BrainTrust Query: Is in-store digital media for branding, sales lift…or both?
As in-store marketing strategies - both traditional and digital - are heating up in retail and Madison Avenue workrooms, an interesting thing is taking place. It's highlighted quite well in a MediaPost article last month that digs into NBC's push into retail media and the new category of out-of-home television networks. Tempting the marketing industry with the promise of capturing hard to reach people with brand messages, the piece explores some past challenges and whether this media will indeed be branding's "next big thing."
The article sparked plenty of conversation in the digital signage industry, as, like other articles before it, sides lined up to debate the primary purpose of these increasingly popular digital screens appearing within retail stores. On the one side, driven by advertising and media people, is the argument that digital signage is the ideal brand-building vehicle for delivering media messages to people while they shop. They are present in stores; why not hit them with the brand messages struggling to secure mass reach on home televisions? On the other side is the notion that any store messaging, digital included, should be utilized first and foremost to deliver targeted messages designed to lift sales.
Joe Mandese, the author of the piece and MediaPost's editor, explored many of the fits and starts in "in-store TV's" past and made a key point: "The only question is whether they (industry players) have learned from its past, and now understand what makes TV work inside stores - where it didn't work before."
But is a TV broadcast network the right way to look at this burgeoning media? And for what primary purpose?
Discussion Questions: Should marketers be focusing on building brand value with in-store digital media or is it strategically naive to veer away from a laser focus on sales lift? Can both be accomplished? Why revert to the "in-store TV" model?
[Author's commentary] We did some freelance work last year with a major media firm that was in the midst of an integrated pitch to a large CPG manufacturer. To their merit, they were seeking to extend their brand and media campaign to the store, a new "media vehicle" for the firm. As we delivered the in-store "media plan" to the CPG, we were surprised to find that they weren't interested in what it would do strategically for their company, the retailer and the shopper. Instead, they were fixated on the GRP value of each idea. For readers not familiar, this abbreviation stands for "Gross Rating Points," a way to measure a traditional media vehicle for efficiency. We tried to help them understand that stores don't merchandise against GRP value, as their goals are rooted in sales.
The point is that interactive agencies look at this kind of store media and view it as a method to translate web strategies in-store. Media firms see GRPs, reach and frequency. Traditional advertising firms see branding. Direct marketing firms see targeting opportunities and POP folks see it as digital merchandising. You get the drift.
My firm's view of the world is that the overarching goal of these new digital media tools should be sales. How you connect relevantly with shoppers to get there - be it sexy, engaging branding messages, targeted and day parted animated messages, valuable interactive screen strategies or powerful animated POP - is part of the strategic challenge. But if the end result can't be tied concretely to sales, it's simply not going to fly in the long run. This is not to say that the branding aspect is not still important, but it certainly should not be the driving force. After all, it's a store, not a living room!