In-store TV Evolving in the Right Direction

When I was home in L.A. over the holiday break, I took the opportunity to check out one of IBN's latest installs of their PerfectMedia In-store TV network. Conveniently, it happened to be in my parent's favorite Ralph's, so as I made the ever dreaded Christmas day "fill-in trip" for whatever ingredients mom's was missing, I killed two birds.

Overall, I was impressed with the offering. Large perimeter screens with their vertical orientation do standout, and the choice of locations, produce and bakery, meant that shoppers might actually slow down long enough to take in some messaging. Also, the creative I happened to see were nice in-store specific executions featuring video within a seeming flash-based branded environment. You can check out some creative samples here.

More interesting however, were the in-aisle placements. In the fabric care aisle, there was this placement. Right at eye level and with audio just loud enough to hear within close proximity of the screen, but not so annoying that you heard it beyond more than a few feet away. As I passed it, there was some content, I think sponsored by Better Homes, about organizing your home or something to that effect. Relevant enough for a placement in the household needs part of the store.

If in-store TV networks are going to live up to the hype currently in the marketplace and truly become a medium of the future, its networks like this, focusing on increasing relevance through context and quality placements over quantity, that will take this vehicle to where it needs to be. Now, unfortunately, they just need to roll out into more stores. Currently only available in less than 100 Kroger stores, PerfectMedia is evolving in the right direction, now they just need build their reach.