Are some brands forgetting the evolved marketing funnel?

In our world of cheaper and further-reaching marketing technology, consumers are now given more and more greater amounts of power. The world has now truly evolved to the point where the relationship is no longer advertiser – consumer; instead it is more like consumer – consumer.

This is the notion of brand democratization which is now here! Whats most surprising about this though, is that a lot of companies are still turning a blind eye of this phenomena, or are choosing to go against the grain while others are embracing it. It is becoming increasingly important to have 2 way dialgoues interacting with your consumer, as well as getting involved in comments/feedback/social reviews from your consumers talking about your brand.

Frustrated consumers, who have been brushed aside by companies/products or services, are turning instead to Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, and Facebook to voice their concerns not to mention text messaging their peers (keeping them in the loop is only natural these days).

In short every one who is online and who interacts with others becomes a brand ambassador, so can companies really afford to ignore this? Most likely  not, keeping in touch with the latest and greatest to keep consumers attention and satisfaction is becoming part of the marketing funnel.

Marketing Strategy '09 / '10

 Various studies are showing fluctuating trends in the digital world, Mobile marketing, Social Media. OOH and Micro-sites are still amongst some of the favorites.

http://blog.junta42.com/.a/6a00d834c5f4b969e20133ec5b013e970b-pi

The Retail-interactive digital experience, North America.

The retail environment is becoming increasingly competitive, and as a result more retailers and brands are looking to break away from the price vs product consumer mindset and 'being unique' has become more important than ever before in the fight for busienss.

Winning customers by delivering enhanced service, value and a quality customer experience can acheive this, especially in store. In order to do this retailers and brands need to harness their consumer research and find new ways of deploying and leveraging new and innovative in-store marketing technology.

In this evolving battleground for consumer mindspace, it is vital that retailers understand who is shopping in their store and when and then to tailor the communication to address their profile, shopping behaviour and their frame of mind. Industry research has identified a significant group of customer ‘clusters’ – customers that can be linked by mission rather than traditional demographics, and research like this shows that retailers will at last be able to truly accurately map customer flow and where/how they dwell. Furthermore, from the digital Out of Home industry’s perspective, it allows us to truly understand the shoppers’ ability to be aware of, engage with and respond to relevant external targeted messaging during different stages of their shopping journey.

This brings us to the next subject, 'Interactive-digital signage'. Allowing a brand message, sales specials, promotions etc is great, allowing users to interact with a virtual attendant or interactive-catalogue at your store glass window, subscribe to alerts via sms, enter their email address directly, or just browse anything you'd like  to show them is a whole different value experience.

We know the content not only has to be compelling it must also be extremely relevant and delivered when the shopper is receptive to such messaging, in order to interrupt, engage and influence behaviour. Attract, Draw, Engage, & Interact is our model for example, and with using technology such as i-glass (interactive touch thru-glass) allows retailers to use their existing real estate (their shop window) to display in HD and allowinstant  interactivity seemlessly.

Retail ooh/interactive signage models and campaigns:
The most effective campaign will see a retailer strike a balance between messaging browser-shoppers and mission shoppers. This can also mean the difference between further communicating with 'destination location' shoppers and 'mall-walkers and competition shoppers' and with this in mind, the primary aims of threshold screens should be to aid navigation, communicate your offerings, inviting customers deeper into the store, accelerating flow & maintaining a clear threshold, & create a possible CRM strategy/databasing, or further drivers including contesting/sweepstakes.

Another issue to keep in mind is that your messaging strategy always has to align closely to the needs and frame of mind of your customers. A common internal issue with all elements of in-store marketing is that it is not sufficiently aligned with the overall marketing message. While non-store marketing is planned and carried out at board level through well planned and an executed mutli-channel marketing programs, in some cases the in-store approach is carried out at a much lower level, meaning it misses out on expertise and consistency of message, this is where teaming with experts in the field can prove beneficial with a mult-prong approach including elements such as drivers, incentinces, visual appearance, interactive content tweaking, 1-3 year strategy planning, campaign integration and much more.

The key is communication of the store’s message and marketing strategy among all channels, so that the final solution is both aligned to the target audience and the retailer - communicating with brand affinity, loyalty, and recognition in mind. -Bash! Digital-Interactive Custom OOH Solutions, Toronto.

Why brand ad dollars are moving IN STORE

Not getting enough ad $$ bang for your buck?

•  Over 70% of BUYING DECISIONS are made in store, add INTERACTIVE DIGITAL SIGNAGE and manage / display / engage and track traffic while you move up your sales and awareness.

Digital signage revenues are expected to grow from $102 million US in 2004 to $3.7 billion by 2011 (Frost & Sullivan)

Over next 3 years P&G will TRIPLE spending at POP (Stéphane Drouin, SVM, Fall 2006)

Bash! helps retailers, brands and manufacturers along with media agencies.
           Maximize the customer experience
               Attract attention to their products
                 Provide the customer with product knowledge - either alone or with a sales person
                    Harvest customer data

Recent polls, surveys and industry experts reflect the loss of influence advertising has had on point-of-purchase decision-making.

• "In 1965, 80% of 18 to 49-year-olds in the U.S. could be reached with three 60 second TV spots. - In 2002,  it required 117 prime-time commercials to produce the same result."
  Jim Stengel, Global Marketing Officer, The Proctor & Gamble Company, AAAA Conference 2004

• "60% of all in-store purchases are unplanned…Consumers simply don’t have time to ‘study’ ad messages… [Consumers] want relevant brand information when and where it is convenient for them."
  James Maskulka, Associate Prof., Lehigh University, BrandChannel.com, July 8, 2002

• “4.7% of Canadians cite ads as a major influence on purchase decisions.”
  Strategy Magazine, “Ads Rarely Drive Purchases”, February 9, 2004

In-store marketing continues to grow as evidence indicates consumers want brand and product information when and where it is relevant to them - at shelf. 

