NewsLine Column: Digital Media Magic

Digital media networks are going from strength to strength and the possibilities they provide could prove to be an essential ingredient when trying to reach consumers when they’re out and about. Sue Aitken, marketing and development director of Translucis, the company that runs a network of plasma advertising screens in pubs and clubs, talks about some of the challenges facing brand owners…

In an increasingly competitive media environment, consumers are demanding more exciting leisure experiences and are expecting more from commercial media.

Digital media networks provide the opportunity for advertisers to communicate dynamically and persuasively with consumers by tapping in to their mindsets in any given environment. These networks are emerging in a range of diverse locations – from petrol station forecourts to supermarkets and leisure centres. Our on-trade entertainment network, Magnetic, broadcasts a mix of advertising and especially commissioned programming to plasma screens in bars and clubs across the UK. One of its key benefits is its ability to get a brand noticed and talked about by that most elusive of consumers – the 18 to 24 year old.

Advertisers are realising that targeting consumers when they are out, socialising, in an environment that they feel comfortable in is the key to getting their message across. Brand owners are increasingly focusing their attention on places that host captive audiences with similar interests and it’s technology that is enabling them to do so. This year will see the UK’s most talked about summer programme, Big Brother, broadcast to our Magnetic bar and club network. Large plasma screens will be pumping out one minute live feeds straight from the Big Brother house. (That’s always assuming all the contestants don’t all walk out or escape.)

Very often marketers focus on changing attitudes and thinking, rather than changing the experience that converts to sales. Digital media networks in the retail environment can have a powerful effect on margins – they affect what people order, switching them to more profitable drinks and extending duration of stay. We can prove, through correlating advertising campaigns with EPOS data, that when a drinks brand is advertised there is a definite uplift in sales and in its share of category. That level of accountability has to be good news for the advertiser.

So, what does the future hold for our particular digital media network? The possibilities are endless. We are looking into putting an infra red device on the screens so that if you see an ad you really like, you can point your mobile or your Palm at it and information is immediately downloaded, or by linking with Bluetooth we could personalise programming. Imagine the possibilities something like that offers for viral marketing!

Digital media networks will continue to appear in a whole host of locations, providing advertisers with a great many new opportunities to communicate with consumers. The key – as ever – will be in creating advertising that reflects the needs of the audience at the time they are consuming these messages. Our research suggests the more appropriate the message to the environment and consumer mindset, the more powerful the effect of that communication will be.

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