No Chance Of A Quiet Pint As Translucis Targets 18-24 Year Olds In Pubs
New technology could be set to eclipse the beer mat as a way for advertisers to reach pub goers. A pilot programme in a range of bars, clubs and pubs is currently testing the use of plasma screens carrying satellite-delivered content, with links to electronic tills (EPOS) and the internet.
It is hoped that the delivery system, currently known as Ignite, will reach the sought-after 18-24 age group. The screens, which will be placed in a range of venues, will show advertising and other brand communication as part of a visual montage which will also include art, short films and other high impact visual material of interest to the target group.
Sue Aitken, media director at Translucis, the company launching Ignite, says that the new medium should have “the ability to re-capture a generation of bar culture youth that has been lost to TV advertisers.”
Both drinks and non-drinks brands, including those in lifestyle, fashion, technology and media sectors, are to be targeted by Translucis, a new independent company backed by consumer goods giant Diageo. Drinks brands will be offered extra incentives, as the screen content can be tailored to individual outlets according to advertisers needs and the brands which are stocked or under promotion. An additional benefit will be the ability to measure the money invested in promotion against units sold, as a link to the EPOS system will show the correlation between a brand’s exposure on screen and its sales at the bar.
“For drinks brands the Translucis system provides the exciting opportunity to influence brand choice at the very moment the decision is made.” says Aitken, “The pilot scheme is showing that the on-screen advertising is proving to be highly persuasive in the choice of brands at the bar; early test results indicate significant sales increase for the brands promoted.”
Another new technology claiming to target a young adult when they are, as Aitken describes, “away from all other media exposure”, appeared to have become a victim of its own success last weekend. SpotFlash’s ZagMe, which allows shops to send promotional messages to the mobile phones of registered shoppers (see Text Message Advertising System Hopes To Target Consumers On The Move), is said to have caused a rumpus when the system launched at Thurrock’s Lakeside shopping centre on Saturday.
A promotional message from the newly opened Reebok store said that the first person to show the message on their phone at the outlet would win a free pair of trainers. Reports of an ensuing stampede of more than 50 shoppers in a few minutes suggest that SpotFlash had underestimated just how popular the system would be.
Translucis: 020 7529 5300
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