Asia's new way to advertise out-of-home give advertisers the opportunity to specialise their content, and catch the consumer's attention.

While North America is commonly seen as the world leader in retail, Asia's explosive growth has laid the groundwork for Asia to become the major player in retail marketing. Digital marketing innovation in Asia has not been limited to the internet, new stores and cheap screens mean that the Asia of today is ready to lead a revolution. In Asia, digital out-of-home (OOH) ads are already common. Many elevators in major cities and some taxis are equipped with digital video screens, and some of them are even interactive.

Perhaps most spectacularly, whole buildings and huge scale installations are emerging that carry video advertisements. A relatively new shopping mall called the "The Place" in Beijing has erected a 7,500 square meter massive display. And of course in Shanghai's Pudong and Hong Kong's Central districts, whole skyscrapers serve as video screens during nighttime, while a boat with a massive screen navigates in circles on the Huangpu River conveying ad messages to consumers on both sides of the river.

One thing is clear – one needs only to look at displays in malls and skyscrapers in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai to realize the industry in Asia already outstrips most others in its sophistication, innovation and scale. In terms of consumer acceptance, market penetration and visibility Asia is among the leaders of the world. For technology and product innovation, Asia is equal to all other major regions such as the USA and Europe.

The existing players in the market, especially the local ones, have built a solid base and a surprisingly high market penetration across many industry sectors. While there is some uncertainty of long-term profitability levels of existing business models and the staying power of industry players, indicators are strong. For appropriate messaging and content, however, business modeling and customer gains Asia is currently behind other markets.

Shift from Advertising to Sales-Driven Content and Messaging 
Technology is good and pricing models are realistic in Asia given business realities and the consumer reach being achieved. All this is positive. However, there are big gaps and therefore opportunities for much more market growth even within existing space.

Digital OOH is currently dominated by one business model in Asia: non-networked screens showing third party advertising and passing on a small percentage of revenues to the property owner.  This is a good model when applied appropriately; it works well for commercial space and transport hubs where consumers are not in ‘buying mode' and tend to be waiting and static for periods of time, e.g., in elevators, airport terminals, clinics, etc.

While at the moment the key driver is largely the advertising industry deploying digital signage networks as vehicles for extending OOH advertising reach, this will switch in the next few years to retailers servicing the world's largest middle classes and one of its fastest growing.  Specialised digital out-of-home providers will become an equal market force to advertisers and pushing a different ‘sales-driven' agenda on content and message.

This approach will see audiences enjoy a much richer experience since it will be much more integrated with retailers' core customer communications strategy. As the technical capabilities grow and specialised providers enter the market there will be more digital signage used by retailers as a marketing tool for their own business to target shoppers in difficult-to-reach locations. This means paid-for networks with ROI being measured in terms of impact on sales, costs and profit.

Thus, the exciting potential for digital-out-of-home is at the POS for retailers as a point-of-decision medium to connect with more elusive consumers in captive environments, including retail locations.

Location Specific Content: Giving Shoppers What They Want When They Want It
Digital media at retail can be based on any one of a number of different technologies. It can be designed in a variety of shapes and sizes, each with its own level of interactivity and serving a different purpose within specific locations of retail premises. These locations include the outside of the store, the entrance area, the different product categories, the checkout and the exit. And a guideline for content is to create a desired experience and get the customer to do based on what the customer is actually doing. There is a plethora of technologies -- from big-screens to kiosks to shelf displays -- to deliver the right content at the right time.

Many marketers mistakenly continue to view the internet as "the second coming of television but simply running traditional ads does not come close to maximizing its potential  Ditto for digital media at retail, where the to maximize the potential content can be designed specifically to give shoppers what they want -- when and where they want it. That could be entertainment, information, or some other form of engagement.

For example, a high-end digital sign inside a store's window, perhaps featuring beautiful photos of certain products, might help entice customer to enter the store. A basic digital sign might be the best way to communicate special promotions at the entrance, while an end-aisle or shelf-edge sign could display important product information. An interactive screen using touch — or even the shopper's own mobile phone -- might enable a shopper to explore product features, view on-demand content or even order an item -- the ultimate desired result! It has to be about converting browsers to buyers!

In fact, creating content is relatively easy, as much of it could be simply a matter of reformatting existing promotional materials. With the increase in sources of dynamic content, such as RSS feeds, content libraries and other methodologies and tools, it is now easier and less expensive than ever to keep content fresh, and locally relevant. While the content needs to be engaging, it is not about media ratings or enjoyment, but about meeting the needs of the shopper.

A digital kiosk could be positioned as a resource to solve one of the biggest problems shoppers have — finding their way around the store. Retailers could take a big step forward to engage their customers. Shoppers could use their loyalty cards -- or even their mobile phones -- to learn more about products and promotions. This information could also be easily updated. The digital kiosk should be placed at prominent locations -- and not just the entrance, within the store, where they are easy to locate and can readily enhance the shopping experience by helping the shopper -- which in turn builds shopper loyalty and boosts sales.
 

Digital Out of Home Can Help Drive Sales and Build Customer Loyalty
A possible point of buyer resistance is the perception among retailers that digital out-of-home media only carries television commercials and clutters up valuable and expensive floorspace. But savvy retailers in Asia are beginning to realize that digital OOH presents an unprecedented opportunity to reinforce customer loyalty at every touch point. These retailers are starting to realize the potential of digital out-of-home media to help their shoppers get more out of their shopping experience -- the most crucial touch point of all. What better way than to maximise that experience than by helping shoppers find what they want, when and where they are looking for it, and letting them know what else is on promotion. This is the promise of digital-out-of-home for Asia -- to create loyalty and give shoppers a reason to return to the store while helping to drive sales.

Retailers are quickly learning that this new media is the new battle ground to boost sales, attract and entertain customers and build better buying relationships.

Joe Rossi is the president of Asia Pacific, EnQii.