How AI Unlocks In-Store Media Targeting

As beverage marketers seek to gain share, introduce new products, and build loyalty, in-store marketing has always been critical. But until recently, digital technologies have been slower to reach brick-and-mortar stores, where more than 90% of beverages are sold. Now, new AI-enabled digital advertising and targeting technologies are available in single-serve beverage coolers and other areas of stores, allowing brands to reach the right customers at precisely the right time and place—targeting not only the “who” but the “when and where” leading to purchase. And with brick-and-mortar traffic 70% larger than retailers’ ecommerce audiences, they can now do it at massive scale. 

Cooler Screens’ proprietary One Store One Platform in-store retail media and merchandising platform is tailor-made for in-store applications. Built on an advanced operating system and delivered via edge computing, the platform allows retailers to deliver contextually relevant messaging and merchandising anywhere, on nearly any screen, in any store, in near real-time. Content is delivered on vibrant “smart screens,” allowing brands to use exciting, high-quality, motion graphics as well as static elements in a variety of formats—from large ads that attract attention from across the store to banners which close the sale with special promotions. 

The platform uses an AI-enabled contextual engine to read signals from internal and external sources. Consumer attention and actions, product attributes and promotions, and contextual data such as trip type or likely occasion are modeled to develop strategic media plans. This allows beverage brands to deploy in-store advertising campaigns around seasonality, time of day, day of week, weather forecasts, store location and shopper profile, or even local events like festivals or concerts. 

“Traditionally, beverage brands have had limited influence on consumers at the final point of purchase and limited insight into in-store consumer behavior or the effectiveness of their in-store advertising,” said Arsen Avakian, CEO of Cooler Screens. “Our in-store retail media and merchandising platform addresses both limitations head on, allowing brands to directly engage with consumers digitally in-store in their moments of decision, while introducing an entirely new understanding of in-store retail performance.” 

For example, the platform continually optimizes messaging and allocates available budget based on consumer attention and actions, derived from unique in-store behavioral metrics such as dwell time, door opens, and on-shelf availability.  

The engine also builds micro-segmented audiences based on these and other factors such as store demographics, browsing patterns and brand development index (BDI). More than 15,000 audience micro-segments are available to beverage brands to build their in-store retail media content and investment strategies. By combining with their own targeting data, brands can also build custom micro-segments that reach even more precise audiences. 

Importantly, Cooler Screens’ segmentation and targeting systems never gather, use, or link to any personally identifiable consumer information. Cooler Screens has adopted and been certified for Privacy by Design, a rigorous framework developed by privacy advocates. 

Coolers Screens’ One Store One Platform is already operational in many Kroger grocery stores, Chevron and Giant Eagle’s Get Go convenience stores, and other retailers, reaching more than 108 million in-store shoppers every month. This audience is expected to grow to more than 150 million in 2024 as the platform continues to roll out nationwide and across other retailers.  

Beverage brands are already capitalizing on these and other capabilities delivered by One Store One Platform. The company has recently partnered with a number of beverage brands to drive trial and sales, including: 

• Sparkling Ice: A partnership between Sparkling Ice and Cooler Screens resulted in a 63.3 million impression reach and a 7.7% lift in incremental sales across participating stores in a span of three months. The campaign deployed vibrant, contextually relevant 4K creative content that showcased the range of Sparkling Ice flavors, both original and caffeinated. 
• Leading Sports Drink: A leading sports drink brand invested in media inventory to drive awareness and consideration, achieving a 4.8% brand sales lift and a $19.29 Return on Ad Spend across the entire market – not just in advertised stores. Through contextual targeting and strategic full-door ads, the brand effectively engaged consumers both in-store and across the wider market. Notably, the campaign’s reach and impact were validated by Circana, confirming the campaign’s influence went beyond advertised stores into the larger market. 
• New Product Launch From Energy Brand: A leading energy brand used One Store One Platform to increase awareness and drive trial of a new product line within their established brand portfolio. The brand utilized high quality, compelling creative to reach energy category shoppers with buying intent in their moment of decision. The new product line achieved a 16.6% incremental sales lift, and the positive impact of the campaign expanded beyond the new products to the entire brand portfolio which experienced a 1.7% incremental sales lift. The brand also saw their brand category share increase by 5.4% within the energy category. 
  

“Brands are achieving notable incremental sales lifts and return on ad spend when advertising on the Cooler Screens platform,” Akavian continued. “This is just the beginning of the in-store retail media revolution which will continue to expand in coming years as more retailers see the advantages of digital transformation in their stores.” 

Interested in learning more about how Cooler Screens can help your beverage gain share and unlock new in-store targeting capabilities? Fill out the form below to get in-touch with our team!