A little quiz for you: Below you see 10 current HDTV models, 10 different brands and no repeats. Each is a 1080p with an actual size of between 40” and 50”. The only digital alteration I have made is to remove the brand logo from the frame. Can you tell which model belongs to which brand?
The answers are at the bottom of the post.
Al Wittemen is the Managing Director of Shopper Marketing with TracyLocke. In Mr. Wittemen’s book, How To Store Walk, he describes how humans navigate:
As humans we navigate through our day visually scanning the world around us and making subconscious comparisons. Regardless of where we are, we scan the world through three distinct lenses: 200 ft, 20 ft, and 2 ft to make sense of what is around us and to easily complete tasks.
Retailers understand these navigation principles and design their in-store environment and marketing/merchandising strategy around three corresponding propositions. The three propositions and key attributes for each are explained in [this diagram]:
Quote and graphic used by permission.
By understanding how a customer perceives an area of a store, we can see where the influence of a digital experience has the highest value. Let’s look at a home theater department from those three lenses:
200 Feet: Area Proposition: Low Emotion, High Information At roughly 200 feet, you know there are TVs in the back of the store and they’re turned on. That’s about it. The content on the TVs is not meant for storewide comprehension. However, collectively, the TV wall does a great job of saying, “Hey, we’re back here, come check us out.” With the height of the TVs on the wall, they work as well as the overhead signage for area proposition and store navigation.
This is about 100 feet from the back wall. There is not much difference between 200 feet and here.
20 Feet: Category Proposition: Way Finding, Navigate Choices At 20 feet there is very little, if any, brand differentiation. It is in this distance range where the content performs the most important role in three main areas: Branding, Emotion, and Enabler. Between 20 feet and two feet, the customer narrows the search to a set that is perfect for his or her lifestyle. As is said in retail, this is where retailers, “win the last 10 feet.” This is where digital experience is the key driver for the decisions.
Two Feet: Product Proposition: High Information Drives Choice, High Emotion By now, the customer has narrowed the choice to two or three brands. But look how small that brand logo is. Even at two feet, all the logos are shiny little letters at the bottom of the frames. Is the customer still shopping by brand at this point?
Winning the Last 10 Feet
The content must be a tour guide to help the customer narrow down the choices and physically move from 20 feet to two feet. The experience should be an enabler, a conversation point between the employee and the customer.
The content is part inspiration and part information. Depending on the strategic purpose of the screen, the percentages waver in those two categories. If your goal is to show how the TV is ideal for the customer’s home theater lifestyle, you’ll rely heavily on content that inspires. In a convenience store or point-of-transit area, the strategy is more toward informative; the content is bite-sized information that can influence a viewer while in that area, or walking by the screen.
Knowing the purpose of a digital experience in your environment is only half the battle. Knowing the lenses (or distance) through which your customers can digest that experience is critical in winning the last 10 feet. Combining both when building a strategy for your experience will differentiate you from your competitor.
TV TEST ANSWERS: a. Insignia; b. LG; c. Panasonic Viera; d. Pioneer Kuro; e. Proscan; f. RCA; g. Samsung; h. Sharp Aquos; i. Sony Bravia; j. Toshiba.
