Kroger's digital coupon offer improves bargain-buying, but … July 27, 2010 by Dave HaynesUS grocer Kroger has introduced a digital coupon system that appears to make that whole exercise a lot easier and more interesting. Instead of getting coupons from here and there and everywhere, and printing them off websites or having printers in kiosks, the coupons are all hived together from a central location of the Kroger …
Digital signage for queues controlled by dead-simple touch UI July 26, 2010 by Dave HaynesThe queue management systems business seems really well suited to bolting digital signage on to the offers, since you have people in lines or crowded waiting rooms starting at at a little screen as the numbers count up and down to the time when they can get served. That little screen gets a lot of …
Gov't-backed DOOH company starts rollout in Emirates July 19, 2010 by Dave HaynesThe government-backed Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) has launched a pure-play digital out of home ad media company that is all about advertising and media services in the Emirates and around the Middle East. The company already has a broad portfolio of broadcast and print assets. Bankrolled by the Abu Dhabi government through ADMC, the …
Audience counting gets a yappy new advocate in Mark Cuban July 19, 2010 by Dave HaynesI just invested in a company that takes video of an area and can tell you exactly how many people are in the capture area at any given time. It’s great for traffic patterns, security, and much more. We are posting cameras in certain environments where anonymity is required, and we don’t and won’t capture …
Nice integrated storescape uses social and interactive to promote tourism July 9, 2010 by Dave HaynesThis is really nice by the looks of it, and not just because it humps my fair home and native land. As flagged on the PSFK website: The Canadian Tourism Commission teamed up with DDB Vancouver to develop an interactive campaign to engage the cities of Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles in a playfully …
Recommended: Retail Systems (UK) story on digital signage impact and strategy July 8, 2010 by Dave HaynesThere’s a nice thorough piece about digital signage in UK retail that’s been flagged by a few people I follow on Twitter. The piece, in IT-centric Retail Systems, is worth a read because of some of the detail on what’s going on, as well as some insightful comments. The Co-operative Group, for example, has screens …
Retail POS system adapted for simple iPod Touch July 1, 2010 by Dave HaynesStarmount Systems came out with an announcement last week about a deal to use the Apple iPod Touch as a mobile POS unit in Urban Outfitters stores. I didn’t write anything on it at the time because the release was a little light on detail. However, a little email back and forth with some folks …
Wine-buying kiosk fails basic test of making a task easier June 28, 2010 by Dave HaynesHow about taking the experience of buying a bottle of wine and giving it all the pleasure of renewing your license plate sticker? That’s what the state of Pennsylvania has in mind, apparently, with a new automated wine-dispensing system that gets rid of those pesky state liquor store employees and puts all the bottles of …
Sticky content for car service wait areas a good notion June 25, 2010 by Dave HaynesI like companies that figure out they need to find a niche and go hard at it, rather than scrapping away with a general offer against a mob of competitors. So someone who decides to develop something tailored specifically to auto dealerships and their customer service waiting areas gets my attention. The guys at Toronto-based …
Research confirming the somewhat obvious – ads in context work June 4, 2010 by Dave HaynesIs running advertising that is contextually relevant a true science, or just a way of analyzing the obvious? There was a forum in New York yesterday that had media companies presenting new approaches to advertising audience targeting. MediaPost reports: Context was king during a meeting of The Collaborative Alliance in New York Thursday, where companies …