Despar

Despar is innovating, and is informing and engaging its customers through digital technology.  Thus the brand redesigns its communication, offering services that are faster, efficient, but also more captivating and appealing. The plan hinges on three main elements: Digital Signage, interactive installations, and In-Store Radio, that enable them to:

• Achieve an unprecedented level of flexibility and speed in regard to the management of promotional communication in-store.
• Improve the visual quality of product information
• Reduce the costs of managing printed advertising.
• Enhance the shopping experience in the themed areas by introducing virtual personal assistants, and music schedules that vary according to the time of day.

The Project

Despar is a company that values the territory and its traditions, and is very keen on innovation. By combining the best of the physical and digital worlds, the company strengthens the relationship with the consumer, with enthusiasm and a desire to grow and experiment. Focusing on a customer journey rich in experiences, the brand reinvents the concept of in-store touch point, and thanks to digital technology it introduces an omnichannel approach to customer relationship and to business.

The Solution

A program has been launched in a number of stores in order to meet the customers needs, to offer a more efficient service, and to provide clear and coherent information. The project involves a better management of communication, from back-end to front-end, with multiple initiatives to enhance the customer shopping experience.

Capitalising on the “Despar.it” Content Management System, M-Cube has developed a new Digital Signage platform that replaces the traditional posters promotions and information about the products.

The use of posters was proving to be inefficient given the need to change the messages often, especially in large stores. Now, thanks to the integration of digital signage and the information database of Despar.it, the publishing process has been automated. The use of large screens, positioned in the stores strategic points, integrated with the Digital Asset Management platform, has improved the impact and the visual quality of the messages (photos, description of products and prices), and the speed and flexibility of their turn over, thus reducing costs and optimizing their management.

With a coordinated multimedia concept M-Cube has flanked Despar in the creation of specialised and multisensory themed areas, where the background music changes according to the time of day. The wine area was the first to benefit from an interactive installation: a digital sommelier. This is a virtual personal assistant through which the customer can access all the information about every bottle of wine. Thanks to a reading system the customer can scan the barcode on the label and see on the screen not only information on the wine, but also advice on suitable dishes and recipes.

Thanks to a model built in cooperation with M-Cube, we can now manage in real time a large amount of information about our products. With the digital sommelier we have improved the customer journey, and have created a specialized area where an ad hoc playlist changes according to the time of day. The project has been a great success.

Marco Marchetti, Digital Marketing & CSR Manager