Why Digital?

The average U.S. consumer is exposed to over 3,000 messages a day. Of that, less than 50 can be retained. Do you want your messages to be in the 3,000 group or the 50? Out-of-home is already an almost $10 billion dollar industry and growing. Your piece of this pie is truly up to you in the sense that it’s just a matter of how you want to use it. You’re probably already playing the weather channel — now split that screen and play that along with visually pleasing messages about your business. Generation X and Y Americans have primarily grown up with digital technology and generation next has used it since birth. The learning period is over and unless you are targeting a 55 and older crowd, concerns about utilization and acceptance aren’t an issue. Contact us for facts and figures about digital networks and related products.

Why Go Digital?

Important points to consider in the “case” for out-of-home marketing:

Spending on so-called “alternative media”, including digital out-of-home networks, is expected to increase 20.2% to $88 billion in 2008, according to a new study by PQ Media Research. Alternative Media is defined as “media buying strategies that attempt to bypass the clutter of traditional advertising and marketing in an effort to reach target audiences.”

Why is this new style of marketing growing at such a rapid pace and why should you jump into the mix?

Are You Ready …

… to implement one of the decade’s most powerful forms advertising? Join Barking Snail. Engage your audience and start seeing results. We’re here to provide everything you need to launch a successful program — from content creation to system training to day-to-day system management and more.

Contact us at by phone at
800-474-7846 or via email at info@barkingsnail.com.

Traditional Media

Traditional media is falling short.

More and more marketing surveys are pointing to the same conclusion. Traditional advertising is less and less effective. As a specific example, Reveries Magazine, an industry publication for marketing executives, recently conducted a survey of manufacturers, vendors and marketers. Of about 200 respondents, it found that nearly 70% said the effectiveness of TV advertising is getting worse. And 60% said they were actively seeking alternatives to traditional media.

High prices and diminishing returns are the reasons most cited for increasing failure rates of traditional campaigns. Moreover, among the relatively small number of respondents to Reveries survey that had tried in-store TV advertising, nearly two-thirds rated the results “good,” “better” or “much better” than expected.
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Digital Studies

Research shows digital is more memorable and less annoying than other media. Another study from research firm OTX, sponsored by a network aggregation firm, suggests that ads on digital sings are not only more eye-catching and unique, but also more interesting, more entertaining and less annoying than ads shown on virtually any other medium.

A summary of the findings:

The study combined results of online surveys from a general respondent body of 1,790 individuals aged 13-55, and an additional 1,600 individuals from key demographic groups like teens, college students, Hispanic families and affluents.
At 62% awareness (e.g., people who remember having seen ads on the screens in the past 12 months), digital signage is on par with billboards (a medium on the rise) and newspapers (one on the wane), but lags behind radio (75%), Internet (78%) and TV (92%).
On average, adults see digital signs about six times per week. 18- to 24-year-olds see them about eight times per week.
About 44% of respondents said they pay "some" or "a lot of" attention to ads running on digital signs. That compares favorably with magazines at 45% and TV at 52%, and trounces the current darlings of the ad world, Internet (at 32%) and mobile (at 27%).
Of all the media mentioned, digital signage was dubbed the most eye-catching at 63%, followed by billboards at 58%, magazines at 57% and TV at 56%.
Likewise, digital signage was also considered the most unique medium (58% of respondents said so), the most interesting (53%) and offered the second-most entertaining source of ads (48%), bested only by TV (56%).
When it comes to intrusiveness, digital signage again does well. Only 26% of respondents find ads on the screens to be annoying, which ranks only slightly behind the category's winner, newspapers, at 23%. In contrast, TV and radio ads were considered annoying by about half the group, and Internet ads fared the worst, bothering about two-thirds.
Digital signage is actionable: over a third of respondents said they took some action as a result of seeing ads on digital signage, and over half of 18- to 24-year-olds said they did so.
Given that half of all respondents regularly use their cell phones (and about three-quarters of college-age folks do so), it's not surprising that about half the group said they would be likely to respond to a specific message on a digital sign by sending a text message.
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Location Is King

Catch your customers where they play and shop. Location. Location. Location. Outdoor is local. Out-of-home advertising serves as a community partner, sustaining businesses, large and small, and allowing clear communication with the right message to the right audience at the right time. Barking Snail’s Network is community-based, reaching the customers that you want to target. Research shows that 85% of your customers and potential customers live, shop, work and play within five miles of you. So take it to the streets, engage them in those places and your business is sure to grow. Plus, digital signage has that “caught ya looking” appeal. Your audience isn’t driving by with the chance of missing your message. They aren’t channel-surfing and opting out of your pop-up. They didn’t DVR and have the ability to skip over your message. Plus, our venues give you the ability to catch them when they are relaxed and not distracted. Your message becomes part of the memorable experience, rather than an intrusion.
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CPMs

CPMs ain’t what they used to be.

CPM is an acronym for Cost Per Thousand — the "M" in CPM derives from the Latin "mille" for "thousand." CPM has been commonly used in marketing as a benchmark to calculate the relative cost of an advertising campaign or an ad message. Rather than an absolute cost, CPM estimates the cost per 1,000 views of the ad.

The increasing problem with CPM is that consumers work around it. Networks estimate that 50% to 60% of DVR viewers skip ads. Skipping radio commercials is as easy as the push of a button. Junk mail is treated as, well, junk. So media placement that goes to thousands of consumers isn’t a guarantee you’ll get true exposure.

Today, CPM is being replaced by CPE or Cost per Engagement. Offering a higher value, though more difficult to quantify, engagement at or near point of decision or purchase to a smaller audience proves more effective, time and again, than reaching the masses in traditional ways.

Take for example an advertisement for a local bowling alley. A traditional print or television ad can reach thousands of people in one launch. A community-based network will possibly reach only several hundred in a day. But which is more effective?

Smart reasoning would argue that consumers already out for an afternoon or evening of shopping, eating and fun are much more likely to act on that advertisement, than those watching at home in their PJs just before bed.

Well-targeted viewers, though smaller in numbers, lead to far more ENGAGEMENT. That is the formula changing the face of advertising — and improving results.

EFFECTIVE, ENGAGING ADVERTISING THAT’S FINALLY AFFORDABLE.
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Brand Bigger

Brand with a bigger message. Now you don’t have to choose between whether to showcase your newest product offering or your support of a local charity. You can do both with digital signage from Barking Snail. Seek a more positive and less objectionable way of building relationships with your customers and enhance brand trust. And don’t underestimate the power of building relationships with the youngest family influencers. According to justkidinc.com, a website dedicated kid-based marketing, children wield lots of purchasing power and influence their parents’ purchases based on their loyalty to specific causes. In fact, justkidinc research has found children favor “a product or brand that is linked to an issue or cause they care about (38%) over one with a cool advertisement (22%).” Showing your customers you are a good community partner is a good way to develop and build consumer relationships.
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Glossary

Want to learn more about out-of-home advertising networks. Check out our helpful glossary of terms.
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