Wal-Mart to provide some in-store media measurement data

Sorry for nearly month-long posting hiatus on this blog. I've been pretty good about keeping up with the WireSpring Kiosk/Digital Signage Weblog, but that came at the expense of posting here (and to digital signage news and kiosk news) less frequently during some serious busy times.

Fortunately, I can kick things back off with a bang, since Wal-Mart recently announced that they would be releasing some retail media tracking data as part of a larger project with Nielsen In-Store to measure in-store media consumption and effectiveness in about 1,000 of its US stores, and that's seriously big news for the retail media industry. Apparently, the company's initial results with Nielsen's PRISM in-store tracking system were determined to be 76% accurate (via cross-checks with in-person audits), which was a better than expected result. Tweaks to the system have supposedly raised accuracy to about 85%, which would be pretty impressive for a fully automated system, and were good enough for Wal-Mart to commit to a larger deployment of the system.

Considering how many have bemoaned the lack of accountability and effectiveness of traditional media channels recently (myself included), many are hopeful that the results of such a wide-scale study will indicate that retail media is better at connecting with consumers and communicating brand messages. Of course, if it turns out that's not the case, we'll be in for a rough time as marketers again scramble to find something that works. Not that I think that will be an actual problem. Our internal, customer-provided (and thus potentially tainted) data clearly indicates sales boosts and high satisfaction scores correlated with retail digital media networks.

At the DSE show last week, Nielsen In-Store's George Wishart noted that CPM (or gross impressions, or something similar) is likely to be the de-facto standard for media measurement and pricing for the foreseeable future, as that's what media planners are most comfortable with. Of course, Nielsen's PRISM system, which relies on simple infrared scanners to essentially measure store traffic at different points, is suited for only capturing this particular measurement. On the other hand, while more sophisticated measurement systems that can do things like eye-tracking, gaze-tracking, and idleness tracking could generate more precise measurements, without something to compare against, retailers and marketers would have little ability to actually use the data (not to mention the privacy issues that come with that level of tracking).

As ususal, RetailWire has some good discussion on the subject, so you might want to check that out as well.

Tags: digital signage, in-store media, retail media, Wal-Mart, PRISM

TNS buys Sorensen to step up in-store media measurement efforts

Media Buyer Planner notes that market information specialist TNS has purchased Sorensen Associates, the makers of PathTracker, video analysis software and other low- and high-tech solutions for retail media tracking and efficacy studies.

The combined company should be able to give the recently-created Nielsen In-Store a run for its money, and it certainly looks like the retail media measurement market will continue to be a hot segment through 2007. Part of the excitement comes from the In-Store Marketing Institute's PRISM measurement initiative, the first data from which we should be seeing shortly.

Since measurement is always the subject of great debate, multiple large companies have the opportunity to establish themselves as mindshare leaders, so TNS's acquisition of widely-respected Sorensen makes a lot of sense. Given that more established players means more ways to determine the efficacy of any one of the players, I certainly hope that the newly combined TNS/Sorensen can give VNU's Nielsen In-Store a run for its money.

Tags: Sorensen Associates, retail media, in-store media, TNS

RetailWire discusses the potential of in-store advertising

Once again, the folks at RetailWire are having another lively discussion about the future of in-store media. Retail media expert Laura Davis-Taylor leads this BrainTrust Query (free registration required) in an attempt to answer the question of whether digitally-based retail media networks need a unique team and/or skills to function and be utilized to their fullest extent. As usual, the discussion is quite good, and there are responses on both sides of the table. My favorite is from Mark Lilien, a consultant with Retail Technology Group, who argues in favor of a interdisciplinary team by noting that, "retailing technology success is often 1% strategy and 99% execution."

That's a hugely important (and accurate) thought that still isn't well understood by many struggling to implement their retail media programs. The work that goes into up-front strategy is quickly surpassed by the work needed to implement and subsequently maintain any form of retail digital media, whether it be audio, video or interactive. Just because a medium is digital doesn't mean that it can lose it's relevancy or timeliness. Likewise, marketers would be wise to listen to the opinions of their customers during a retail media pilot, and consider making adjustments accordingly.

