HSS video with Norris, part of it takes place in a
RadioShack store.
Luv the cash register at the end....Ca-Ching.
nacsonline.com
Ideas 2 Go: Catching the Customer's Ear
December 29, 2004
SAN DIEGO -- In designing product displays and promotions, it's important to catch the customer's eye. But what if you also could catch the customer's ear? A technology called HyperSonic Sound, developed by American Technology Corp., is beginning to make that possible.
HyperSonic Sound was one of the innovative ideas featured in the 10th anniversary version of the Ideas 2 Go General Session at the NACS Show 2004, which took place October 17 to October 20 in Las Vegas. Since its debut in 1994, Ideas 2 Go--a video tour that profiles emerging ideas and concepts in the convenience store and petroleum-marketing industry--has showcased more than 100 examples of how retailers are finding innovative ideas to reduce costs and sell more stuff.
Because of member requests for more information about these business-boosting ideas, each Wednesday NACS Daily will highlight a different innovative strategy featured in this year's presentation. Lenny Dykstra's Car Wash Corp.'s new high-end convenience store was profiled last week.
HyperSonic Sound is kind of the sonic equivalent of a flashlight with a narrow beam of light. It can only be heard by someone who is directly in the path of the sound. And the impact is dramatic--it sounds as if the sound is right in the center of your head, much like the sound you get when you're wearing headphones. Those out of the path of the sound beam hear nothing.
"It's kind of a magical effect," said Woody Norris, chairman and founder of American Technology Corp. "It really grabs the attention of people."
And that's exactly what's happening. After Popular Science magazine awarded HyperSonic Sound its 2002 Grand Award for Best Invention of the Year, retailers began to take a serious look at how the technology might help increase sales.
"All of a sudden the floodgates opened and everyone had a use for it," said Norris. "Retailers, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, theater lobbies..."
Carefully directed sound could prove a discreet way for convenience store owners to attract customers and customer dollars.
"Whatever the product is you can cause it ... to speak for itself, to promote itself to be sold to you. You walk over to where the coffee is and today's special hits you and says, 'Buy such and such super size and you get a special on the doughnuts.' When you stand in front of it, it's talking to you personally," said Norris. "Nobody else hears it; the store isn't lit up with all this noise. The same way you walk by a bakery and you smell the bread and it draws you in to purchase a loaf or two.
"The mind itself is the limit as to what you can think of to entice the customer to make an additional purchase or to make a purchase that he wasn't thinking of making in the first place," added Norris.
The retail industry is just beginning to explore the potential of directed sound as a marketing tool, but many are already betting that technologies like HyperSonic Sound will strike just the right note with customers.
In addition to the usual highlights, the 2004 version of Ideas 2 Go also featured a return of "Ideas 2 Grow," quick takeaways of ideas that retailers--regardless of size or resources--can immediately implement in their stores.
Ideas 2 Go is available for purchase in either DVD or VHS format. The NACS member price is $25; the nonmember price is $50. Copies can be ordered by calling NACS at (800) 966-6227. Limited copies of previous years' presentations also may be available.
Hmm, RadioShack. Customer?
Best,
Savant |
