BrainTrust Query: Is it possible, and advisable, to establish a set of industry metrics to gauge in-store media effectiveness?

By Laura Davis-Taylor, Founder and Principal, Retail Media Consulting

While participating in Ad Week in NYC last week, I attended the POPAI's At-Retail Media conference. It was a fantastic event focused on the growing emphasis on marketing at retail. POPAI believes Retail Media is simply a reflection of the retail environment as it exists today. They state that this is comprised of:

• Traditional CPG product merchandising
• CPG direct product sales
• Retailers who are branding and customizing their stores and their chains to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Dick Blatt, POPAI's global president, dove passionately into subjects such as: finding research and valuation metrics for store media efforts; looking at technologies that are currently in our toolkit (as well as on the horizon); and how to bring it all together for positive shopper engagement.

The American Association of Ad Agencies also quietly sponsored a Retail Media event this week, further verifying that they are embracing the channel as a ripe opportunity for reaching consumers.

Where is all of this going? In listening to brilliant POV's on Retail Media, it is clear that most of the constituents feel that "media" efforts in the store need to be planned, purchased and measured via the very same processes and metrics as all other media. This is a world of GRP's - or reach and frequency - and is based on capturing "eyeballs." This, many feel, is the only way that the advertising industry will transfer significant media funds from traditional broadcast TV to new store opportunities.

Last Wednesday, at the In-Store Marketing Expo in Chicago, the In-Store Metrics Consortium unveiled the Pioneering Research for an In-Store Metric (or P.R.I.S.M.) model. Their goal is to deliver "a common language to determine consumer reach in-store" with a type of Nielson rating for store media. Proctor & Gamble is the primary sponsor, with 3M, Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Kellogg's, Miller Brewing, Alberstons, Kroger, Walgreens and Wal-Mart also involved. Rather than traditional GRP's rooted in reach and frequency, the P.R.I.S.M. GRP's are calculated for specific locations within the store and are based on traffic x compliance x unduplicated impressions.

Peter Hoyt of the In-Store Marketing Institute feels that, via P.R.I.S.M.'s metrics, "retailers will determine what advertising vehicles and communications best meet their objectives, and potential advertisers will be able to evaluate those opportunities accurately." He is also careful to note that all involved must evaluate which specific strategies and objectives are most effective at improving the shopping experience.

Discussion Questions: Should we create a standard GRP valuation for store media touchpoints? Do you feel that metrics will convince traditional media agencies to pour "advertising dollars" into the store, seeing the environment as a rich opportunity for brand messaging?

Kudos to P.R.I.S.M. for a fabulous effort that is very exciting for our industry. We've been struggling with the valuation of the store as a marketing vehicle for far too long. This is not surprising, as we still struggle with valuating traditional broadcast, TV and print. In fact, the only media we don't have this struggle with are direct and interactive marketing, where accountability is more trackable.

If we want to capture a higher percentage of media dollars from large agencies, it makes all the sense in the world to model "retail media" in their nomenclature and buying processes. However, we need to think hard about how much control the agencies will ultimately have over "buying media" in-store that's valuated by "eyeballs." Retailers have tight control over their store real estate and are increasingly focused on cross-channel merchandising promotions that enhance the consumer shopper experience. Most often, these promotions are valuated and negotiated directly between the merchant and the brand manufacturer.

Another point is that we must ask ourselves if consumers even want in-store advertising to "capture" them. Over and over again, we hear that due to the aggressive use of TiVo, ad blockers and consumer control devices, the store is the one place remaining where strong consumer reach is assured. Call me crazy, but why would we try to replicate the same old "look at me" advertising models in-store that people are rejecting in other channels?

Guy Vaughan from Retail Marketing Services was clear at the At-Retail Media conference that camps like the In-Store Metrics Consortium are aiming to create audience metrics first, then standards for ROI and message effectiveness. Understanding that this is the long term goal is key, as we see that their end game for valuation is rooted in solid ROI.

It's very, very important that we all keep this in mind as retail media gains popularity. Traditional advertising is struggling with their desire to hold onto the "value of the eyeball" and we can't risk hurting in-store consumer relationships. The agencies have fantastic value to bring to retail media, but not if they come to it with old models that are already suffering.