In-Store Video Networks Catch Shoppers at Crucial Moment
Shopper marketing, otherwise known as “point of purchase” marketing, is estimated to grow at a higher rate than any other marketing tactic over the next three years, according to a Deloitte study for Grocery Manufacturers Assn (via BNet).
In-store marketing has traditionally taken the form of shelf talkers, end-aisle displays, and other visual attractions that are meant to catch shoppers at a key moment in the purchase decision. Other methods have included prerecorded callouts, displays with product details, and indiscriminately placed video screens that played TV ads at random.
But the newest form of in-store media—targeted video—is getting attention from retailers, manufacturers, and ad agencies as a possible way to achieve higher levels of targeting than ever before, writes Brandweek.
The new system of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) screens lets retailers control content, advertising, and merchandising down to a single screen. As a shoppers walk by, they are provided with a calculated mix of product information and marketing messaging—an echo of the days when clerks familiar with every item in the store helped customers make choices.
In contrast to TV spots, where the content’s purpose is to build brands, the system is designed to create a more attractive shopping experience and ultimately close the sale, right there and then.
Wal-Mart is one of the first companies to implement the new system, having already invested about $10 million into the Walmart Smart Network. It is up and running at 300 stores, and the company plans to have it in 2,700 stores by early 2010.
Others, seeing Wal-Mart dive in, may follow suit soon enough, said Virginia Cargill, president for CBS Outernet, which operates networks for 10 grocery retailers plus GameStop and Foot Locker.
Some 95% of CPG marketing execs plan to either maintain or increase investments in retail store media, according to a Booz & Co. survey.
Still, companies won’t “radically shift” to the new method. At the end of the day they’re holding dollars that are accountable to sales, so they’re more likely to rely on tried-and-true shopper marketing tactics, said Tonya Collins of OgilvyAction—one of the many shopper-marketing units that are springing out of major agencies.