Distripub: a new media is born

Finding your way in today’s chaotic media landscape

You only have to drop into any household to realize that the media landscape has changed radically since the Internet era. Young people have all but abandoned television a long time ago and today, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is people aged 55 and over. For television executives, all of this news is bad: since the 90s1, the number of hours people watch has dropped by some 33%.

On the newspaper side, the story is even darker: readership is down 40% since the 90s. Advertisers have clearly caught on to this fact, because virtually every newspaper in the country is in serious trouble these days.

And what of Internet advertising? The proportion of netizens that click on online banners is also in decline, dropping from 0.33% in 2004 to 0.19% in 2008, which means barely 2 people in every 10002.

In this kind of unstable context, every business has to ask themselves: how can I reach my target customers? How can I can a good return on my advertising investment?

1: Pew Research Center, August 2008

2: ADTECH, March 2009

Digital signage: media of the future

What is digital signage? Digital screens displaying all kinds of content, from the latest headlines and weather reports to enticing ads or supermarket specials. There’s a good chance you’ve come across one lately, because the digital screen advertising market is booming, with a compound annual growth rate of 23% since 20023.

Why? According to a recent survey among 1,700 people having seen digital signage ads4:

  • 48% of people found that digital screen advertising was more entertaining than ads on other media
  • 58% found it more "unique"
  • 62% found that it captured their attention more

And only 26% of people found it annoying (versus 51% for television advertising and 67% for Internet advertising).

Another survey among 1,400 consumers in two different shopping malls revealed that among people having seen the digital signage in the malls, the ad recall for the mall’s retailers was 56% higher and 40% of people who saw these ads made a purchase in one of the stores5.

In another example, an impact study for a photographic equipment manufacturer who had placed advertising on digital signage screens in movie theater lobbies in five markets showed that the ads generated a 56% increase in ad recall and a 26% increase in purchase intent6.

So digital signage has very interesting potential, to say the least. But how to tap into it?

3: PQ Media, November 2008

4: OTX, August 2007

5: Arbitron, April 2004

6: Arbitron

Distripub: when marketing meets the machine

With thousands of vending machines already in place, GR Matic has leveraged its marketing know-how to implement a high performance digital signage network accessible to all types of advertisers. Our Distripub System immediately stands out from other screens by its functional relationship with consumers.

The ideal break: with everyone on the go, one of life’s undeniable needs is to take a little break now and then. With capsules of yogurt-covered almond dragées, Distripub offers a light snack or sweet that is chic, healthy and popular for adults and kids alike. All good reasons to make a stop in front of our conveniently-located shiny Distripub units.

High traffic locations: all Distripub locations are chosen on the basis of the traffic and profile of customers that visit. The wide appeal of dragées allows for a wide variety of Distripub locations:

  • restaurants
  • bars
  • colleges and universities
  • hospitals
  • large companies
  • movie theaters
  • fitness clubs
  • shopping malls
  • supermarkets
  • drug stores
  • large retailers
  • bowling alleys
  • pool halls
  • …everywhere your clients are! 

Distripub = effective advertising

The Distripub System offers several advantages over print advertising:

  • Greater visibility: with each machine in full view next to the entrance, the washrooms or the cash register of the location, hundreds of potential clients are exposed to your digital ad every day.
  • Better targeting: chose among a selection of reputable high-traffic establishments in function of your target customers and the catchment area of your business.
  • Greater flexibility: your digital ad can be easily updated to reflect your marketing calendar. Ads can be updated as often as once a month, so whether it is the holiday season, Father’s Day or a back-to-school promotion, you can adapt your message for maximum impact.
  • Dynamism: whether you have just a business card, a flyer, a brochure or an existing video to work from, our design team can easily transform your material into an attractive Distripub digital ad. And by opting for an animation of your headline or logo, you can multiply the visual impact of your ad.

The power of direct marketing

In each capsule of dragées we insert:

  • Discount coupons
  • Promotional offers
  • Tickets for a prize draw

Coupons and offers are a great way to increase the impact of your advertising at no additional cost. Look at the sales figures: with a minimum of 10 capsules sold per machine per day and taking into account days during which locations are closed, an average of 3,500 coupons are distributed each year. With a redemption rate of 1% to 2%, these coupons can easily result in 35 to 70 new customers per year for each Distripub machine you place advertising on.

All of these results are measurable. In fact, by inserting a promotion code in the coupon or directly in your digital ad, you can objectively evaluate the effectiveness of your promotional offers and the locations selected in your Distripub media plan.

To increase Distripub consumer traffic, each machine displays an ad for a prize draw to win a trip for two to a sunny destination. With a ticket included in each capsule, consumers have an additional motivation to take a careful look inside.

A media within your reach

For a cost of about $1 per day* you can place a digital ad in a Distripub machine for an entire year. For the cost of a quarter page ad in a single issue of a local weekly newspaper, you can capitalize on the power of digital signage: a dynamic and captivating digital ad on an attractive and convenient machine in locations your customers enjoy visiting.

With Distripub, you get a new media that can help you differentiate your business from your competition, boost your sales and raise your image profile all at once.

The media choice of the future is simple. Talk about it with one of our operators.

* Base rate for one machine, volume discounts available for ad updates or several machines