Digital Signage: A Festive Example of the Consumer Journey

Seventh Time’s The Charm

Research shows that it takes consumers seven encounters with a brand for to change their perception of it. Given the importance of multiple touchpoints across different channels, what role can digital signage play in this “marketing ecosystem” in order to create behavioural change?

The right digital signage software solution can be a key channel within multi-faceted consumer journey. It can ensure consistency across all a brand’s physical spaces, giving a clear and coherent picture of what it stands for. When used for out-of-home advertisements (OOH), it has been shown to increase brand recognition beyond its static counterpoints and other channels.

Consumers rarely pay attention or change their behaviour in response to a single advertisement, branded space or piece of media coverage. Instead, nudging them to change their perceptions of a brand – and consequently investigate a product, experience or service – is usually as a result of cumulative messaging.

Christmas Communications: On All Sides

There is no campaign more famous or anticipated than John Lewis’ Christmas marketing push. For years, John Lewis has employed an omnichannel approach – employing both emotionally and product led communications – and ensuring consistency and impact from the highest budget TV spot to the tiniest online and in-store touchpoints. And consumers have responded to this approach.

Customers don’t just do their Christmas shopping at John Lewis because of they were tickled by Moz the Monster in an advert break. By the time they see the flagship TV ad, they’ve already absorbed messaging from a huge variety of channels. Indeed, the key advert was premiered on social before being broadcast on prime-time TV. A huge media campaign supported its launch, garnering a huge amount of press, word-of-mouth and chatter across social. So the average consumer has probably heard about Moz on social, from friends, and in the press as well as seeing the advert itself. You can even purchased a Moz stuffed toy in-store.

John Lewis drives consumers to purchase over Christmas across many touchpoints, and every channel they have access to in a veritable avalanche of communication. Messaging is consistent, but multi-pronged. While TV drove the emotional response of consumers to shift brand perceptions, other channels made product king and emphasised the renowned quality of John Lewis. In-store, digital and static billboards promoted the festive offering and tills boast stocking fillers and advent calendars. Product focussed ads are rolled out alongside the emotive TV spot. Consumers were amused, entertained, intrigued and shepherded.

So, what role can digital signage play in this multi-pronged and multi-faceted approach to communications that we are increasingly seeing on the rise? As consumer’s digital worlds become ever more crowded and cluttered it branded messaged, physical signage offers a tangible, high impact way to drive a visual message home.