Retail Environment Designers Of The World Unite

50 Things You Need To Know About Point of Sale provides some great stats and insights into marketing at the point of purchase/sale.

Most would be familiar with the role that muzak has played in the retail space (though often quite badly and with little thought).

Sound however can be used in a much more targeted and powerful way, as an attention grabber, memory trigger and differentiator in out of home (OOH) and point of sale (POS) marketing.

“Always opt for digital where available, especially if it incorporates sound and Bluetooth. Research conducted by the JC Williams Group concluded that shoppers are 5-10 times more likely to notice and recall dynamic media than static media….”
Jeff Estok, General manager sales and marketing, Global Mall Media

“Use all senses to trigger emotional impact. Emotion is the key! If your customer comes home and still talks about your brilliant and unique POS advertising you got it right. To achieve this, you should think about all human senses and how your POS campaign can stimulate the senses….”
Holger Pfeilmaier, marketing manager, LookPrint

When implementing sound in your OOH/POS it is worth considering the following:

1. Like the internet OOH is not television: Even if the delivery media is screen based. But like TV, if not implemented in a way that is sensitive to shoppers and passers by, they will switch off. We learnt that the hard way with the internet, didn’t we?
2. People hate being yelled at. OOH should invite people to engage with your brand. Whether through interactive technologies or the tone and feel of the audio content. Sonically hitting people over the head is more likely to damage your brand.
3. Technology is not the message. Content is.
4. You are not alone. OOH and POS often occurs in shared environments. Using the physical space and working together with other retailers/users will reduce the need to shout over each other and drive people away because all they are hearing is a big argument.
5. The purpose of the audio content should be clear, should support the visual content and broader communication strategy, and conform to your sonic branding guidelines.
6. Most importantly: Have fun, be adventurous and unique and evaluate, evaluate, evaluate.

Happy spruiking