By my totally unscientific estimate, I believe that most retail media networks (digital signage in particular) are probably only utilized at 75% or less of their maximum efficiency (however one might measure that), since almost every network that I've looked at could benefit from some sort of improvement or other. Still, there are many who believe that once a network is deployed, it's finished, and the rest is up to the content guys. While that mentality might allow some networks to stay successful over time, there's almost always something that could be done to make it a little better for the consumer, and better performing for the retailer.

Tags: retail media, digital signage, in-store media, in-store advertising

Just say No to Interruption Marketing

With all of the hoopla surrounding the recent rise of in-store media like digital signage and retail audio networks, it can be easy to forget that for every cool, innovative and successful projects there are any number that not only don't meet their objectives, but also go one step further and irritate shoppers. For all those projects, David Meerman Scott has started an Interruption Marketing Hall of Shame at Web Ink Now. A frequent traveler, David's top three inductees are all related to airports. For example, look at what he has to say about his #2 pick, CNN, for their CNN Airport Network:

CNN has created this crap so they make the Hall of Shame. I actually like CNN, but only when I choose to watch it (usually while I am on my exercise machine at home). I don't want to watch (listen) all the time. CNN should have a clause in the contracts that they write with airports for the CNN Airport Network that says that quiet areas must be made available in every terminal that installs their network. Listen up CNN: You are hurting your brand with this nonsense.

Pretty strong words (I don't particularly mind CNN Airport Network myself), but there certainly are cases where less would have been more, and an otherwise good marketing opportunity becomes an annoyance. For example, #4 on David's list, Simon Property Group, is an example that I agree with. When Simon and Publicis Group announced that they were creating a digital signage network to be featured in malls, we all wondered what form it might take. After witnessing it first hand this holiday season, I must say I'm underwhelmed. In order to compete for attention over the cacaphony, the in-concourse screens blare audio that often just smashes up against audio coming from the different mall stores. In the food court, the screens are poorly placed (in the malls I visited, at least), and while not particularly loud or obnoxious compared to the already deafening noise that food courts are known for during peak traffic times, I can only imagine that when it's quieter they would be.

Retail marketing should not be interruption marketing. Retail media networks should complement the store environment, not stand apart from it in an attempt to be seen and heard. I think this is one of the biggest mistakes still being made in the retail media space today, and it's the reason why so many are still wary of using these systems in store.

Tags: retail media, in-store media, advertising, digital signage

Making an emotional appeal with in-store media

Note: I've cross-posted this to the Digital Signage News blog, since the subscriberships seem to be somewhat different (and unrelated).

Institutions spend too much time focusing on the science of shopping, rather than the art of shopping. So says The Integer Group's Meg Kinney in her article "The Art of Shopping," featured in the November/December issue of HUB Magazine. While that sentence might not appear to make a lot of sense on the surface (since when is shopping an art or a science, anyhow?), Kinney looks at the growing number of retailers who are focusing on ways to enhance the in-store experience, and comes to some interesting conclusions about what needs to be done to bring in-store media up to snuff in today's experiential retail environment.... Read the full article: Making an emotional appeal with in-store media

Tags: in-store media, at-retail media, digital signage, out-of-home advertising,

Supervalu aims to surprise and delight shoppers

Fresh off of their recent acquisition of the Albertson's grocery chain, Supervalu CEO Jeff Noddle announced an ambitious plan to spend $1 billion in the coming years to remodel existing stores and build a few new ones under a new program called Premium Fresh & Healthy. The goal, according to Duncan Mac Naughton, EVP of Merchandising Marketing, "is all about surprising and delighting the customer," which will apparently include things like:

[expanding the stores'] produce, meat, seafood, bakery and deli departments. Stores remodeled or built under the new plan will also have an area for international foods, since 24 percent of Americans eat at least one ethnic meal a week, Mac Naughton said.

Supervalu is also pushing to focus on natural and organic products, which have become quite popular for mainstream grocers in the past few years after the rapid growth of specialty chains such as Whole Foods Market Inc.

While it certainly remains to be seen exactly how the chain expects to delight their shoppers, I'm hoping that they'll introduce some new innovations for making grocery shopping faster and more convenient (and you can always spot the good innovations because they spread through the whole industry like wildfire :)

Tags: digital signage, store experience, retail media, in-store media, merchandising, retail marketing, advertising, visual merchandising