Was Fred Astaire a good actor?

You might say yes. You might say no. Or, you might say, "Fred Astaire made movies because he was a great dancer, not because he could act."

It seems to me that a similar debate is emerging over the store as an "advertising medium." Can in-store marketing help build brand awareness, affinity and consideration?

You might say yes. You might say no. Or, you might say, "In-store marketing is most effective because it sells product, not because it builds brands."

I understand the need to formally establish in-store marketing as a brand-building medium. For decades, the marketing world has been focused on mass-media advertising as the most effective way to build brands and, ultimately, to increase sales. To make a convincing argument that the store has become a viable alternative to other forms of mass communication (if not an outright better option), in-store marketing must have a comparable set of metrics on which to be judged.

But as the industry works to develop a system for determining store-traffic counts and shopper profiles, as it establishes metrics for measuring impressions, or gross ratings points, or "eyeballs," as it seeks to create a traditional cost-per-thousand model for judging the value of an in-store ad, it should not lose sight of the fact that in-store marketing directly sells product.

That fact should be inextricable from any discussion about in-store advertising. That's what gives the medium its true power: When testing two locations for digital signs last fall, Asda discovered that ads on in-aisle screens produced better results than ads on power-aisle screens. Why? Because the product was right there on the shelf. (The solution, of course, was adjacent merchandising.)

Eyeballs are great. But eyeballs connected to hands that can immediately reach for the product are even better.

So let's develop two CPMs. The first can be a typical "cost-per-thousand" that lets a front endcap be measured against a 30-second TV spot, a print ad or a web banner. In all likelihood, advertising in stores will deliver a consistently larger audience at a fraction of the cost. And that will be a great comparison to make.

But then let's take those audience measurements, match them up with sales data, and deliver a "close per thousand." So, Mr. Media Buyer, you can reach 40 million consumers with a TV spot and hope for the best, or you can reach 40 million shoppers with an endcap display and increase sales by 30%. That's a much more compelling argument, isn't it?

Now, I happen to believe that Fred Astaire was a decent actor. But I want to watch him twirling Ginger in Top Hat, not dodging flames in The Towering Inferno.

Because it's really all about the dancing.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute