David Sommer, Managing Partner, WPP’s GroupM Retail, CPG & Shopper Media – “Understand How Agencies Think About Their Brands’ Customer Engagement Technology Strategies”

1 out of every 3 ads are bought by WPP

Big brand guy

Execution is key – what can you actually execute, not just dream up

Physical environments can be media.  Have the opportunity to engage consumers in that environment via media.

Can touch people in their path to purchase:  In-Home, In-Life, In-Store

Hot Topics for the Day

• Big Agencies want in on the action
• How we decide where to invest – must target, must optimize, must be able to measure results
• Trends:  paid, owned, and shared
• Right place, right time

Awareness = passive (Amen, brother)

Their funnel:  Pre-Shop, Shopping, Purchasing, Loyalty

Lots of touchpoints, not just in the store

3 HOT areas:  In-store, Proximity (around the store), Mobile (the remote control of our lives) – they put a lot of emphasis on mobile – in research, categorizations, etc..

“Mobile is the most over-hyped medium in the short term and the most under-hyped in the long term.”  -Sir Martin Sorrell

4 big buckets of Measurement:

• Compliance (Who is shopping?)
• Media Value (Were they interested?  Could they see it?)
• Brand Metrics (Did it change perception?)
• Sales Lift (Was it effective?  Was it purchased?)

Media thoughts (P, O, S) – they all feed each other

Consumers want deals, social interaction and ratings (see what others think)

In mobile, what are they using/searching for – mobile search, mobile sites, GPS, deals

In store, what are they looking for – self-checkout, payment from cell, on pack promotions

Trends to engage the consumer:

• Addressable (customizable)
• Portable
• Searchable
• Social
• Interactive
• Transactional
• Ubiquitous (it’s everywhere)

DS is getting better all the time – you see these signs/kiosks more and more, when you’re out and about

Questions

Still agencies driving brands to get in store or is it the brands driving agencies to get in the store?  It’s a mix – they’re obviously in this business, driving the value for brands to be in store.  About 30% of their leads, though, come from inquiries from brands.

What’s your single best research tool?  TNS is part of WPP, TNS Sorenson has particular experience in this area.  Nielsen has a play.  IRI has a play.

What do you consider scale?  Not necessarily about how many stores you’re in….another approach is how many people do you touch?

Nut – it’s good to hear someone on the agency side (even if it is a media agency) acknowledge that DOOH is prevalent.  It might be stating the obvious, but just stop for a second and look around the next time you’re in a doctor’s waiting room, or grocery store, or office building – chances are, they’ve got a network playing some sort of content and advertisements.  Also great to hear someone recognize that the physical spaces around us are media.  The only clarification I’d make is that the physical spaces around us have unlimited opportunities to be “screens.”  They’re hot on mobile.  So is everyone else.

Word of the session – addressable.