NZME has expanded its premium offering through the launch of an in-store radio powered by iHeartRadio NZ and calls it an effective way for retailers to create a customised station to create the right environment and communicate messages to customers.
The company says the station is cost-effective and points out that globally in-store radio services are a must-have for top retailers that wish to showcase their brand and influence customers’ shopping experience.
NZME group director of strategy and operations Carolyn Luey says the atmosphere of the in-store environment is vital to a consumer’s overall shopping experience but is often overlooked. “…what actually gets played is left to chance,” she says. “Perhaps a staff member plays their favourite CD or tunes into a radio station that plays their competitors advertisements.”
She says since the company’s business is radio it knows the influence it has on people, both positively and negatively and that “In-store radio is programmed to match music and content to the target audience that will appeal to listeners in and out of store, in turn amplifying sales and market objectives.”
In-store radio uses a technical solution to deliver customised streams over the internet, so fresh messaging and content can be updated immediately, as well as including a back-up programme built into the hardware in case the stream should fail for technical reasons, a release says.
Luey says businesses are already using iHeartRadio NZ’s in-store radio and are “pleased” with the results thus far. In its release, NZME quotes two retailers that have already experimented with the servie.
Paper Plus marketing manager Lyle Hastings says: “Paper Plus Radio represents massive opportunities with both in-store ambience and outside the stores environment. It gives us a unique platform to deliver online growth and interact more effectively with our customers. It opens a new 24/7 media environment for our national and internal suppliers, who are rich with content, but unable to cost effectively use it in main stream media. Paper Plus Radio gives us the ability to create our own Paper Plus station environment and then feed this across our complete digital and social platforms, completing our Omni media strategy implementation.”
And Health 2000 marketing manager Stu Cook adds: “Health 2000 was able to create a very unique content driven station that met the needs of our stores and customers. With interviews, promotions, top tips and health hours the station has been building a strong following both in-store and online.”
The iHeartRadio platform is becoming increasingly important to NZME in terms of its ability to reach digital audiencea. It already has over 290,000 registered users, and the development of initiatives such as the Alternative Commentary Collective creates a range of new commercial opportunities for the media company. Last night, iHeartRadio also hosted the Jesse J for a one-off event, which saw the singer entertain 3,000 fans at an exclusive gig hosted at Vector Arena.
