Ideas

__ Outdoor Video Advertising __ Outdoor video advertising is a result of emerging digital, video and wireless technologies. This type of advertising was traditionally cardboard displays, but video networks in major retail stores are beginning to change the paradigm. Companies such as Premier Retail Network have more than 200,000 digital screens in retail outlets including Wal-Mart, Cosco, Best Buy and Circuit City. Wal-Mart’sin store video network includes 100,000 flat-panel screens. And using IP technology its network is distributed throughout its locations and allows audio and visual advertising to be displayed directly where customer    s shop. Advertisers can buy ads in these stores and in a similar way to broadcast TV they can target demographics. Shopping malls are also a captive environment to target retail customers, and companies are targeting these retail shoppers in the common areas with digital screens and interactive displays. Outdoor video advertising is for example when you’re standing in line at the shopping mall and they have small TVs that have advertising ads, you’re their captive audience. This IT issue would raise the issue of video technologies within Section II, and in Section I there’s the issue of People & Machines (?). __ RFID Merchandising __ Passive RFID tags are laid inside shirt or trouser packs. When a potential customer selects a shirt and brings it near a LCD panel, it displays all features of the shirt  (color name, striped/checked, size, along with other sizes available in the same color, price, etc.). This technology comes in handy inside a trial room. A touch on a display unit inside the trial orders a bigger/smaller size at the counter, and a helper can hand over the same, thus saving time for both customers as well as the retailer. When a customer brings an RFID tagged piece of clothing in front of the LCD panel, it displays content which could include an in depth description of the garment, size and color availability, mix-and-match style guides, and suggested accessories. If installed in the fitting room, customers can also contact a salesperson by simply touching the LCD panel without the trouble of getting changed and leaving the fitting room. The LCD panel provides retailers with a means to reach customers on an emotional level and positively influence purchase decisions at the moment of choice. Customers are becoming more discerning about the product and services they buy at retail outlets. Retailers and brands are addressing this shift with new product propositions: limited edition designs, ethical trade and special raw materials are as important as the product itself. The intangible proportion of a product is justifying an ever-larger part of the product price. An issue for this idea from Section I could be Integrity – if what you see is really what you get.