Trendsurfing: Supermarket TV (The Times)
By David Rowan
Jackie Rose never planned to buy the toilet wipes. Pushing her three-year-old past Pampers and organic Hipp baby food, her only conscious concern was his ear-splitting tantrum. Stressed, rushed, and a little disoriented in Asda's cavernous Wembley superstore, Rose did not really register the giant overhead TV screen advertising Kandoo, "your little one's first toilet wipe". "I suppose that's what made me notice it on the shelf, and I didn't see any harm in trying it," she says distractedly, as the 42-inch screen cuts to shots of Dove moisturising cream. "What is it they say about the power of telly?"
TV commercials just became a whole lot harder to avoid. Not content with being our insurers, dry-cleaners, pharmacists, even bankers, Britain's supermarkets have now decided to launch in-store television networks. Asda TV went live last month; Tesco TV, now in 100 stores, will be in 300 by Christmas. Advertisers, it seems, will pay vast sums to reach you when you're in shopping mode - and unlike your living-room set, these screens cannot be switched off. No wonder supermarket TV is known, in the industry's jargon, as a "captive audience network".
"This is an exciting new medium," says Sarah Brookfield, the executive responsible for Asda's move into television. It is certainly good news for Asda: advertisers such as Nestle[E ACUTE ACCENT] and Procter & Gamble are each paying £55,000 to bombard shoppers with aisle-specific messages during a six-month trial. For that, they get "category exclusivity", which means that no rival advertisers can sell you their coffee or shampoo. Commercials and "service messages" are looped on tapes lasting between 90 seconds and four minutes, depending on how long we linger in particular aisles (more for hair care, less for beans). But don't expect breakthrough programming. "Customers don't go into the store to be entertained," Brookfield explains. "This is not about news, weather and cocktail ideas."
Retailers from Boots to Toni & Guy have used in-store screens for a couple of years. But with the supermarkets suddenly convinced that there is big money in it, the medium is about to explode. It costs from £20,000 to £50,000 to advertise on Tesco TV, for which your 10-second ad is shown every five minutes for two weeks in a range of stores. JC Decaux, the agency selling Tesco's slots, predicts that with ten million potential viewers each week, annual income from ads will soon reach £40 million.
"With 55 screens in each store, your customer scores a very high chance of being hit at least once," explains Spencer Berwin, Decaux's head of sales. "Seventy-five per cent of purchasing decisions are made at the point of sale - and for the first time, advertisers now have the opportunity to talk to customers right at that moment of truth." Because the store knows exactly how long we spend in each section, ads can be scheduled, Berwin explains, "to avoid wastage".
Do Britain's shoppers really want more advertising clutter? Both Tesco and Asda insist that customers welcome a more "informed" shopping experience. And we do seem to be responding with our wallets. Spar credits its in-store TV channel with a 44 per cent rise in sales of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Tesco claims that advertised brands are boosted by an average of 10 to 15 per cent. "The numbers speak for themselves," Berwin says bullishly. "Though I wouldn't run away with the idea that ITV will crumble as a result. Much as I'd like it, I don't think you'll be pulling up your cosy chair in front of Tesco TV."
(The Times, London, October 4 2004)
Jackie Rose never planned to buy the toilet wipes. Pushing her three-year-old past Pampers and organic Hipp baby food, her only conscious concern was his ear-splitting tantrum. Stressed, rushed, and a little disoriented in Asda's cavernous Wembley superstore, Rose did not really register the giant overhead TV screen advertising Kandoo, "your little one's first toilet wipe". "I suppose that's what made me notice it on the shelf, and I didn't see any harm in trying it," she says distractedly, as the 42-inch screen cuts to shots of Dove moisturising cream. "What is it they say about the power of telly?"
TV commercials just became a whole lot harder to avoid. Not content with being our insurers, dry-cleaners, pharmacists, even bankers, Britain's supermarkets have now decided to launch in-store television networks. Asda TV went live last month; Tesco TV, now in 100 stores, will be in 300 by Christmas. Advertisers, it seems, will pay vast sums to reach you when you're in shopping mode - and unlike your living-room set, these screens cannot be switched off. No wonder supermarket TV is known, in the industry's jargon, as a "captive audience network".
"This is an exciting new medium," says Sarah Brookfield, the executive responsible for Asda's move into television. It is certainly good news for Asda: advertisers such as Nestle[E ACUTE ACCENT] and Procter & Gamble are each paying £55,000 to bombard shoppers with aisle-specific messages during a six-month trial. For that, they get "category exclusivity", which means that no rival advertisers can sell you their coffee or shampoo. Commercials and "service messages" are looped on tapes lasting between 90 seconds and four minutes, depending on how long we linger in particular aisles (more for hair care, less for beans). But don't expect breakthrough programming. "Customers don't go into the store to be entertained," Brookfield explains. "This is not about news, weather and cocktail ideas."
Retailers from Boots to Toni & Guy have used in-store screens for a couple of years. But with the supermarkets suddenly convinced that there is big money in it, the medium is about to explode. It costs from £20,000 to £50,000 to advertise on Tesco TV, for which your 10-second ad is shown every five minutes for two weeks in a range of stores. JC Decaux, the agency selling Tesco's slots, predicts that with ten million potential viewers each week, annual income from ads will soon reach £40 million.
"With 55 screens in each store, your customer scores a very high chance of being hit at least once," explains Spencer Berwin, Decaux's head of sales. "Seventy-five per cent of purchasing decisions are made at the point of sale - and for the first time, advertisers now have the opportunity to talk to customers right at that moment of truth." Because the store knows exactly how long we spend in each section, ads can be scheduled, Berwin explains, "to avoid wastage".
Do Britain's shoppers really want more advertising clutter? Both Tesco and Asda insist that customers welcome a more "informed" shopping experience. And we do seem to be responding with our wallets. Spar credits its in-store TV channel with a 44 per cent rise in sales of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Tesco claims that advertised brands are boosted by an average of 10 to 15 per cent. "The numbers speak for themselves," Berwin says bullishly. "Though I wouldn't run away with the idea that ITV will crumble as a result. Much as I'd like it, I don't think you'll be pulling up your cosy chair in front of Tesco TV."
(The Times, London, October 4 2004)
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