Omni-marketing from Australia

Seamlessly switch between formats and channels

The shop! ANZ (Australia and New Zealand) has published a recent study by PoINT Retail, a member of the organization. At the very beginning they claim, that the aim of an omni channel campaign is to give the shopper the ability to experience brands and products with equal levels of engagement and excitement. This allows them to seamlessly switch between formats and channels, and have a uniform impression of not only what the brand is, but also what it can be.Although there is much discussion about the challenges facing traditional bricks and mortar stores, we need to be clear about what is happening – online is competing against physical stores and traditional retail can’t ignore the fast moving digital age. The retail space is evolving where new and exciting concepts have the platform to develop and expand rapidly.

As we drive forward in the digital retail age, we still crave the experience and the destination of a physical store environment, however our expectation of the way in which we interact with brands in this space is much greater than in the past. We want to not only see the product presented in an innovative and exciting way where we can touch and feel it, we also want to fall in love with the brand and become a part of its future.

On- and offline merger

The physical space in which products exist needs to drive shoppers’ instinctive search for newness. Not only new products but new ways in which to experience and interact with them. We expect innovation to be at the heart of everything we see. We want it quickly and for it to be constantly changing, updating and evolving.Digital is the catalyst for this change and it allows us to experience products everywhere and anywhere. We search for products online, we watch influencers show us how to use our favourite brands, we buy from websites, we search social media channels for new launches and we use digital media to comment on our experiences along the way. The key to this is that we engage with products and brands in a dynamic way where everything is mobile, not static or linear. It is not at set times nor in a particular order. We interact with digital content as we go about our day and as we do this, the line between the digital and physical space is constantly being blurred.

This is the challenge facing brands in the modern retail market where traditional channels and the ways in which brands populate them has changed and will continue to do so. The key is in being adaptive and creating exciting brand experiences that have consistency in the way in which shoppers interact, both digitally and physically.

Have you ever watched an amazing YouTube clip of a product and then seen the same product in-store on an empty shelf with some outdated printed collateral? Equally have you been in-store and seen a product presented in an amazing way and then searched online and found that you are left feeling underwhelmed from a pixelated thumbnail image?

Content generating – way to promotions

Take your brand, or even a whole category, and generate digital content that can be used to populate websites, social media channels or an interactive element instore. This process carries over to physical displays and store environments so that the same look and feel can be applied and the same features can be promoted. The process of unboxing the product and glorifying its features can be aligned across formats and through different shopper experiences.The aim is to create something special. Something remarkable that makes you stop, look and think about what a brand can be physically, digitally and virtually.As technology becomes faster and more reactive, traditional retail will need to adapt to stay relevant and ultimately to stay afloat.

Brands and retailers now need to innovate in order to create unique experiences that exist beyond the 4 walls of a store and disrupt shoppers throughout the journey.The team at PoINT have developed a teaser that explores the day in the life of a typical shopper and highlights the needs of the industry to meet the expectations of the market.

The potential for AR is enormous and as it becomes mainstream, our devices will allow us to interact with these experiences without the barrier of downloading apps. Only then will AR become truly integrated into our daily life and retail environment.The time has come, with the global tech companies investing heavily in AR, that soon it will be easy to interact with this augmented layer of engagement without the barriers we face today.Apple has the world’s largest AR platform, with hundreds of millions of AR-enabled devices, and with the rumoured release of Apple Glasses this year, the seamless integration of AR will be complete. Google’s interface is easy to use and launch through your phone browser giving you easy and direct access to multi layered content for discovery and education.

* POPAI, from 2015 named Shop! is an international organization of the Marketing and Retail industry which headquarters placed in Chicago and Hollywood Florida, representing nearly 2000 local offices. Hungary joined with the POPAI Hungary Association in 2003, which has since then been a nonprofit professional, educational, research and knowledge transfer organisation active mainly in the FMCG sector. Read more: popai.hu