The Future Of In-store Advertising
Posted by Universal Ad at Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:46 AM and is filed under Advertising,Marketing,Retail,Store 
An AdWeek article from earlier in the year about the rise of in-store advertising defines retail stores as the "last mass media market." Currently, $19 billion a year are spent on in-store marketing, making it the #5 media expenditure, after broadcast, newspapers, cable and magazines. These numbers are only expected to grow with the increase in in-store media such as digital ads on LCD screens.
One issue raised by the article is whether consumers will grow to resent the "ad creep". My personal opinion is that consumers have gotten so used to seeing ads everywhere that they have developed protective mechanisms with which they can more or less successfully block out what they don't want to see. One potential irritant which will be hard for people to block may be the audio portions of the ad, if those are not muted.
Another direction taken by advertisers is the addition of smell. Personally, I'm anosmic so I couldn't care less but everyone else should be aware that scent marketing is expected to see triple-digit growth this year. The hospitality industry has been using it for a while and now brands such as Coors beer, Hard Rock Cafe and Pepsi are starting to test the possibilities.
While these new advertising channels can help, the human touch is still the most important "tactic". Deloitte & Touche found that 80% of people surveyed said their most recent store visit was not prompted by advertising or marketing. Conclusion: "Consistently managing a successful series of customer purchase experiences is what creates a strong retail brand."
One issue raised by the article is whether consumers will grow to resent the "ad creep". My personal opinion is that consumers have gotten so used to seeing ads everywhere that they have developed protective mechanisms with which they can more or less successfully block out what they don't want to see. One potential irritant which will be hard for people to block may be the audio portions of the ad, if those are not muted.
Another direction taken by advertisers is the addition of smell. Personally, I'm anosmic so I couldn't care less but everyone else should be aware that scent marketing is expected to see triple-digit growth this year. The hospitality industry has been using it for a while and now brands such as Coors beer, Hard Rock Cafe and Pepsi are starting to test the possibilities.
While these new advertising channels can help, the human touch is still the most important "tactic". Deloitte & Touche found that 80% of people surveyed said their most recent store visit was not prompted by advertising or marketing. Conclusion: "Consistently managing a successful series of customer purchase experiences is what creates a strong retail brand."
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