The traditional school of thought has continuously seen advertising campaign as driven mainly through television, radio, press and billboards. With increasing deployment of broadband technologies as well as enhanced internet penetration, varieties of advertising medium are emerging to challenge the traditional school of thought.
Notable are the various social media platforms as well as email messaging platforms.
Conceptualising in-store ad:
Traditionally, brand owners have utilised in-store ad through the deployment of gondolas, fliers, danglers, roller banners, promos, etc., in the shopping environment. With the upsurge in retail activities as well as the growing middle-income class in the country, the continued use of these platforms by brand owners may not result to full optimisation of in-store ad opportunities.
Building buyer experience and engagement at the shopping environment is at the heart of in-store ad applications. Buyer experience and engagement are considered as very strategic at delivering enhanced ad campaign utilisation within the marketing communications eco-system.
With the continued increase in media spend in the recent past across traditional media eco-system as reported in Adnews November 2012 edition, one would like to see the application of in-store ad as part of the overall campaign strategies by brand owners and their media agencies. The media spend hit an all-time high of N103 billion in 2011, with television taking the chunk of N46.076 billion, radio N13.142 billion, outdoor N28.142 billion and press N15.395 billion. Isolating the numbers shows that outdoor advertising accounted as the second biggest media spend with N28.142 billion. The figure looks quite impressive but one can be sure that in-store ad did not share from that media spend.
The tools of in-store ad:
The application of in-store ad solutions resonates with buyer experience and engagement at the shopping environment. The tools for in-store ad solutions stimulate buyer touch points and enhance the presence of brands in the shopping environment. As a brand owner and media agency, the use of in-store ad solutions will energise campaign deployment resulting in top of the mind ascendency and effervescing connection to their target audience.
Campaign message reinforcement, measurable buyer traffic, customer targets, cost effectiveness, buyer engagement and buyer experiences form part of the attributes of utilising in-store ad applications in campaign planning, execution and implementation.
It is not particularly cumbersome but you must demonstrate strong professional understanding of ad practice to appreciate the impact of the applications in driving and delivering your campaign messages to your target market.
The application of in-store ad solutions in your campaign planning, execution and implementation have demonstrable evidence as research studies have confirmed its validity in shaping purchase decisions of the buyers at the point of purchase.
With over 70 percent of buyers making their purchase decisions at the point of purchase, the application of in-store ad solutions will add commensurable value to your campaign planning, execution and implementation.
For sure, you are talking to the buyers or your target market at the critical point of the purchase journey. The underlying objective would be to create and deliver a compelling touch point and consumer engagement strategies capable of creating associated consumer value at the point of purchase.
LCD ad screens – The acronym LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. The screen delivers crisp, clear and quality high definition audio and visual output. It is specifically manufactured and designed to play ad messages in public places. It comes in wall mounted as well as free stand alone designs. The medium is suitable and relevant for brand. Shopping trolley branding – The utilisation of shopping trolleys for ad purposes has become increasingly significant as a result of the rise in retail activities in the economy. Recent reports by BusinessDay newspaper point to the fact that both local and foreign investors have expressed confidence in the continued growth of the retail sector.
With the expected growth comes a resurgence of buyer patronage across retail outlets. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) owners are expected to tap into the growth trajectory in the retail sector for possible consumer engagement, and ad message reinforcement in the shopping environment.
Branding the trolleys at the shopping environment resonates with buyer touch point experiences as well as creates accelerated top of the mind association towards the brand in question.
It is said that the taste of the pudding is in the eating, get on board and experience the great impact of utilising in-store ad solutions as part of your campaign planning, execution and implementation.
Akachi Ngwu, founder/CEO, Consumer Scores International Limited. CSI is a specialist In – Store Advertising solutions provider based in Lagos
AKACHI NGWU
