In-Store Screening

Digital signage has gone mainstream and can be found everywhere from hotel lobbies and restaurants to national retailers and corner convenience stores. With the costs of display panels dropping and new technologies emerging every year, it seems paper signs could be on their way out.

Virgin Entertainment Group has introduced a number of digital marketing efforts that combine sight, sound and interactivity since it partnered with Epson. By promoting new movies and music with relevant and fun dynamic in-store advertising solutions, Virgin has been increasing both traffic and sales.

Founded in London by Sir Richard Branson in 1971, Virgin Entertainment Group has grown to be one of the world’s leading multi-channel and entertainment retailers. Its 10 U.S. locations offer broad store-based selections of music and DVDs, as well as games, books, fashion accessories and electronics.

Teaming with technology giant Epson, Virgin first incorporated new digital marketing technologies in 2005 at its Times Square and Hollywood locations. An interactive floor display projected imagery from the iconic sleeve of Nirvana’s seminal album, “Nevermind,” a key seller at Virgin.

When shoppers entered the store and moved within a perimeter, it became animated and created a full-body interactive customer experience combining movement, sight and sound. With more of today’s customer purchasing decisions being made in the store, Virgin realized that bringing the album cover to life would break new ground for in-store advertising.

The entertainment retailer has since worked with Epson to create a number of digital projects, including an 18-ft.-wide projection screen at the Downtown Disney store in Orlando and a large digital banner at the Times Square store.

Resembling a DVD box, the banner at the New York location was used to promote the release of the first season of the NBC television program, “Heroes.” Ken Donham, senior manager of store environment and merchandising for Virgin Entertainment Group, says that the digital marketing campaigns have helped draw customers into the stores and kept them focused on the product experience.

“Digital marketing has developed opportunities within our stores, creating new visibility options, which mainly increase customer foot traffic by keeping the Megastore environments exciting, modern and relevant,” he says.

According to Donham, digital marketing campaigns on large displays not only help bring visitors into the store, but also help move them around to various departments and levels. And in a store like Virgin (the Times Square location features 44,000 sq. ft. on three levels), moving customers about the premises is critical. Eye-catching displays are projected on screens, the latest television programs are broadcast on plasma TVs and audio commercials and advertisements ring through loudspeakers.

Video game promotion
Virgin Megastore caters to a wide audience, but in the digital age younger customers are expecting more digital marketing and interactive experiences. In March, Virgin used Epson’s digital marketing technology to produce the “I Love Rock Band” tournament, an engaging promotion for the popular video game, Rock Band. Contests were held at two Virgin locations: an image of each group of contestants was projected onto 9x12-ft. screens, along with a real-time tally of competing bands’ scores.

Dee McLaughlin, vice president of marketing for Virgin Entertainment Group, says the promotion helped drive significant store traffic and ultimately increased sales in the gaming area by 10 percent over the previous year.

“We wanted to build excitement for our gaming arena by encouraging competition and making the tournament larger than life,” McLaughlin says. “Gamers are used to compelling visual displays, and the Epson digital projection technology enhanced the multimedia experience of both the contestants and the audience.”

The most attractive aspect of digital marketing is its flexibility, says Barry Wise, a senior marketing consultant for Epson. Because digital marketing campaigns use projection monitors and plasma screens, the content can be changed at almost any time and constantly altered to keep up with new promotions. That flexibility allows retailers to perform marketing and merchandising within the stores themselves.

“We are seeing more and more companies realize that the consumers are making their decisions when they get to the store,” he says. “You need to help them decide what to buy … through some incentive or creating a need or interest.”

That flexibility also helped Virgin promote new products with the same signage. Once the original “Heroes” launch was complete, the same signage and applications were used to promote new DVDs, and Donham says it also allows Virgin to manage and update vendor content. Many of the latest digital installs are wireless, giving stores even greater flexibility.

“One of the biggest advantages is that you no longer are producing hard banners and materials, which allows for quicker turnaround,” Donham says. “We can do all content updates on all of our screens within 24 hours.”

The technology gives Virgin the opportunity to capture the customers’ attention through curiosity about the medium and with the content being shown. It gives an existing product new life, revitalizes the brand and educates viewers about new products and their benefits. Streaming content also offers more flexibility in communicating an idea because the content itself can be more compelling than printed material.Shared content
As advertising costs increase and more newspapers and television channels disperse once-wide audiences into niche markets, many vendors are starting to focus on in-store promotions.

“Retailers aren’t going to have to spend big bucks themselves and I think we’re starting to see a lot of shared content flow within the stores,” Wise says.

Other technologies include infrared cameras that can detect movement: When someone walks by, they can determine height, weight — even gender — to invoke content to appeal to a certain demographic.

“You can measure that they actually walked into the store and if you actually made a sale,” Wise says. “You can really measure the effectiveness of your ads and content.”

Virgin’s digital marketing efforts have had a direct effect on foot traffic and overall sales, Donham says. Virgin has seen strong increases over the past year in several product categories, including DVDs, video games and electronics.

Another new digital advancement involves luminal painted mannequins, whereby customers can digitally change the outfits. “Retailers are not just seeing it as a neat technology but they are now able to measure and physically see their return on investment,” Wise says. Digital marketing “allows retailers to touch the customers and interact with them.”