South African operator reports big-time sales impacts across retail network

June 1, 2008 by Dave Haynes

As reported in a blog called espaces, South African firm One Digital Media’s CEO told the crowd at a recent Marketing-at-Retail Workshop in Johannesburg how research is showing significant sales impacts in installed locations.

Mike Bosman said independent research conducted recently on 22 brands showed those brands stood out 33% more when the particular brand advertises on screen, and awareness of the screen by the shopper was mapped to a 29.6% boost in sales made.

In the past year, One Digital Media has driven the roll-out of a first-of-its-kind digital network – with over 5000 screens installed in hundreds of supermarkets, shebeens, liquor stores and other outlets country-wide, and the system is working with 98% compliance.

Many of the installations have been in Spar stores and are able to run up to 45 screens and 45 channels per store – and the impact of the content that’s been broadcast is reported to be a considerable 9.6% average increase in sales for the brands that advertised using the digital media infrastructure, content development and delivery mechanisms that One Digital Media has pioneered.

Content is flighted to any one particular screen in the network around South Africa or to any group of screens. In-store digital networks typically do not flight TV commercials as the screens do not broadcast sound and shoppers do not hang around for 30 seconds watching the screens. Content is very short and the placement and positioning of the screens in the store is critically important to their effectiveness.

Shebeens, by the way, are unlicensed but allowed pubs, usually in the townships.

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