How does PPG capitalize on in-store waiting times to boost its revenues and image?

December 14, 2020

Interview with Sébastien Beaufils, Digital Trade Manager, PPG industrie

About PPG and Comptoir Seigneurie Gauthier :

200 stores in France selling paint and varnish for private and professional customers. Comptoir Seigneurie Gauthier is part of the PPG Industries group, a leader in the coatings and specialty products industry.

Why was the digital signage project strategic for you?

The aim is twofold: to reduce the amount of paper sent to stores, and to be more responsive in the deployment of our communications.

We needed to deploy a rapid communications tool to homogenize communications at our points of sale. The project was strongly endorsed by sales management and of course supported by the marketing teams, who found a physical relay for all their online activities.

In addition to the commercial benefits, the screens bring a fresh look to the store, unlike the old posters and brochures.

"Digital signage makes it possible to animate points of sale and sales operations more actively",

What is your communications strategy for this medium?

In our stores, our customers have to wait several minutes for their order to be prepared or for our products to be tinted. That's why we've designed a convivial space where our customers can share a coffee and chat with our teams. Screens are positioned in these strategic areas to relay our communications. We mainly broadcast videos of our latest news or commercial events, which aim to reduce the feeling of waiting, while promoting all our offers and services. These convivial spaces are places where our customers can socialize around our brand and that of our suppliers.

The big advantage of Cenareo is that the solution gives us great granularity in our communications. We can adapt messages according to geographic zone or sector of the outlet. The messages have much greater impact and are really adapted to the needs of each store.

"Waiting times have become moments of socialization around our brand and those of our suppliers."

Image source.

What's next for digital signage at PPG?

Displays are an indispensable tool, a prerequisite for every store opening. While our first priority is to distribute content quickly and efficiently, we're now looking to go one step further by monetizing our inventory with our suppliers. We offer an omnichannel communication package to our advertisers, with a web presence, emailings and communication campaigns on our screens. This last aspect often arouses the interest of our partners, who are assured of reaching a truly qualified target, as close as possible to the act of purchasing. The long-term aim is to make the screens fully profitable from this source of income.

"We offer an omnichannel communication package to our advertisers, with a web presence, emailings and communication campaigns on our screens."

What criteria did you use to select your digital signage solution?

Firstly, it's the ease with which the solution can be deployed. We soon have 200 points of sale with different layouts and constraints. Initially, this required a logistical effort and the involvement of numerous teams, such as general services and works, to install new equipment throughout the network. Subsequently, the implementation of the Plug & Play solution at service was greatly appreciated by the teams.

The security of our IT infrastructures is taken very seriously at PPG, and the solution proposed by Cenareo meets all the security requirements demanded by our IT. We therefore opted for a SaaS solution, which is both highly secure and easy to implement.

Finally, simplicity of use and day-to-day maintenance were also taken into account. We were looking for a solution that would give us greater agility and speed in our communications, and we didn't want to waste our teams' time with overly complex content and screen management.

3 selection criteria :

Easy to deploy

✅ Easy to use and maintain

✅ Safety

Dynamic point-of-sale displays helps to reduce perceived waiting times and liven up sales operations to enhance the customer experience. You can also monetize your screens with our intuitive, scalable Saas solution, perfectly adapted to the needs of retail professionals.

Interview with Sébastien Beaufils, Digital Trade Manager, PPG industrie

About PPG and Comptoir Seigneurie Gauthier :

200 stores in France selling paint and varnish for private and professional customers. Comptoir Seigneurie Gauthier is part of the PPG Industries group, a leader in the coatings and specialty products industry.

Why was the digital signage project strategic for you?

The aim is twofold: to reduce the amount of paper sent to stores, and to be more responsive in the deployment of our communications.

We needed to deploy a rapid communications tool to homogenize communications at our points of sale. The project was strongly endorsed by sales management and of course supported by the marketing teams, who found a physical relay for all their online activities.

In addition to the commercial benefits, the screens bring a fresh look to the store, unlike the old posters and brochures.

"Digital signage makes it possible to animate points of sale and sales operations more actively",

What is your communications strategy for this medium?

In our stores, our customers have to wait several minutes for their order to be prepared or for our products to be tinted. That's why we've designed a convivial space where our customers can share a coffee and chat with our teams. Screens are positioned in these strategic areas to relay our communications. We mainly broadcast videos of our latest news or commercial events, which aim to reduce the feeling of waiting, while promoting all our offers and services. These convivial spaces are places where our customers can socialize around our brand and that of our suppliers.

The big advantage of Cenareo is that the solution gives us great granularity in our communications. We can adapt messages according to geographic zone or sector of the outlet. The messages have much greater impact and are really adapted to the needs of each store.

"Waiting times have become moments of socialization around our brand and those of our suppliers."

Image source.

What's next for digital signage at PPG?

Displays are an indispensable tool, a prerequisite for every store opening. While our first priority is to distribute content quickly and efficiently, we're now looking to go one step further by monetizing our inventory with our suppliers. We offer an omnichannel communication package to our advertisers, with a web presence, emailings and communication campaigns on our screens. This last aspect often arouses the interest of our partners, who are assured of reaching a truly qualified target, as close as possible to the act of purchasing. The long-term aim is to make the screens fully profitable from this source of income.

"We offer an omnichannel communication package to our advertisers, with a web presence, emailings and communication campaigns on our screens."

What criteria did you use to select your digital signage solution?

Firstly, it's the ease with which the solution can be deployed. We soon have 200 points of sale with different layouts and constraints. Initially, this required a logistical effort and the involvement of numerous teams, such as general services and works, to install new equipment throughout the network. Subsequently, the implementation of the Plug & Play solution at service was greatly appreciated by the teams.

The security of our IT infrastructures is taken very seriously at PPG, and the solution proposed by Cenareo meets all the security requirements demanded by our IT. We therefore opted for a SaaS solution, which is both highly secure and easy to implement.

Finally, simplicity of use and day-to-day maintenance were also taken into account. We were looking for a solution that would give us greater agility and speed in our communications, and we didn't want to waste our teams' time with overly complex content and screen management.

3 selection criteria :

Easy to deploy

✅ Easy to use and maintain

✅ Safety

Dynamic point-of-sale displays helps to reduce perceived waiting times and liven up sales operations to enhance the customer experience. You can also monetize your screens with our intuitive, scalable Saas solution, perfectly adapted to the needs of retail professionals.

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