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By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY
In mid-March, about three dozen people recruited from New York City sidewalks were treated to a private concert by country crooner Tim McGraw at a Times Square studio. While the audience was impromptu, the performance was part of a carefully planned production by Frito-Lay with McGraw and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT).
Frito-Lay paid for the show (which included Lay's signs behind the stage) and created video for Wal-Mart to air on its in-store TV network for a one-day promotion this Saturday.
VIDEO: Tim McGraw sings and talks about the 'Make a Wish' program in a concert that will air on Wal-Mart TV
Frito-Lay is one of an increasing number of marketers making use of retail-based TV networks to find hard-to-reach consumers. Wal-Mart TV — with more than 125,000 screens in about 3,100 of Wal-Mart's 4,022 U.S. stores and a potential audience of more than 127 million shoppers per week — is the king of in-store networks. Other retailers, including supermarkets and electronics stores, also have created in-store TV networks. But Wal-Mart's system, which shows news, weather and entertainment interspersed with paid advertising, is the USA's largest and most sophisticated. The network, operated by Premiere Retail Networks, is about to get even more sophisticated with a systemwide upgrade from satellite broadcast TV to an Internet-based system. The change will give advertisers, who now can deliver messages to different store departments, the ability to target individual screens, says Keith Daly, PRN head of programming strategy and broadcast production. The network has come a long way since it was created in 1997. In earlier versions, most programming was on a unified loop, so all shoppers in a store saw the same video. Shopper complaints about the screens hanging too high above their heads and the volume being too loud have been addressed. "That's past history," Daly says. Stores now are being equipped with sleek, flat-panel TVs strategically placed in departments at a better viewing level. "The screens in the new network are now at eye level so they're much more engaging," Daly says. To give ad buyers even more targets, Wal-Mart also is testing TVs at the ends of aisles, "end caps" that are premium space in any store, and at checkouts. The sound level is automatically adjusted for the time of day. "If the store will be busy between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., the audio will be higher," Daly says. It will be lower, in turn, at times of lower traffic. The combination of upgrades will make Wal-Mart and PRN better able to create specialized ad packages for the more than 140 marketers paying to advertise on the system. The two companies share the ad revenue but won't disclose the rates or split. A big part of Wal-Mart TV's appeal is that advertisers can get both a big audience, like broadcast TV, and target custom content to segments of the audience in a buying situation. That's the future of in-store advertising, says David Sommer, managing partner of marketing agency MEC Retail. When (the Wal-Mart network) started, everyone talked about audience size, Sommer says. Now, it's more about the ability to make the message relevant and engaging for a harried shopper. "Consumers are bombarded with commercial messages wherever they go," he says. "So you have to give them a reason to opt in." Wal-Mart TV advertiser Procter & Gamble likes the improvements. "They have new screens, and the sound is much better," spokesman Tim Marrin says. "Wal-Mart has done a great job of improving the relevancy of the network." A look at some marketers currently tapping into the Wal-Mart network: • Frito-Lay. A 13-minute, high-definition clip of the McGraw concert will run continuously on Saturday in Wal-Mart electronics departments, near displays that showcase both Lay's chips and McGraw's new CD, Let It Go. The video and display also highlight charity work by McGraw and Lay?s for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Lay's before has run mainly traditional commercials on Wal-Mart TV. "This is certainly a very different approach" for Lay's marketing, says Justin Lambeth, director of marketing for the brand. • Pfizer's Listerine. The company used the new end-of-aisle TVs devoted to a specific product display to show video that illustrates how Listerine Agent CoolBlue pre-brushing rinse turns plaque blue. Listerine saw it as an opportunity to educate the shopper. "When you see that bottle on the shelf, you're not really aware of what it does," Daly says. "This product really needs an explanation." • Viacom's Nickelodeon. The kids network created video to promote Saturday's Kids' Choice Awards. Wal-Mart, a show sponsor, provided the TV time, set up related in-store displays and is selling exclusive Kids' Choice Awards products, such as CDs, says Leigh Anne Brodsky, Nickelodeon consumer products president. • Unilever's Dove. The beauty care maker also has created custom advertising tailored for Wal-Mart TV. One ad, a part of Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, has Wal-Mart workers proudly talking about their body curves. Unilever has dramatically increased its use of Wal-Mart TV in the past few years, says Joe Cavaliere, Unilever's head of customer development. One expert warns, however, that even with all the advances, Wal-Mart TV and its advertisers must be careful not to annoy the customer, says Lisa Bradner, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "The challenge is how to do it and not be intrusive," she says. "If you just add more clutter, chaos and noise to the store environment, you haven't achieved your goal." Daly says the key is to be appropriate: "We are very focused on delivering the right message at the right place at the right time." 
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