Digital signage based on the weather capitalizes on weather conditions to promote content that more easily attracts target audiences and maximizes the impact of in-store communication campaigns.
Weather-based analysis and promotion optimization
Weather conditions impact our habits, our reactions, our behavior and our emotions. For these reasons, which result in a high potential for promotional effectiveness, weather is becoming a method of choice in marketing and communication strategies. THECombining meteorological marketing and digital signage is therefore a major advantage in the quest for differentiation and, beyond the simple possibility of anticipating stock movements or predicting sales trends, contributes to economic outperformance. Apart from the pure logistical aspect, meteorological marketing in digital signage can be used to contextualize sales arguments and disseminate them at the optimal time, i.e. When customers are the most receptive to a specific type of message.
Digital signage determined by the weather is much more than a simple forecast of seasonal sales. Campaigns adapted to weather forecasts can have a direct impact on communication performance, thus optimizing the ROI of marketing actions. By contextualizing the messages sent, marketing teams can create brand stories inspired by experience, promoting discussions and engagement.
By turning climate constraints into opportunities, digital technologies are adding weather as an additional targeting criterion, alongside widely used geographic, temporal, and socio-demographic conditions. Strategies and schedules defined according to climate variations make it possible to better anticipate sales arguments and, finally, to broaden their impact. While this approach is comprehensive and universal, it will have an increased impact on seasonal and weather-sensitive products, i.e. products whose sales volume varies according to weather changes.
Influencing sales using weather conditions
Using the weather context to plan content helps promote the right products at the right time (that is, when sales are already high), either because it is already known or because it is identified through sales analysis. Because a sales report shows that swimwear sells best in sunny weather when temperatures rise above 24°C, a fashion brand may decide to promote swimwear frequently when these weather conditions occur. As a result, the brand will reduce communications for its wool beanies, which naturally sell better during colder periods. In doing so, the brand benefits from the conditioning of customers by the climatic environment (That is to say the sun and the heat). Likewise, agricultural products can greatly benefit from this type of promotion that combines seasonality and weather conditions. For example, strawberries are much more tempting on a sunny day in July than on a rainy day in August! The impact of this precise and adaptable promotion on sales is significant, as is the time saved thanks to the possibility of anticipating this type of communication.
The theoretical model (graph) applied to the example above represents the volume of swimwear sales during normal periods (blue curve) and the volume of sales during weather-reactive campaigns (green curve)
La contextualized promotion (i.e., temperature-appropriate images) can increase sales volume when sales are at their peak (The top of the curve is higher), but also reduce the threshold temperature, that is to say the temperature at which a certain volume of sales is reached (shown on the graph in red). For example, in this case, sales are high up to 20°C (previously 24°C).
However, as each individual has their own temperature tolerance, not everyone will be sensitive to the same temperature threshold and it is unlikely that the brand will ever be able to identify a single value as a critical threshold (24°C and above) between sales and non-sales (or high/low sales). Weather-responsive digital signage can be used to change the communication frequency according to the different temperature ranges and increase the field of possibilities. Brands can therefore extend the target temperature ranges of their promotions, with decreasing frequencies. The temperature range offering optimal economic performance is therefore extended.
Discover the weather sensitivity of products
Although the weather sensitivity of some products is easy to determine (for example, swimsuits sell better in summer), this may not be true for other products. In this case, tests should be carried out to identify or refine the weather sensitivity of these products. For example, a fashion brand may plan weather-sensitive campaigns that incorporate different promotional codes for each temperature range (e.g., 15 to 20°C, 21 to 25°C, 26 to 27°C). Analysis of the use of promotional codes can complement sales analysis only (because promotional codes provide an indication of when the decision is made, more than the purchase itself). Managing the weather sensitivity of products allows marketing actions to be targeted, thus improving theeffectiveness of campaigns While reducing planning time.
A number of players are already applying weather marketing principles to digital signage campaigns and have seen a double-digit increase in their Sales during the targeted periods. Stella Cider announced a 65.6% increase in sales during the test period compared to the previous year. (source: Nielsen sales data 2013) La Redoute announced a 34% increase in traffic and a 17% increase in sales as a direct result of weather-responsive digital signage campaigns.
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