Nordic ZetaDay 2010: "Important for retailers to develop their in-store customer contacts"

Developing their contacts with customers while they are inside the store is becoming increasingly important for the retail and service trades. This can be seen in current statistics, which show that investments in in-store communication are growing faster than the traditional advertising channels. In-store communication was also the theme for the Nordic ZetaDay which was held for the third time on Thursday 25 November.

Participants in the programme included Ingrid Jonasson Blank, who until recently was Deputy Managing Director of ICA Sverige AB. In this capacity she was one of Sweden’s largest media purchasers and active in ICA’s investment in in-store active media, known as Digital Signage.

 - Within retailing one invests in all kinds of advertising, and then it’s a matter of crossing your fingers in the hope that you will get the desired results in your stores. With Digital Signage we can instead follow the customer around inside the store, all the way up to the checkout. This allows the media to inspire customers and improve the store environment, making the customer experience more pleasant.

Naturally, this requires investment in the stores, but there is a net gain in the form of increased sales, a better shopping experience, customers spending more time in the store and by the ability to offer brand suppliers a new, efficient media channel, explained Ingrid Jonasson Blank.

This year’s ZetaDay was arranged to provide a wide look at in-store communication in the retail and service sectors. Participants in the programme included representatives of media agencies, media producers, brand name suppliers and researchers. Among the speakers were Urban Hilding, CEO for the IMU media agency, Erika Bennerholt, business unit manager from L´Oréal Sverige and Assistant Professor and head of the Stockholm School of Economics Retail Management Faculty at Norrtälje Jens Nordfält, who is conducting research into how Digital Media is influencing customers and purchasing decisions in retail stores.

The initiative for Nordic ZetaDay came from ZetaDisplay AB (publ), which is aiming to become the leading supplier of active in-store information to the Nordic countries.

- The communication with customers in stores is becoming ever more important for the retail and service sectors, while the level of investment in digital active media is increasing. It creates a desire for more knowledge among the major players in the market, who need to select the right media channels and be able to use them efficiently. Therefore we want to share experience from both companies and researchers, explains Leif Liljebrunn, ZetaDisplay CEO.

He referred among other things to statistics from IRM, Institutet för Reklam- och Mediestatistik (the Swedish Institute for Advertising and Media Statistics), showing that investments in store promotions, including store media, increased by almost 50% in 2006-2009 despite weakening of the market, while the total investment in media fell. Particularly rapid growth took place in Digital Signage, which is on the way to becoming an established media channel aimed at customers in retail stores.

The day concluded with a panel debate between representatives of the retail trade, media agencies, brand name suppliers and researchers. A central question was how efficient digital in-store media is, and in that particular case Jens Nordfält could provide a clear answer, based on his own and others’ research:

- There are many surveys that show that communication in stores is generally more efficient than the other channels that are usually employed. And when one asks the customers, the clear answer is that they want more information about the products on the shelves.

ZetaDisplay is in an expansive phase and has positioned itself in the market by being able to show markedly increased sales and broader customer communication for its clients by means of the company’s media platform for Digital Signage.

ZetaDisplay is a leading supplier of Digital Signage within retailing and in public environments in the Nordic market. ZetaDisplay has about 40 employees and has continued in recent years to grow in Sweden, while having subsidiaries in Denmark, Norway and Finland.

If you have questions please contact:

CEO Leif Liljebrunn

Telephone: 46 70 845 80 52

E-mail: leif.liljebrunn@zetadisplay.com

ZetaDisplay AB, with its head office in Malmö and subsidiaries in Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo, is a leading supplier of Digital Signage, including InstoreTV, with the aim of creating increased sales and positive experiences for shoppers in retail stores and public areas. With the aid of the patented techniques in our business can, for example, advertising video be transferred via the mobile phone network and broadband to be presented in a network of fixed and mobile displays in stores. ZetaDisplay is growing rapidly in both Sweden and internationally, and the company’s solutions are in use by companies including for example ICA, Euromaster, Team Sportia, Volkswagen Group, Ringo, Garant Shoe, Extra Leker, Magasin du Nord, Blockbuster, Legekæden, KotiPizza, Alko and RAY Gold Dust.

Website: www.zetadisplay.com

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