,” said Mr. Gunderson.
Consumers were provided with texting directions to receive the invite and coupon. Bloomingdale’s was able to assess the effectiveness of the campaign through the texting component.
Mr. Gunderson sees more campaigns linking digital devices as a growing number of agencies seek to move “toward a more full digital or digital 365 experience.”
He talked about the opportunity for messaging at gas stations and coffee shops where while waiting in line or for the tank to fill, consumers can be given website or mobile information to receive details on promotions, schedule test drives at auto dealerships, get directions to the closest location for a retailer in a non-competing category, etc.
One area where SeeSaw sees opportunities for growth is in sports venues such as stadiums and racetracks. “It really gives us an opportunity to build around events. We find that event-based networks bring some sizzle to the messaging and are great for retail and QSR,” he said.
Discussion Questions: Do you see a convergence of digital signage and other digital media, specifically mobile and/or online, taking off anytime soon? What digital venues do you think hold the greatest promise for brands and retailers looking to 1) drive consumer traffic to stores and 2) driving purchases once consumers are in stores?
