According to Muse Content’s CEO Marco Burkhardtsmayer, providing in-store music can give digital signage suppliers a foot in the door with retailers that positions them well to later provide a screen network, according to a German agency.
Speaking at the recent International Scala Conference in Amsterdam, Burkhardtsmayer said that adding music to a digital signage firm’s offer not only provides a new revenue stream, but also brings a first contractual relationship with retailers and establishes contact with IT and marketing departments. It can be an easier sell than screens, he said, because customers often have an existing music budget even when they don’t have funds allocated for digital displays.
Providing music can also lay some practical foundations for a DOOH network. For instance, when Muse Content followed up its music work for retailer Tom Tailor with digital signage, the infrastructure for the audio project meant there was already some of the necessary technology in each store.
Tom Tailor has recently acquired the retailer Bonita’s 900 stores and Muse will now be taking over the music network there, before beginning digital signage installation next year. ‘All this was only possible because we started with audio,’ said Burkhardtsmayer.
Firms looking to provide music need a library, experience of transforming a brand into an audio concept, and knowledge of licensing, which can be complex when dealing with large global retailers, said Burkhardtsmayer. Hamburg-based Muse operates in more than 30 countries, with clients including Albert Bauer, Gauselmann, Red Bull and Service plan.
