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| Digital Display and Communication’s POD merchandising units — with wirelessly networked 32-inch LCDs and media players — will be driving sales and managing Labatt store promotions in more than 500 Canadian beer retailers in Q1 2010 |
Strong, immediate boosts in sales has prompted Labatt Breweries of Canada to more than double the footprint of an in-store digital merchandising program developed and managed by veteran digital signage solutions company Digital Display and Communications (DDC).
According to DDC, Labatt will expand the number of “POD” digital signage merchandising units it has in the field to more than 500 by early next year, based on the encouraging results of an initial rollout of 200 units that started in selected Western Canada retailers in mid-2009.
Following strong pilot results, DDC was engaged by Labatt to help it develop a true scalable turnkey solution that delivered on a set of well-defined core objectives such as influencing buying decisions and better controlling sales promotions in stores. DDC was responsible for the technical system design, hardware and software procurement, assembly, configuration and project management for the program, which features an attractive merchandising unit based around a 32-inch LCD monitor and built-in media player.
Toronto-based Blake Jarrett & Company engineered and manufactured a highly functional and cost-effective structure to deliver the technology.
“It was critical that the electronics be pre-installed in a fashion that was rugged enough for shipping and surviving in retail, while at the same time being ‘plug-and- play’ when it arrived,” said Steve Harris, VP business development of Waterloo, Ont.-based DDC. “The design styling was kept simple and elegant so the focus remained clearly on the merchandising messages shown on the LCD screen.”
The fully-integrated unit can be wheeled into a store, requiring only an available power outlet to start showing videos and connecting to the management network. DDC developed a content plan and provides ongoing content creation and network management services, controlling the deployed PODs remotely using a wireless data network.
The content is 100 percent focused on the featured product, with a 90-second content loop intended to influence customers just as they make their beer-buying decisions, the company said. DDC also developed an online portal — based on access and control rights — so that national, regional and local Labatt staff can log in and manage POD content. DDC also developed an online template that allows individual store operators to set their own pricing.
The first batch of POD units was rolled out to stores in mid-2009, and had an immediate, compelling effect on sales, the company said.
“The actual results are confidential, but we can say that the sales increase on promoted products in stores that have the PODs, versus those that don’t, raised some eyebrows,” said Harris. “The numbers were really good, and consistent. We know enough now to believe a POD should be paying for itself within a year of getting plugged in.”
“DDC really took the time to understand all aspects of our business, developed a solution that met our needs, and then delivered,” said Tracey Sivak, national customer marketing manager - retail, Labatt Breweries of Canada, Toronto.
“This is a great project for DDC because it brought our full range of capabilities to the project,” added Harris, “and the sales results we’ve been seeing with Labatt suggest this is a formula that can really work in retail.”