SHOP 'N SAVE TO INSTALL AD MONITORS 2004-02-23 (1)

DARA BOYKO

St. Louis -- Shop 'n Save Warehouse Foods has begun installing full-motion digital monitors in its 35 stores to run ads provided by manufacturers. The screen technology is from Interactive Graphic Solutions (IGS), Chesterfield, Mo., with which Shop 'n Save signed an agreement in late January, according to IGS.

The 40-inch LCD monitors "will be a welcome addition to our in-store marketing and merchandising program," said Ed Carter, advertising manager for Shop 'n Save, a division of Supervalu, Minneapolis, in a prepared statement.

"The screens allow us to reinforce existing print and electronic media promotions in the aisles of each of our stores." Shop 'n Save declined to comment further for this article.

The screens will be placed in high-traffic areas, such as endcaps and commonly visited aisles, said IGS. Through its merchandising service called vuPLEX, IGS manages content on the monitors, using Macromedia Flash and PowerPoint, as well as continuous Internet access; advertisers can control when and where their ads are shown, customizing messages by customer demographics, time of day and aisle location, said IGS.

Under the vuPLEX program, stores like Shop 'n Save pay nothing for installation and maintenance of the screens, and receive "a portion" of ad revenues, said John Henningsen, marketing and creative director for IGS. "There's no catch. We just want them to let us install the machines in their stores."

It costs the advertiser approximately $182 per store for a five-second ad, but "unlike radio or TV where it runs every so often, these ads can be seen every six minutes on a continuous loop," explained Henningsen. Retailers can also place ads for their own merchandise intermittently.

IGS also runs local and national news, local weather, public service announcements or sports events depending on the location and individual store preferences. Monitors are available in other sizes.