News America Marketing Introduces Shelfvision Video
New Marketing Device Brings Video to Retailer Shelves
New York, NY (March 22, 2007) – News America Marketing, a division of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), today announced the launch of SmartSource Shelfvision Video, a technological breakthrough that brings the power of video to retailer shelves nationwide. It is the only at-shelf video program available in grocery, drug and mass merchandise stores nationally.
“Shelfvision Video is a quantum leap ahead of what’s been previously available to advertisers,” said News America Marketing President Chris Mixson. “It brings the excitement and effectiveness of video into the store, and onto the shelf, right in front of the item being sold. This new technology confirms our leadership in developing and executing the industry’s most innovative in-store programs.”
The Shelfvision Video unit measures approximately three cubic inches, is independently powered, and attaches directly to the shelf. Its video screen measures almost four inches diagonally. A motion-activated “teaser” ad captures the attention of customers shopping in the aisle and invites them to push a button and hear more about the product.
While some supermarkets and retailers have attempted to incorporate video into their marketing mix, their programs are located in the perimeter of the stores, sometimes aisles away from the brand being advertised. Shelfvision Video brings an advertiser’s message right to the product, as shoppers are deciding which brand to put in their shopping carts. Shelfvision Video focuses on a single brand’s message, without other content that can distract consumers. The messages are loaded onto the device using flash card technology, allowing the units to be easily updated.
“The ability to roll out a video-marketing program nationally will give our clients a tremendous competitive advantage,” said News America Marketing’s EVP of Marketing, Jesse Aversano. “There has been great interest among our clients about leveraging shoppers’ at-shelf experience, and we are focused on offering advertisers the most exciting options for maximizing that impact. For example, Shelfvision Video is the most cost-effective at-shelf video option available.
Several major packaged-goods companies have expressed their intention to focus on in-store messaging, prompted in part by studies like those of POPAI, which found that nearly 70 percent of shoppers make their purchase decisions in the store. Such results are particularly attractive to advertisers who have seen steady erosion in the results generated by traditional media.
The Shelfvision Video program will appear in stores starting in June; it will be installed and regularly maintained by News America Marketing’s in-house field force.
News America Marketing, a division of News Corporation, is the leading single-source provider of consumer marketing services. The company’s product portfolio, marketed under the SmartSource brand name, consists of the first branded free-standing insert, known as SmartSource Magazine®, various in-store marketing products, merchandising services, database marketing tools and online promotions. These products and services allow marketers to deliver a brand message to over 200 million consumers each month via a network of 1,161 newspapers and 34,500 supermarket, drug and mass merchandisers locations across the country, including Albertson’s, Kroger, Winn Dixie, CVS, Eckerd and Rite Aid.
News America Marketing’s diverse portfolio of consumer-marketing programs includes:
IN-STORE MEDIA
SmartSource® At-Shelf Sampling SmartSource ShelftalkSM
SmartSource Shelftake One® SmartSource® Bonus Box
SmartSource ShelftalkSM Banner SmartSource Shelftake One® RX
SmartSource CartsSM SmartSource Freezer ShelftalkSM
SmartSource Showcase® SmartSource Coupon Machine®
SmartSource Freezer ExtraSM SmartSource Showcase® Extra
SmartSource Floortalk® SmartSource Price Pop® Guaranteed
SmartSource Electronic Shelf ProgramsSM
HOME-DELIVERED MEDIA TRADE MARKETING
SmartSource Magazine® SmartSource Price Feature Plus®
Partnerships Themed Events
Direct Response Advertising
SmartSource Custom PublishingSM
ONLINE MEDIA
SmartSource Online Savings NetworkSM
DATABASE MARKETING MERCHANDISING SERVICES
SmartSource Direct
News America Marketing—International provides consumer-marketing services in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to a network of advertising and promotion partners in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim.
News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of December 31, 2006 of approximately US$59 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$27 billion. News Corporation is a diversified international media and entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.
For more information about News Corporation, please visit ww.newscorp.com.
Contact: News America Marketing
Laura Richards
212.782.8145
lrichards@newsamerica.com
Rubenstein Associates Public Relations
Robin Wagge
212.843.8006
rwagge@rubenstein.com
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