Commercial Integrator September 2022 - 20

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Physical Spaces, Digital Mindset
Digital displays shouldn't be about a hard sales pitch; they should be about enhancing
physical environments and captivating customers. By Alesia Hendley
IT WAS NOVEMBER 2021 and I walked
into a Walgreens in Orlando, Fla., to grab
a few quick supplies. I walked through
the store, picked up what I needed and
decided to grab a cold drink for the road,
as I was headed back home to Tampa, Fla.
When I arrived in the beverage section,
I was greeted by bright lights. I found
myself looking at a digital screen that
showcased everything that was inside the
actual coolers.
I got excited for a second because -
wow! - this was something new. I totally
didn't expect this within Walgreens. I
stood back and watched the screens for a
minute to see what kind of content would
play. Of course, we had a few ads for the
vaccines, and the drinks they clearly wanted
me to buy bounced up and down. But
that was about it. I swiftly lost my excitement
about the technology, grabbed my
drink and headed out. Maybe the screens
did their job. I did spend a few more
minutes in the store, and I did look into
the drinks they had bouncing around. But
I don't do energy drinks.
More and more each year, we're
seeing physical spaces in retail transform
and try to embrace digital aspects. Why?
Because, these days, there has to be
some kind of force to make people want
to go into a store instead of purchasing
goods from the comfort of home. I'd say
some retailers have done better than
others. But the fact of the matter is this:
You can't knock businesses for trying to
create better experiences within their
physical realm.
Designing and
Delivering Digital Solutions
We have seen the " hang and bang "
jobs time and time again. Throw up a
screen...sell ad space...we've heard it all
before. It's not good enough anymore.
AV technology has to be part of an ex20
AV
technology has to be part of an experience or be the canvas that drives a
compelling story. Shiny things might catch consumers' attention for a split second,
but what keeps them there? What navigates them through the customer journey?
perience or be the canvas that drives a
compelling story. Big, bright and shiny
things might catch consumers' attention
for a split second, but what keeps them
there? What navigates them through a
customer journey?
'Technology, by its
inherent nature, is
adaptive and dynamic.
To grow your expertise,
you have to constantly
consume relevant and current
information and make friends
with others in our space....'
- Dina Townsend, YCD Multimedia
To answer those questions, I leaned
into the expertise of Dina Townsend, vice
president of sales and marketing (Americas)
at YCD Multimedia. I wanted to learn
Commercial Integrator SEPTEMBER 2022
more about how she's continued to design
and deliver digital solutions at such
a high level. One of the most resonant
conclusions I drew from our conversation
is that we can't design for the future if
we're approaching retail spaces the way
we have in the past. " Embracing our past
experience as technologists is not always
the best predictor of the future behavior
of the markets we serve, " Townsend
explains. " Technology, by its inherent
nature, is adaptive and dynamic. To grow
your expertise, you have to constantly
consume relevant and current information
and make friends with others in our space
- across both the competitive and the
partner landscape - because experiences
vary, and those varied experiences are
rich in insight. "
In short, technology is constantly
evolving, and we, as technologists, must
continue to evolve, as well. It's how we
stay in the know and provide our clients
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Commercial Integrator September 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator September 2022
