Microsoft is jumping into alternative digital media feet first through a deal with MediaCart Holdings, which manufactures and installs small computers with digital displays for shopping carts in
supermarkets and grocery stores. The pilot program, already launched, will run for nine months in 220 ShopRite grocery stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Delaware.
The Microsoft program, which might be called "roaming place-based advertising," tracks the shopper's movements around the store to deliver targeted advertising and promotions for nearby products. For
example, Procter & Gamble might run a 15-second ad for its Swiffer products in the home care aisle. Equipped with a card swipe for the shopper's ShopRite "loyalty card," the system can also draw on
data from earlier shopping visits to further refine its suggestions.
The pilot program could have big implications for online ROI metrics as well, allowing advertisers to calculate with greater
confidence which online ads are working.
advertisement
advertisement
ShopRite's highly interactive Web site encourages visitors to create shopping lists online. When they visit the store, they can view their list on the
MediaCart display simply by swiping their card. Not coincidentally, this convenient feature also allows the system to compare data from their Web history, including which ads they've seen, with their
final purchase decisions.
This latest innovation comes as media companies and industry consortiums are moving to create more precise measurements for in-store advertising and place-based media in
general.
The In-Store Marketing Institute, along with major manufacturers, including 3M, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Miller and Procter & Gamble, is funding the Pioneering Research for an In-Store
Metric (P.R.I.S.M.) project to create a reliable metric. The initiative is being handled by Nielsen In-Store, a subdivision of the newly created Nielsen Connect.
The Out-of-Home Video
Advertising Bureau, formed in September 2006, has made the standardization of digital video advertising units, research and metrics a core mission for the fledgling advertising bureau. OVAB also
created an ad agency advisory board to help define standards and establish guidelines for evaluating advertising buys across a multitude of out-of-home video environments.