November’s already more than half over, which means the great annual holiday rush to the malls for Chistmas shopping is just days away.
While shoppers are expected to be holding back compared to past Christmases, they'll still be out at the malls, and advertisers will be working harder than ever to get them to open their purses.
That push won't end on Dec. 24 but extend well into January as consumers redeem gift cards, exchange gifts and come back for bargains at post-Christmas sales.
More and more those shoppers will see new, vibrant signage as more malls covert to digital displays in common areas, and all tied into networks that in some cases span hundreds of malls.
To find out how to get your client’s message on digital signage in malls, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising to shoppers on digital signage at malls.
Who
Many companies offer digital ad options at malls. For this article Media Life looked at Adspace Networks, OnSpot and EYE USA.
How it works
Digital signage in malls is becoming more and more common as shopping centers swap out old static signage. The new signage comes in a lot of different options but the centerpiece is a screen in public areas, typically inside entrances, featuring a map of the mall and all its stores. Displays are also hung from ceilings.
The traditional signage was a poster still, and those remain an option. Others include loops of stills in rotation, Flash displays and full video. Sound is also available at some malls.
Ads may appear amid content about sales at the mall that day airing in 12- or 15-second rotations, or they may run in longer loops that feature content about that particular mall.
Traditionally, ads were for products sold at the mall's retail units, but more and more outside advertisers are using the signage.
A big advantage of the new digital networks is that advertisers can run in a number of malls at a time or just one, and creative can be swapped out in an instant from one central location, allowing advertisers to mount time-sensitive promotions.
Markets
Digital signage is now very common in malls in the top 10 markets. Many other mid-size markets are also available, with digital signage most common in malls that are 400,000 square feet or larger.
Numbers
A study by Nielsen Media Research for one mall ad network found that some 47 percent of shoppers viewed content on one network's ad displays, and of those 34 percent had an average recall of specific ads.
Shoppers saw the displays an average of 3.3 times per mall visit for a total of one minute and 54 seconds.
Teens 12-17 saw the signs more, according to the study, an average of 5.5 times per trip with an average viewing time of two minutes and 12 seconds.
How it is measured
Data on mall foot traffic is used to determine impression levels.
What product categories do well
Auto, financial, food, movies, TV networks, packaged good, retail, apparel, health/beauty, restaurants and beverages are top categories.
Demographics
Mall signage is very much a mass medium, reaching a broad slice of consumers, but the medium does skew female and younger and and more aflfluent, since malls are a suburban phenomenon. Advertisers can target to some degree by mall location, choosing for example more upscale malls to reach more affluent consumers.
