{"id":7217,"date":"2010-05-08T05:22:30","date_gmt":"2010-05-08T12:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.web-strategist.com\/blog\/?p=7217"},"modified":"2010-05-13T03:25:44","modified_gmt":"2010-05-13T10:25:44","slug":"trend-when-digital-displays-become-social","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web-strategist.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/08\/trend-when-digital-displays-become-social\/","title":{"rendered":"Trend: When Digital Displays Fuel Social Commerce"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"American<\/a> Left<\/em>: American Eagle’s flagship retail store in Times Square allows shoppers to post their photo to the marquee for their “15 seconds of fame”, you can even read how some shoppers, like Bryan, from Birmingham<\/a>, posts his photo for the whole world to see.<\/p>\n

Smorgasbord of Digital at Times Square Makes it Hard to Stand Out<\/strong>
\nAfter finishing my keynote at PRSA<\/a>, I’m here in New York’s Times Square, and witnessed first hand the closing of the square yesterday during a false alarm bomb scare<\/a> (it was just an abandoned cooler, thankfully). \u00a0After the Square was reopened a few hours later by NY’s finest, I got to sit down, and take in the digital sights and sounds. \u00a0Although I’ve been here many times, Times Square is an amazing experience, no where else in the world can you see so many logos, brands, and ads bombarding you in full color digital experience. \u00a0It was interesting as I took in the many logos that have been my clients over the years, and watched as even caused the night sky to feel as if it were dusk.<\/p>\n

American Eagle’s “15 Seconds of Fame,” Attracts A Crowd<\/strong>
\nOne particular marquee took my fancy, the American Eagle screen. \u00a0This massive screen has two facing sides, giving a multi angle experience in blazing LED color boards. \u00a0In between the “Summer of Love” campaigns showing scantily clad pubescent teens surfing and dancing on the beach, they showed how regular consumers (most are non-models, as you might guess) get the opportunity to go into the store, and have their picture taken in front of a beach setting and then be displayed in front of millions of people as they walk by. You can\u00a0read about the details<\/a> by agency R\/GA and from Bloomberg<\/a>. \u00a0I’m going to assume innovation of digital screens will start right here in Times Square, then spread to other venues. \u00a0This personalized experience allows actual customers and tourists to display their picture along with a short message to others. \u00a0We should expect this will eventually evolve to allow personalized messages in store to appear.<\/p>\n

Expect In-Store Screens To Evolve from Static To Customized and Social<\/strong>
\nWhat could the future hold? \u00a0Expect stores to ask you to “Connect using Facebook Connect” to your mobile device as you step in the store. \u00a0By doing so, you can receive customized recommendations on your phone and on digital displays. \u00a0Expect that your friends that have been here, will digitally indicate which clothes are right for you. \u00a0Expect digital displays to recommend what’s best for you based on what your friends ‘like’ (see how Levi’s is doing it on the web) then spread to in store. \u00a0While far fetched, see this video of how Cisco expects to improve the buying experience. \u00a0What about the risks? \u00a0Expect privacy to be less important to millennials who don’t mind sharing their experience with others, and early prototypes to show customized content –without revealing a person’s full identity on an in-store screen.<\/p>\n

Get Ready as Digital Displays Represent Consumers:<\/strong>
\nYet with all of these changes coming in the future, I advise you to start here:<\/p>\n