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Wide screen appeal

Published:  29 June, 2009

Strangely, considering most of them are enclosed environments, the advertising industry counts shopping malls as part of the ‘outdoor’ media sector. And, like all advertising, outdoor is undergoing one of its worst-ever slumps. The Outdoor Advertising Association calculates gross spend fell 19.3 per year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009.

However, the sub-sector that includes shopping malls was relatively immune, with a fall of less than 1 per cent over the same period. And spend on digital advertising completely bucked the trend with a massive 29 per cent increase over the year.

So it seems digital advertising within malls is the place to be, which is good news for the two major players in the sector, Vision Media Group (VMG) and Avanti Screenmedia.

According to Avanti managing director Jamie Ball, increased demand from landlords is helping to drive this growth: “We’ve seen increasing demand over the last year for our digital media services as mall owners look for additional revenue streams and improved communication with the shopper,” he says.

And while Chris Green at VMG agrees that the increasing focus on commercialisation is helping, he feels that the advertising industry is also beginning to get the message about mall advertising. “I genuinely believe the media industry is getting to understand the concept of screens in shopping malls,” he says. “The shopping centre arena is highly valued, especially in a recession where the shopping centre groups are doing their utmost to keep footfall as high as possible.”

DIGITAL DATA

The availability of very detailed demographic information is also making digital mall advertising more attractive to advertisers. “They are buying in a very sophisticated way now,” says Green. “They’re not just buying the location but they’re buying a specific time when they know a certain demographic will be in front of it.”

VMG, in its earlier incarnation as Screen FX, pioneered screen advertising in malls with portrait-format screens. Green now concedes that this may have hampered the sector’s growth because outdoor media buyers are more comfortable with the concept of buying six-sheet posters, which come in a portrait format.

Now, both VMG and Avanti have made their core product the digital equivalent of a six-sheet sheet poster, which is basically a 65-inch high-definition LED screen.

And both are linking their screens to smaller touch screens that can provide information about the mall and its tenants, as well as allowing consumers to interact with the brands advertised on the main screen.

VMG’s Green feels the touchscreens are important in getting digital screens into prime positions in malls. Historically mall owners and managers have been concerned about screens blocking sightlines to their tenants’ fascias. But more recently, as commercialisation income has become more highly valued and as the touchscreens have become a key part of the centres’ customer service proposition, they have become less fussy. “We’re now getting more screens in line of sight,” notes Green.

Increasingly, the touchscreen is about much more than an interactive map of the centre. For instance, VMG’s screens at the Trafford Centre allow shoppers to check the balance on their gift card. “It avoids the embarrassment of going to the counter with an armful of goods only to find there’s not enough cash on the card,” Green says.

INTERACTIVE IMAGINATION

Brands are gradually coming to appreciate their interactive functions as well. One children’s TV channel is using them to allow viewers to vote on which is their favourite programme.

Added to this, increasingly customers can register to receive money-off vouchers. “If you give people something of value, then they’ll give you something of value back, and that’s their data,” says Green. And he envisages even more sophisticated uses coming to the fore. “If a parent uses the screen to find out where the baby change is, then why not show them a short message offering them 10 per cent off baby wipes at Boots?”

But while small touchscreens are growing in popularity, Avanti is also driving its business with its large format ‘Iconic’ screens. The network launched in December 2008 and currently has a 14 Iconic screens in prime locations throughout the UK such as the 25-sq m screen at The Trafford Centre.

Advertisers seem to appreciate the impact and creative possibilities of the largest screens. Paul McCormack, account director at IPM, recently booked Sky HD across the Iconic network. “A high impact media that was able to emphasise Sky HD’s production values were key factors in selecting our outdoor media partners,” he says. “Avanti’s Iconic screens delivered a fantastic targeted audience via a screen format that brought our creative to life”.

To enhance the effectiveness of the media, Avanti has invested in initiatives to enhance the network as a communication tool for mall owners. Last year Avanti launched Sky News and weather channels across its mall networks and for the Mall Corporation, Avanti has developed ‘Ava’ – an onscreen three-dimensional ‘host’ who presents mall information, services and local events to the shopper.

This month, as part of a global event managed by Avanti, the company broadcast ‘Art by Chance’ – a festival of thirty short films sponsored by Sony. Avanti recruited other network owners including the BBC and City Gateway and the festival was screened exclusively on outdoor screens to an audience of 25m people.