they feature products thai most consumers
need to know more more about,
they intrixluced information points
stiK-ked with computers. The video terminals,
a ctvop effort with the manufacturers,
can answer consumer’s questions
and build customer interaction.
The stores feature video mo/iitors
above the cash registers for promotion
purposes. While the store has the attention
of the customer, it should try
to create multiple sates. Lo Grande
said.
Conrad Jutson also urged companies
to make the most of interactive
video to meet their marketing needs.
Jutson. senior vice president of sales
and marketing at ByVideo Inc. in
Sunnyvale. Calif., identified four key
applications of videi^merchandising.
Retailers may use the me^Tmn tiv
display the depth and breadth of 11M4T
lines as in the case of the Florsheim
Express Shop, which is capable of showing
all shoe sizes and styles. Best Products,
a catalogue showrcxim that carries
a wide variety of new electronic
pnxjucts. uses kiosks to explain the
consumer benefits of different manufacturers.
^
Retailers ina^ also offer take-home
videos that explain how to use a product.
In-store kiosks may serve to tell
the vendor and category story as in the
ca.se of Zaies jewelers.’Customers are
able to view the video and’ know their
price and quality range befure they see
a .salesperson.
These information terminals must
he entertaining and attract people. Jutson
said. Once fashiqn retailers have
the attention of consumers, they can
use the videos to promote crossmerchandising
of separates, accessories,
or shoes. Some stores are even
adapting the lenninals for credit purposes.
The kiosk may also be used as a
sort of fashion adviser. Jutson said. It
can tell the customers which styles are
flattering for their body types or perform
color analyses.
If a store does use interactive video
units, it can perform important consumer
preference research, he. said.
By knowing who looked at what product
and what their first and second
choices were, the store is able to predict
new fashion trends.
MEANWHILE, FOR thtwe con
suniers overwhelmed with the urge to
buy a Liz Claibome sweater at 2 a.m.,
the Fashion Channel on cable TV has
the answer. Viewers of the homeshopping
service can purchase merehandise
by calling the network’s toll-free
number 24 hours a day. The orders
are then electronically fulfilled the next
day from a distribution center.
Program formats include fashion
shows, designer interviews, and howto
demonstrations.
Greeted by the hottest fashion videos
and wild videowalls at a special
session, conference participants could
hardly miss the latest marketing technology
used in the world of fashion.
Plastic dresses, astro fashions, the
Edwardian look. Twiggy, and tons of
miniskirts all make a return in The
Video Catalogue Co. Inc.’s “Mostly
Mod” vicieo. The New York-based
Minneapolis – St. Pau
Older Adults
Pocus Groups
Surveys • ‘
C)ne on Onos •
(612) 831-4911
Orman Guidance
Research” , Inc
company offers a wide variety of fashion
programming for use in retail stores
as an entert<iinment. merchandising,
promotional, and educational tfx)l.
Deemed the video equivalent of
Vogue ot Harper’s Bazaar. Videofashion
in New York has captured the hearts
of clothing retailers’. From the fast
tracks of fashion in Paris. Milan, and
London, the show features the most
important clothing trends, interviews
with top designers, and highlights from
stores around the world.
Once a store has the hottest videos,
it needs an effective way to display
Ihem. Enter Video Box, Network Inc..
Delcom USA Inc.. and Electrosonic
Systems Inc.
Video Box Network. Chicago, offers
retailers the opportunit^o operate
their very own in-house TV station
with the Video Robotic System (VRS).
The unit provides up to 12 hours of
continuous programming on laser disk
to as many as 40 individual monitors
of any size. VRS allows retailers to
maximize in-store promotion!*, build
store traffic, and create special P-O-P
campaigns.
For those retailers not satisfied with
individual monitors. Delcomatkfelectrosonic
offer entire walls of them.
Both systems enable the user to mix
visual sourees to provide a total single
composite picture, a combination of
individual pictures, or a single identical
picture on each separate motiitor.
FASHION MARKETERS should
see the Delcom system as a type of
video wallpaper with ads used as punctuation
between outfits, according to
Michael Canfield. president of the Data
Display Corp. in Elk Grove. III., a
Delcom dealer.
The system can be used K> relay
product information, draw attention to
promotions, or even display a fashion
show.
The videowall unit ranges from nine
to 256 26-inch monitors, which allows
construction of almost every possible
configuration. Its maximum visual
screen area, combined with its minimum
depth, permit the system to be
accommodated in even the smallest
of display areas.
Visual sources for the Delcom 256
VideoWall can consist of playback
from videotape or disk recorders, live
camera, off-air transmissions, cable
satellite, or computer graphic outputs.
Delcom’s videowall has been used successfully
by retailers in Europe since
1984. andCanfield expects the system
to really take off in America once businesses
are taught how to defray the
costs. One way is to^distribute the
costs throughout branch stores, as
Olympus Sport in London did.
The PICBLOC Videowall system,
created by Electrosonic. Minneapolis.
is already in use at (he flagship Dayton
Hudson department store” in that
city. The retailer uses the 32-screen
Wall for advertising. P-O-P promotions,
product launches, ptiblic ser*
vice announcements, fashion shows,
and sporting events.
Dayton is even selling time to suppliers
as a way to subsidize costs.
Becau.se of its sheer size and the
brightnes.s of its moving images, the
videowall attracts a great deal of consumer
attention, according to Jon
Salhus. vice president of video systems
at Electrosonic.
The standard PICBLOC videowall
employs 27-inch color monitors, arranged
in video image format. The
audio system and all control electronics
are built into the base unit, and the
modular construction allows simple
“building block” expansion atid easy
maintenance.