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iSIGN Media and Luxury Goods Retailer, Little Switzerland, Launch Mobile Phone Interactive Proximity Advertising in the Caribbean
Feb 4, 2010 8:09:00 AM
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View Additional ProfilesTORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 4, 2010) - iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. ("iSIGN" or "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ISD), today announced it has commenced the roll-out of its interactive proximity advertising solution with Little Switzerland, Inc., a leading specialty retailer of luxury items based in the Caribbean. The two companies successfully trialed the first iSIGN installation in early December at a Little Switzerland retail location in Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands. The retailer aims to use mobile phone based promotions, to personalize the buying experiences in stores as they interact to millions of tourists who visit the Caribbean each year.
"We have been experiencing consumers coming into our store with the ads on their phones and have seen sales pick up by the promotion offered in their Bluetooth message," said Ursula Sfraga, Little Switzerland's Interactive Marketing Manager. "The technology is really user-friendly and impressive. We look forward to creating compelling ads and propagating awareness using iSIGN's media broadcasting platform."
The plan entails expanding the iSIGN Media broadcasting system throughout the 20 plus store chain. Content and delivery schedules are now being tested and integrated. Little Switzerland aims to be among the first jewelry chains in the region to reduce advertising printing and other logistic costs, resulting in a greener footprint for the chain. The messaging is free to the cell phone user as Bluetooth wireless communications is used to connect with the patron's phone. The ISIGN Media platform can reach anyone with a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone within 300 feet of its broadcast source.
Little Switzerland represents a growing trend among specialty retailers who are focusing on maximizing customer experience because shoppers are expecting more personalized buying experiences in stores from a merchandise, pricing, promotions and overall ease of buying experience. The automated and connected store in the future will incorporate more mobile phone technologies in the store experience because more consumers are increasing their product and promotions search via their phones. A recent Aberdeen Group survey of US retailers revealed that 30% of these retailers are now planning to utilize mobile-phone based retailing and advertising within the next 12 months.
"You need new technology and management tools to integrate the mobile phone shopper into the store experience," said Alex Romanov, CEO of iSIGN. "The real bonus of our broadcasting system is the interactive data aggregation. Our solution allows Little Switzerland's management to capture client interactions and measure the effectiveness of each advertisement and promotion to maximize value to their clients and ROI to each store."