Consumers are influenced by brand messages and packaging design at point-of-purchase.

• “13.9% of those corporations surveyed are pulling back media advertising budgets and moving increasingly toward other channels, including in-store marketing.”
  The Institute of Communications and Advertising Survey, May 2004

• “Companies in the U.S. are expected to spend about $18.6 billion on in-store marketing and in-store ads this year [2005], up from $17.6 billion last year [2004].”
  Veronis Suhler, Stevenson Partners LLC

• “P&G has cut its commitments to advertise on cable channels for the current season by 25% and its broadcast TV allotment is down by 5%. At the same time, overall ad spending rose slightly.”
  Veronis Suhler, Stevenson Partners LLC

• “In response to the fragmentation of television and print ads, it [Proctor & Gamble] wants to tout its brands directly to consumers where they’re most likely to be influenced: the store.”
  Emily Nelson and Sarah Ellison, The Wall Street Journal, “In a Shift, Marketers Beef Up Ad Spending Inside Stores”, September 21, 2005.

• “Last year [2004], 122 new products were launched on Wal-Mart TV.”
  Charlie Nooney, Chief Executive, PRN

• “Traffic jumped 23% in those stores using digital signage compared to those stores that did not use the digital signage.”
  “The Power of Point of Purchase Advertising: Marketing at Retail”, study by Safeway, Unilever and the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute

• “The combination of new merchandising layouts and P-O-P produced a 90% increase in the number of shoppers who interacted with the displays.”
  “The Power of Point of Purchase Advertising: Marketing at Retail”, study by Safeway, Unilever and the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute

• "There are opportunities to influence consumers on the final choice of brands at the point of sale."
  Prof. Sanghavi, Manchester Business School, BrandChannel.com, July 8, 2002

• “Impulse purchases are likely motivated by a variety of in-store marketing communications. In-store advertising also complements today’s hectic consumer lifestyle.”
  James Maskulka, Associate Prof., Lehigh University, BrandChannel.com, July 8, 2002

• “A consistent projection of the brand’s personality in the package, and wherever else the brand was encountered, was far more reassuring to the consumer than a persona that was constantly changing.”
  Randall Frost, Brandchannel.com, “Packaging Your Brand’s Personality”, October 3, 2005

7 tips for content marketing / reaching the right people & just getting out there!

• Understand who your customers really are and use effective narrowed marketing to reach them.
• Spread the love. Are you doing guest articles where your customers are at?  Are you sharing presentations? Are you consistently communicating with your target? Are you adding helpful comments on key blogs? 
• Don't rely on one channel, but focus on what works.  There are a thousand of social media outlets, but focus resources on the key ones where most of your customers are at - MySpace, YouTube and now Twitter (30 to 40 year olds...that's Twitter, Music target; MySpace, etc..).
• Synergies; Collaborate:consistently partner with others, even when you have to play second fiddle.  Are you partnering with other organizations and individuals in your market to create great content marketing?
• Consistently create new and  great content:.  No breaks.  Keep creating and delivering great content; sometimes its a numbers game - even if not you will provide great exposure and helpful insight, thus branding/recognition.
• Repackage and reuse: the best stories may be the old ones that need a new take on how they apply now.
• Know your audience, and how to effectively reach and connect with them, having an open/two-way dialogue creates the strongest connection to your brand/product/service.

Digital-OutOfHome

Beyond having a network of digital signage or properties, OOH targeted events with interaction can create more loyalty, recognition and engagement than any other medium.

From point of sales, signage while walking or driving, in shops, or even touch systems at malls that engage - its everywhere. Broadcast centers are now in existence where content can be dynamically controlled with changes on the fly remotely. Add-ons like web streaming, face tracking, mobile or social media tie-ins/synchronization to micro-site updates from user input are all offered to increase awareness, reach, and the ultimate user engagement.

While the future of other ad media channels maybe unclear as they become more fragmented there is no uncertainty about the continued strength and advancements in OOH. Its here to stay!

Ready to Bash in the New Year! To a successfull year in the interactive-out of home and digital marketing industry.
J.Joseph
Director, Interactive/New Media Sales
416 898 5537 (M)
416 479 0119 (W)
....sent from my BlackBerry

Merry Xmas everyone! Have a Bash!
..sent from my bberry

interactive signage?

When those in the digital signage industry talk about interactivity, they usually mean a touch-based kind of interactivity. Various technological efforts over the past years have focused on delivering this kind of interactivity on screens in a whole multitude of different sizes, shapes and materials. Through touch-enabled digital signage, one can guarantee that the user is engaging with the content on the screen because they actually INTERACT with it - however, getting the users to look at the screen in the first place is sometimes a problem for the digital signage industry, and if people don’t look at it, then no message can be delivered and the screen might as well not be there.

Well-designed, eye-catching content is, of course, one way to draw attention to a screen and get an audience for the content. Bash! suggests that using innate human response mechanisms to catch people’s eyes might be a better approach (gesture, ir motion and proximity/optical sensors are just some example)

Getting things setup for a great launch! Lots of cutting edge interactive out of home solutions Toronto!