White paper explores in-store media's role as mass consumer medium

DALLAS — In an age of shrinking and fragmented mass media, retailers have a big opportunity to reclaim their historic role as the leading mass consumer medium. A new white paper issued today, titled In-Store Digital Media: How to Reestablish Retail’s Role as a Mass Consumer Medium explains how retailers can leverage shopper-friendly digital media technologies that deliver marketing and branding messages to consumers inside the store, at or near the point of sale.

The white paper was developed jointly by Reflect Systems, a provider of digital signage software and services for retailers, TracyLocke, an integrated marketing agency with a specialty in shopper marketing and DecisionPoint Media Insights, a market research and consulting firm with expertise in digital media at retail and out of home.

Click to download this white paper.

The paper concludes that in-store digital media networks can provide shoppers with the kind of effective digital media experience they have come to expect from online marketing, and provides retail executives with specific guidance on the types of internal processes they need to put in place in order to develop successful in-store digital media networks.

The white paper reflects the knowledge that Reflect Systems has gained through its partnerships with retailers to jointly develop successful in-store digital media networks, and also includes lessons learned by integrated marketing agency TracyLocke from working with retailers to create effective shopper marketing solutions for in-store implementation. By including these insights, the white paper serves as a project guide on the planning and piloting of in-store digital media networks.

“Essentially what we have provided in the paper is a combination of best practices from our experience in helping deploy and operate in-store digital media networks and TracyLocke’s expertise in interactive content creation and shopper messaging,” said Stephen Nesbit, president and COO of Reflect Systems, Inc.

“The processes described and the advice given in the white paper will empower retailers and their digital media project teams to develop these networks in the most effective and efficient ways possible,” said Bill Collins, co-author of the paper and principal at DecisionPoint Media Insights.

“In the current environment, a greater number of consumers are making their purchase decisions inside the store, so it only makes sense to extend the marketing process to reach shoppers as they shop,” said Dorothy Allan, co-author of the paper and SVP Retail Strategy at TracyLocke. “Our research concludes that in-store digital media can have a significant impact for retailers and the brands competing for the attention of consumers.”

Aready, the new white paper has received praise from noted retail industry observers.

“In-Store Digital Media: How to Reestablish Retail’s Role as a Mass Consumer Medium is a carefully prepared examination of the trends that have driven the industry to date,” said Nikki Baird, partner at Retail Systems Research. “For anyone wanting to understand the big-picture business context and imperatives behind in-store marketing, this is a great place to start.”

“This white paper is a smart, succinct, strategically sound primer for the industry to better understand the core principles for in-store digital media success,” said Laura Davis-Taylor, founder and principal at Retail Media Consulting. “Our firm is encouraged that this white paper is coming partly from an integrated marketing agency and supports our claims that retail store marketing is a unique out-of-home media that must be rooted in shopper satisfaction.”

Click to download this white paper.