In response to the questions we frequently receive about how best to utilize these new technologies, we’ve collected some of our favorite articles on five of the most important new media for innovative marketing efforts.

Take a look, and don’t forget to share any thoughts or questions in the comments section at the bottom of each posting!

1. Digital Signage
Thinking about bringing digital signage into your stores? Here are five key things to consider before it’s installed.

2. Email Marketing
Check out six simple steps for developing an effective email marketing strategy—or improving the one you already have.

3. Maximize Your Website
How well is your website performing? Learn how two valuable tracking tools, from a web audit to GreenTrak web analytics, can help your site achieve optimum success.

4. Mobile Marketing
Would text message marketing be an effective way for you to reach out to customers? Should a branded iphone app be part of your new media marketing strategy? Check out the benefits of mobile marketing, and get answers to your FAQs.

5. Social Media
The benefits of business blogging, plus a few points to consider before you dive into—or dispel the value of—social media.

1. Value shoppers are here to stay.If there is one long-term lesson retailers should take from 2009, it is the importance of a strong value positioning strategy. Value shouldn’t be the central focus of most brands, but it needs to play a part in any supermarket’s overall strategy. Retailers who have maintained a well-crafted value message through the years reaped the rewards during this economic downturn. Stores that neglected this part of their positioning strategy are now working hard to convince customers of their low prices, as they should. There are a lot more coupon clippers and ad shoppers than there were two years ago, and the new frugality is here to stay. Like generations before them, consumers have been changed by this difficult time, and will remember these lessons throughout a lifetime.
2. Digital signage will become a mainstream marketing solution.Since hardware prices have dropped, the return on investment that digital signage provides makes it a no-brainer for most supermarkets. Digital signage will continue to spread as retailers find proven providers, run pilot programs, and discover the benefits.
3. Social media will be adopted by most brands, to mixed results.Facebook users grew from 150 million to 350 million this past year, and the average age is now slightly over 50. Users now expect to interact with their favorite brands on fan pages. Successful media strategies will transition from one-way websites to an emphasis on interacting. They will focus on authentic, inventive ways to listen to and have fun with customers. Unsuccessful strategies will feature one-way communication on quickly created Facebook and Twitter pages. These will be the companies who say in 2011, “We tried social media, but there’s just no ROI.”
4. Private labels will continue to evolve into fully realized brands.Considering the current state of the economy, an increase in private label sales is no surprise; what’s unexpected is the transition of many private label products into true brands. This new crop of private labels maintains the private label value perception, and has personal meaning to customers in a way that generic store brands never could. Brands like Target’s “Archer Farms”, Safeway’s “Eating Right” and “O” (and most of the products on the shelves of Trader Joe’s and Fresh & Easy) connect to a customer’s lifestyle, and own a strong quality perception. Look for more stores to focus on the development of their private labels in 2010.
5. Stores with strong brands continue to dominate the market.This is cheating, since strong brands have always dominated the market, but it’s a valuable reminder. The recent economic strain has already eliminated many stores with weak brands, and solidified the hold of those stores who have invested in their brands. The market leaders will be those with a unique identity, who relate to customers emotionally and make a compelling, rational argument for shopping at their store.

If you’re interested in help with your value positioning, digital signage, social media strategy, private label, or brand development, let us know.

Wishing you a prosperous year in 2010!

• Static Signage – Traditional printed-paper signs that help promote your sale items and have relatively short lifetimes.
• Digital Signage – Innovative and eye-catching digitally produced messages that offer video and animation in a dynamic way that is more appealing to the customer.

Thinking about using digital signage in your stores? It doesn’t matter if your plans include a single LCD monitor at the front entryway of your store, or a network of 10 LCD monitors placed throughout your store. Either way, we can help!

Here’s a list of five items you need to consider before starting your installation:

1. CONTENT – Content is king. This is not a catchy slogan; it’s a fact! Before you spend money on LCD monitors and video players for your in-store digital signage program, make sure that your content is absolutely amazing and spellbinding to your customers. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that an in-store digital signage program is a place to play TV commercials. The most important thing is the user experience, and what your customers gain from watching your digital signage. It’s not about the fancy screen or the latest technology in players–it’s all about the content, which needs to be memorable, interesting and diverse in order to engage the customer.
   
2. UPDATE – Your content should include a mix of educational information about your store (brand) and information from outside of your store. We’ve found that news tickers and the daily/weekly weather forecast are among the favorites of customers in grocery stores. One of the most important things we’ve discovered is that customers will begin to ignore your signage if it does not change and stay fresh on a weekly basis. Digital signage is a way to provide your customers with the important and up-to-date information they want to know about, from weekly sale items, to facts about your store that differentiate you from the competition.
   
3. PLACEMENT – The placement of the monitors is critical. Don’t “pull a Wal-Mart” and try to hang LCD monitors from the rafters with the expectation that customers will crane their necks upwards to see the screen. The displays must be positioned as close to eye level as possible. The LCD monitors need to be part of the store environment, not obvious “after thoughts” that were installed with no regard to your store’s design concept.
   
4. GUIDE – Guide customers to different departments around your store. Sure, it’s great to show steaks sizzling on the grill on an LCD screen in the meat department, but why not also show attractive beauty shots of fresh vegetables, bakery items and other offerings on the same monitor to encourage ideas for a great meal combination? Changing the direction in which people flow throughout the store has been proven to increase purchases, inspiring customers to pick up something they might not normally buy.
   
5. INSTALLATION – Hire professionals to install and maintain your LCD digital signage program. Don’t let your brother-in-law handle the installation of your LCD digital signage network, and don’t buy your monitors at an electronics store closeout sale. The components may seem simple (LCD screens, cabling, mounting brackets and players), but choosing the right equipment is paramount to a successful installation. Additionally, working with a company that has done multiple installations will save you headaches in the long run. You don’t want your brother-in-law climbing on a ladder in your produce department when a player isn’t working properly. We have installation partners that are among the largest and best in the world to help do it right. Picking the right equipment and installing it properly is absolutely crucial. Paying for your equipment outright might sound like a great idea in the short-term, but you should also consider leasing the equipment. As technology changes, you want to stay on top, and leasing is a great way to retain working capital and remain at the forefront of technology.
   

DW Green Company is the leading content supplier for the supermarket industry. If you would like us to mail you a sample DVD of Digital Signage content, please click here.

If you’d like to learn more about using digital signage in your stores, we’d encourage you to spend a few minutes with our Graphic Design, DVD Production and Store Installation staff before kicking off your project.