Screens are a widely-used means of communication. Their size, brightness and the dynamic content they display draw the eye irresistibly. But their biggest advantage is that they make excellent contextual media, allowing a brand to tailor its communication fully to its audience.
Contextual marketing applied to digital communication via screens thus becomes a priority lever for increasing the extent to which the messages shown are remembered, or the average spend. Provided, of course, that you opt for relevant delivery scenarios that create value for the audience, and which are based on good data.
❓ What is a contextual medium?
Contextual media do not use the audience’s personal data, but simply knowledge of the environment in which messages are delivered. It is based on matching the message to its delivery context.
“Communicating the right message, in the right place and at the right time.”
This, in a nutshell, is contextual marketing. It is clear, for example, that you will prove to be more receptive to an ice cream advert if you are on the beach in high summer, or that a road safety message will have more impact if I am returning to my vehicle on leaving the office, and so on.
🧠 A strategy that favours memorisation and engagement
Delivering a relevant message helps it to be remembered and favours the target’s engagement with the brand. The message will also be seen as less “intrusive”, and may even be viewed positively. The aim is to bring the advertising message into line with its context.
This strategy pays off, because 56% of consumers have a more favourable opinion of brands which deliver their advertising in a relevant context* So it is easy to understand the success of “Push” media which use contextual targeting to automatically “push” content to a target, taking their browsing or searching habits into account.
*According to the new IAS study, “The power of context”
🎯 Screens: more than “digital flyers”: contextual media
Screens lend themselves completely to contextual marketing. They attract attention, hence the value of making them visible to a large number of people going about their business, while at the same time assimilating messages adapted to their environment.
Screens have literally revolutionised offline communication, and the reason they have flourished virtually everywhere from Times Square to shopping centres, including company offices, is their ability to become contextual media. So businesses and advertisers can imagine a multitude of communication scenarios.
💬 How do you contextualise the delivery of your messages?
To contextualise your communication scenarios, you can basically rely on three levers. The relevance of campaigns will then depend on the parameters you choose and the way in which you use the right data.
- Add personalised delivery parameters
Digital signage campaigns can be adjusted according to particular schedules. A restaurant chain might therefore choose to showcase a special “breakfast” offer in the morning, between 7 and 10.
The frequency of delivery of a message can also be adjusted according to its importance. An alert about pandemic safety measures might, for example, merit being delivered more frequently.
Some CMSs even allow you to increase the frequency of delivery of a message over time. Is the date of a trade fair or event getting near? It would be all the more appropriate to remind your audience more often than the date is getting increasingly closer, and that will increase your message’s impact.
- Trigger certain content automatically
It is self-evident: the weather influences our emotions, and therefore our purchasing behaviour too. 70% of economic activity is thought to be “weather-sensitive”*. Hence the importance of programming weather-responsive digital signage campaigns. So it is really important for a travel agency to promote a sunny destination in the middle of the winter, for example.
Automating the delivery of content via screens can also employ other contextual targeting methods: movement detection, or even face detection, which will take sociodemographic information about the people exposed into account. That same travel agency may therefore offer a cruise holiday to senior citizens, whereas it would guide those in their thirties toward a more suitable kind of travel.
The creation of interactive campaigns could also be envisaged. Interactive digital signage is thus become a way of entering into a dialogue with your audience, which will help continuously improve the customer experience. An excellent way of gamifying your point of sale or internal communication to boost your audience’s engagement.
*According to the US Department of Commerce According to Climpact-Metnext, 40% of mass market product sales appear to be influenced by the weather.
- Responsive digital signage
Digital signage also allows the delivery of content in real time. Exposure to company information about its stock levels will thus provide a valuable source of information for in-house teams. It may, for example, create a sense of urgency, leading to the customer making a purchase when stocks have nearly run out.
Communication managers have the option of exploiting content published by their company on social networks, with digital signage as a new lever for delivering it. This is a way of increasing the profitability of content and capitalising on brand reputation.
Finally, marketing and customer relations managers can enhance campaigns by feeding in local or news-related information from public RSS feeds, which can interface directly with screens.
With its digital signage solution, Cenareo enables the delivery of contextualised content, creating value for your targets. Helping create more impactful campaigns offering maximum return on investment.