The following article is adapted from a GlobalShop 2006 presentation by Bill Pennell, CEO, Mediawide Ltd.

In-store television networks have been established in a wide variety of stores around the globe, making retailers media owners with dwelling mass audiences. With 75 percent of decisions made at the shelf stage, targeted relevant communication to shoppers in-store influences purchases. As traditional media advertising venues suffer from falling audience numbers, stores with digital signage advertising sell 10 percent more merchandise than those with similar demographics that lack digital signage. Technology can be incorporated into store fixtures in 10 steps.

1 Concept & Design
Don't base the project on a chance to use nice software or last year's plasma screens. The retailer must decide what is needed and how it will look. Agree on your objectives and a strategy, and then conduct a feasibility study.

2 Project Management Appointment
Appoint project managers to coordinate the program so you can focus on obtaining the kit and the supply base. Formalize the roles and responsibilities of everyone working on the project. Be clear on network specifications: number of channels or zones, number of stores you will scale it to, approximate number of screens per site location, types of screens you will use, distance the cabling will run, content delivery system, back-office infrastructure, store fixturization, placement of screens, etc. Base the cost analysis on local interpretation of the stores' blueprints, and have contingencies for unexpected variations.

3 Site Survey & Installation Planning
Get store plans produced and have the sites professionally surveyed so that heating, ventilation, refrigeration, etc., can be avoided. As you determine screen locations, identify the merchandise that will be on each run of shelves. Factor in bulkheads and lighting, and determine the optimum number of square feet to work in. Make sure the screens' bracketry will accommodate the loading weight. Base shelves will need to be de-merchandised to apply an anchor point to the spine at ground level to prevent tipover. Determine the screen height—ideally, as low as possible without decapitating the customer. Identify a dish location on the roof that will limit cabling routes to a back-office location of the channel PCs. The back-office area must be isolated, secure from the local store staff, and in a cool environment and must provide adequate space for the extensive local storage capacity needed. The retailer must sign off on fully marked-up store plans along with guidelines for dealing with local variations. Produce method statements and risk assessments that describe how each part of the process will be done. Agree on a timeline.

4 Procurement & Logistics
Order the equipment, bearing in mind that something as simple as an on/off screen blanking plate may take longer to produce than the screen itself. Create a delivery/distribution plan, arranging for everything to be delivered to a central point so that the project manager can allocate equipment as each site is installed rather than allowing boxes of screens to sit in a store warehouse or backroom. Arrange for insurance. Book electrical first-fix appointments, allowing enough lead time from factory to shipping to distribution center to store. Coordinate supplier stock. Since small screens are often quick to manufacture, you may want twice as many of them as the 42-inch plasma screens. Arrange for transportation of the kits to each location to achieve just-in-time delivery for the work flow, and arrange for the disposal of the cardboard boxes and other waste created by the installation. Procure accessory parts such as the back-office cabinet, electrical equipment, and even a few thousand meters of cat-5 cabling needed for the electrical second fix.

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