Fine Tuning Audio for Retail Video

Audio can play a vital role in retail marketing; it can reinforce visual cues, direct traffic, educate customers and elevate a point-of-purchase program to be a more memorable shopping experience. But, of all the talk of digital signage and networks, not much is addressed toward the importance of audio on these units.Kris Konrath, director of marketing for Alpharetta, GA-based Convergent, a digital signage supplier and integrator, says that in the medium's early days seeing a big plasma screen in a store was enough to capture consumers' attention, but now distinctive content, sometimes incorporating audio, is needed. "As digital signage has become more common, it's not earth- shattering to see anymore," he says. "Some companies are utilizing the audio to create more of an attraction."Beyond capturing consumers' initial interest, marketers aim to hold it, and that requires presenting a compelling message that's in sync with the brand and the quirks of a particular store's layout, traffic pattern and noise levels."If your whole intent is to distribute information or encourage learning, then you want to open yourself up to all of the ways to do that, and audio certainly plays a role," says Kenneth Gisstennar, vice president of sales for La Mirada, CA-based Spinitar, an AV integrator. "Relatively speaking, in the scheme of the overall signage, audio probably represents 10 to 15% of the cost, and the price goes down with volume."Konrath cites Salt Lake City-based In-Store Broadcasting Network's Perfect Media System as an example of effectively integrating in-store audio and video without overwhelming shoppers (or store staff). IBN synchronizes audio and video. Soundless video clips run on a network of strategically-placed LCD screens complementing radio content. Radios then back off when TVs are audible to eliminate any audio confusion.Brian Hirsh, president of Bellevue, WA-based Retail Entertainment Design, an audio/visual content company, posits that the merger of sight and sound, particularly music, engages customers more than video alone. Rather than featuring a voice describing how cutting edge or luxurious a brand is, Retail Entertainment Design evokes the notion with vivid collages of audio and video clips selected from its vast archives. The company acquired Rockamerica, a leader in music video licensing, programming, production, editing and distribution, in 2005.Hirsh says the approach allows the company to support a client's marketing messages and go a step further, adding that it's a far cry from the commercials aired on many digital signage networks whose audio, when present, literally narrates the brand or product message. "If you look at the grocery store industry or quick-serve industry, they are focusing almost entirely on a spinning bottle of Rolaids," Hirsh says. "We're focusing on full-motion video that raises the bar in the retail environment; our goal is not to create a PowerPoint presentation in a retail environment."Taking DirectionWhether piping in alternative music or repurposed audio from TV ads, digital signage has to master both the directionality and volume of audio. "The main obstacle that most audio applications in digital signage face to date is how to get around the checker's ear fatigue from listening to the same message over and over," says Robert Putnam, a spokesman for San Diego-based American Technology Corp., an acoustics solutions provider.ATC addresses this issue with a HyperSonic Sound technology that uses ultrasonic energy to beam sound to a specified area. In a grocery store checkout aisle, for example, the speaker can be positioned to deliver sound to shoppers waiting to purchase goods, without disturbing the checker. Putnam says, for people standing in line, it's as if they have headphones on.Mark Kayashi, vice president of sales for Brown Innovations, a digital signage speaker and sound dome maker, also says it's imperative for marketers to be considerate. "Unless you solve directionality, it doesn't matter if you spend $50 or $2,000," he says. "If it's disturbing people in the area, it's going to get turned off, and it's going to be a problem."He says employees have gone so far as to cut audio wires to escape the repetition of messages. Retailers have acquiesced and turned sound off, but that carries dangers of its own. "If your advertisers are expecting audio and you don't deliver audio, that can be a huge downfall," Kayashi says.Brown Innovations' Maestro self-amplified speaker prevents sound bleed and holds sound at appropriate volume despite a store's dynamic noise fluctuations throughout the day. Maestro limits sound to the viewing area of the screen, and the system's volume automatically rises and falls as the store grows louder and quieter throughout the day."It's like riding a wave," Kayashi says. "You've got to stay above the noise so your message is audible, but not so far above that you disturb people."

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