The store of the near future uses digital marketing to keep its edge

IN-STORE MARKETING as we know it is in the throes of a radical transformation. Static, point-of-sale marketing material is being replaced with dynamic and interactive digital communications. Imagine a store with no ill informed shop assistants, trying to sell us rather than tell us, what we want to know about that "new Adidas trainer" on display... when instead, all we need to do is pick the trainer up, and everything we could ever wish to know about the shoe will be displayed on an LCD screen conveniently positioned above it.

This `store of the near future` will use digital media to send static or moving images to a single screen or a group of screens, communicating with consumers while they shop and where they interact with brands. "This allows retailers, advertisers and brand owners to radically extend their reach and influence at a very low cost and are usually able to measure their ROI," explains , CEO of One Digital Media (ODM).

This statement is backed up by research findings conducted on 22 brands in South Africa, which found that brands stand out 33% more when the brand is advertised on in-store digital screens.

Awareness of the screen by the shopper appears to convert into a 29.6% increase in sales made, and 63% of respondents who saw a particular brand advertised on screen felt they were growing closer to the brand versus 23% who didn`t.

UNIQUE SOLUTIONS

Enter ODM. The company reports that it is the largest provider of dynamic in-store digital media in South Africa, providing a world-class media network to brand marketers, retailers and advertising agencies. ODM currently broadcasts to more than 7 500 screens in over a thousand stores, taverns and free-standing units and can broadcast to any one screen or group of screens in a true narrowcasting fashion. ODM has worked with 83 of South Africa`s leading brands, including Spar, Unilever, , Coca-Cola, Nivea, , Gillette, Cosmopolitan, Bacardi, and Cadbury, among others.

"ODM`s screen integration and placement strategy, combined with the in-house software platform, results in a highly compliant and effective marketing tool for brands at point of sale," says Bosman. "The speed and agility of building the ODM networks allows for rapid deployment of a turnkey solution, and we design tailor-made solutions according to each customer`s needs."

For example, ODM was approached by Beiersdorf to produce an interactive solution for Nivea that would integrate into their point-of-purchase display. The Nivea BlueWall included a 32 inch LCD screen flighting various Nivea product ads as well as a 10 inch touch screen designed to encourage consumer participation. The touch screen and its content were developed by ODM to engage the consumer through a full product search and recommendation facility.

"Being able to track the touch screen data allows Nivea to see which products are being sought the most, at what time, in which region and by whom (male or female)," explains Bosman. "The Nivea BlueWall is an example of an interactive in-store solution that benefits the consumer and provides tactical opportunities and data for the brand."

ODM has used a Foschini store in the Cape to showcase the possibilities of dynamic in-store digital media. Featuring all of the dynamic and interactive digital communication applications that will form a part of our everyday retail environment in the near future, it opens a window on the endless marketing opportunities that will make life even tougher on our wallets.



Tags: Digital  Media