Wednesday, 06 March 2013
“Creating a shopper-centric context within retail”
The future of digital signage is moving toward mobile interaction for consumers to communicate between digital signage and their mobile phones. Content can now be introduced to the viewer in an entirely new way that requires participation and ultimately produces an experience for the viewer. Mobile integration is revolutionary in the digital signage industry as QR codes, audio recognition and SMS can be used for more cost-effective, efficient and enjoyable-to-deliver targeted messages. This presentation will describe the benefits of the mobile trend in the evolving digital signage industry.
The words Context and Relevance are inseparable when it comes to media. Long form media such as TV dramas create a contextual relevance for the viewer through a developing storyline and character development. Even lives that you are not remotely associated with such as the PBS TV show Downton Abbey, the writer, director and actors work together build a context and you feel a relevance to the story. That connection is a prerequisite to engagement. For Downton Abbey engagement is measured in viewership delivering to PBS its highest ratings since 2009.
How does digital place-based media as a “glance” medium, create relevance with content that flashes before your eyes in 3 – 5 seconds. A big part of the answer is again context; however in this situation the context is the physical space in which the digital sign is located. Successful retail brands understand how to express their brand contextual during a shopping visit; this is especially evident with fashion retailers such as Hollister, Prada, H&M, Nike, and Victoria Secret. Also Apple, arguably a form of fashion, is iconic in their ability to create a contextual branded shopping experience. When you walk into any of these stores, you feel a connection with their brand. You have a context in which messages, typically promotional in nature, are interpreted and acted on. More and more of that connection is being aided by in-store digital media in the form of digital signs, video walls, large projection displays, touchscreens and in-store audio that wraps the shopper in the brand.
Now enter the quick adoption of smartphones and tablets. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that 58% of cell owners used their phones for recommendations, reviews, or price comparisons in a physical store this last holiday shopping season. Stop, how dare they interrupt this finely honed branded shopping experience with the intrusion of their own private media? Perhaps retails should block signals or make sure that there is no Wi-Fi available within their stores. No, quite the contrary these devices represent the “voice” of the shopper giving the retailer the opportunity to complete the contextual brand picture by putting the shopper in the center.
Effective shopper engagement lies in the intersection between the brand and the shopper. We refer to this as “connected experiences.” This now happens regularly on-line where ecommerce retailers know the shopping behavior of opt-in consumers and can individually reward to drive larger transactions and loyalty. How can this be facilitated when it comes to brick-and-mortar environments?
Picture a couple entering a large department store. They are loyal shoppers of that retailer and there is some excellent CRM data about their purchases, but the retailer has no idea that a high value shopper has just entered. The mobile phone is the link that places the shopper in the middle of the context. Either through a QR code or increasingly through NFC (near-field communications), they let the retailer know they are in the store. Now the magic happens.
This session will demonstrate tools and techniques to use in-store digital signage, mobile and social media, and illustrate where it is all heading. From wayfinding and special “handpicked” promotions to linking with social media and gamification of content, retailers and shoppers can engage in a two-way interaction that delivers high shopper satisfaction, increased spending, and increase the likelihood of them being brand loyal.
