Large Format Digital Banners

Large Format Digital Banners

Two women are talking about picking something up for dinner. The woman smiles and the image on the plasma screen dissolves into that day’s special family-style dinners in the deli department at 20 percent off. Now she knows what she is buying for dinner.

Welcome to the future of advertising a future that could reinvigorate a medium beset by splintered audiences, too many messages and continually escalating costs. Point-of-purchase advertising that uses state-of-the-art large format digital banners, like the plasma screen, will allow retailers to reach their best customers when they’re ready to buy, and allow them to do so at a fraction of the cost of other media and with almost 100 percent penetration. Who can argue with results like that?

Best yet, whether grocers, specialty retailers, quick-serve restaurants or book stores, they can use a digital banner network system to generate cash, whether from specific vendors who pay for space or by sharing revenue with a third-party media company that sells the space.

Facts and figures

One of the most recent examples of these changes last fall’s discovery that a significant number of 18- to 34-year-old men have apparently stopped watching television dovetails with a survey done earlier this year from the Association of National Advertisers that its members increasingly find TV ad prices unfair given the declining audience, that more and more of them are unhappy with the way the networks measure their audience, and that many are beginning to wonder if anyone is even watching TV commercials

It’s becoming more and more necessary for advertisers to find more effective ways to reach consumers. Hence, digital banner, and reaching audiences at the point of purchase with ads that are not just TV-quality, is more relevant…just like the woman buying dinner for her family.

Making it work

This all sounds good, say critics, but what makes digital banner different from similar sorts of tactics that have been tried, and have failed, over the past decade?

Digital banner reaches smarter audiences who expect a smarter medium. Digital banner looks like TV, but it feels like the Web so there’s a familiar feel to it, but the pacing and movement and the message is more like the Web.

How important is digital banner in the buying process? One consultancy estimates that two-thirds of purchasing decisions are made in-store. One specialty retailer, meanwhile, reported a 10 percent sales increase in the first few months after installing a test digital system, and a Nielsen Media Research study conducted on behalf of another retailer showed that in-store broadcast television builds brand equity, customer satisfaction and shopper loyalty. It also found that average ad recall for one retailer’s in-store system was 57 percent, compared to an industry average of 24 percent for in-home television ads.

In fact, digital banner plays into the consumer’s increased sophistication. It’s no coincidence that retailers, store designers, and consultants are focusing on enhancing the shopping experience, turning the retail space into an energetic, trendy, and vibrant environment. That’s exactly what digital banner, using plasma screen technology, offers.

Second, the technology and the ability to use the technology has evolved far beyond TV sets and stale, tired commercials that loop continuously every 15 to 30 seconds. Messages can be changed constantly, tailored to specific day parts, store situations, seasonal needs, or whatever the situation demands. Banks can adjust the message to reach retirees who tend to visit in the late morning, focusing on products best suited for seniors.

Bookstores can advertise new releases, upcoming author appearances, and specials in the café. Equally as important, digital banner can deliver better quality graphics, text and moving images than most consumers can get on their television sets at home.

It’s also crucial that the message is part and parcel of the retailer’s overall message, so that the in-store piece has the same look and feel as its TV or print messages. It doesn’t look cheaper or confusing, but delivers the branding to the customer seamlessly; making it another extension of the retailer’s marketing.

The goal is to deliver exactly what the retailer wants, be it to aid a purchase or up sell, build awareness and loyalty, get the customer back in the store for another visit, or reinforce branding.

What it Takes to Run a Digital Banner Network

A true networked digital banner solution ensures that a digital ad plays in designated zones, at designated times. It should include content design and development; digital asset and learning management; broadcast-quality production services; multi-purpose platform engineering, installation and on-going support. Putting together a digital system is complicated, taking into account the hardware to send and receive the content, the software to run the system, and developing the content to distribute. But the rewards of increased customer traffic, message retention and brand awareness and product lift are worth the investment.

Large Format Digital Banners