• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, October 25, 2010

Young, hip, and growing like gangbusters: This description is equally true for social and place-based media, and with continuing convergence enabled by digital technology -- mobile in particular -- it was only a matter of time before these crazy kids hooked up.

This week brought news of a partnership between Premier Retail Networks and LocaModa, which are joining forces to create a cross-channel social media platform on PRN's Checkout TV Network in supermarkets. The new place-based social media platform presents filtered, localized social media components with user-influenced content and trending topics collected via mobile texts, Twitter and Facebook. For example, Checkout TV screens might display the most popular products at that store, based on users voting via mobile or the store Web site.

Cathy Stauffer, PRN's executive vice president for market development, explained: "LocaModa's platform helps us create a dialogue between our advertisers and consumers through content displayed on Checkout TV Network screens in supermarkets that can be continued on other platforms, helping to contribute to even deeper brand engagement." According to PRN, Checkout TV delivers 51 million commercial viewers via displays at 950 supermarkets nationwide.

Separately, two weeks ago PRN announced that it is joining forces with Interpublic Group's Emerging Media Lab to showcase their possibilities for advertisers and agencies, including PRN's Checkout TV; Product TV, an interactive point-of-purchase merchandising solution for single or select products; and an associated mobile marketing solution, jointly presented by Jagtag and PRN. Together with Jagtag, the Product TV screen allows shoppers to download a mobile coupon after texting an embedded Jagtag from their MMS-enabled mobile device. The showcase also includes a demonstration of PRN's interactive endcap triggering content on Cabco's TV Kart digital shopping carts.