Weather-reactive digital signage for greater impact

October 4, 2019

Integrating weather conditions into your broadcast programming is a simple way to put data at the heart of your communication and increase its impact.

Weather-reactive campaigns

Weather conditions - thermometer

Weather-reactive campaigns applied to digital signage are communication campaigns whose delivery depends on weather conditions (sunny, rainy, cloudy, etc.) and temperatures. These conditions can be used to control the activation or broadcast frequency of content when the current temperature is between two temperature limits. These campaigns enable weather-sensitive applications at points of sale, as well as temperature-related uses in internal communications.

 

The influence of weather, a reality

Weather conditions influence our behavior. There's no need to substantiate this fact, it's obvious, and we all witness it on a daily basis: the weather influences where we travel, how we dress, what we eat, what we buy and how much we spend*. Last but not least, it influences our emotions (sun exposure improves our mood, melancholy overcomes us on rainy days...), a considerable factor in our decision-making.

It's because the weather directly affects our emotions that, by extension, this influence translates into our purchasing behavior: aren't we more likely to buy a cold beer (or ice cream) on a hot day, or, conversely, hot chestnuts on a snowy day? Nothing could be less effective than promoting ice cream on a snowy day, or offering a "bike to work" day on a bitterly cold day.

*A 2010 Canadian study shows that sun exposure not only influences the type of purchases made, but also the amount spent on them. (The effect of weather on consumer spending, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Service, 17)

Weather conditions - frozen glasses

Make your communication weather-reactive, a vector of commitment

A digital signage system can be used to broadcast content to target audiences. Adding context to communication reduces the size of the target audience andincreases the relevance of the messages displayed. In effect, the content disseminated reaches a smaller but better-qualified population. Contextualizing content with weather conditions allows only relevant screens to broadcast precise content, making the programming of each screen adapted to its environment, and therefore the "viewers" of these screens better qualified.

In-context" broadcasts (i.e., adapted to the environment of the screen of interest, such as an ice cream promotion broadcast only on warm, sunny days) fit sensibly into the target's (customer's, prospect's, employee's...) itinerary. Indeed, the mind is already prepared by the surrounding environment. Contextualized content is better integrated into this environment, with fewer psychological barriers and easier acceptance. What's more, it doesn't require too violent a change in mindset to be understood, and therefore requires less effort to assimilate. As a result, it is better retained, better integrated and ultimately has a greater impact, resulting in greater commitment.

Implementing weather-sensitive communication campaigns has an impact on buying behavior, and applies equally well in winter and summer, both in outdoor advertising (DOOH) andinside stores, especially in the run-up to sales.

 

Cenareo offers an intuitive, scalable Saas solution perfectly adapted to the needs of communications professionals in all sectors of activity: Point of sale, Internal communications, Hotels and Restaurants but also DOOH.

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