After significant investment made into the channel, QMS is offering advertisers a more flexible and accountable platform to reach Australians through the revitalistion of the 7-Eleven digital network, now known as IMPULSE.
AdNews sat down with QMS chief customer officer Mark Fairhurst to discuss how the network has been updated and what IMPULSE can provide for brands across Australia.
How does the new IMPULSE offering differ to the previous? What prompted the update?
When we took over only six months ago, it was an incomplete digital network, predominantly sold as a pure proximity or path to purchase offering relying on outdated technology. Given the scale of the network and calibre of the 7-Eleven stores, we knew that our proven digital expertise presented the perfect opportunity to quickly transform this portfolio into a quality, flexible and engaging media solution that could create real brand awareness and drive immediate action across a range of product categories.
Undertaking a significant investment in upgrading the digital infrastructure, back end systems and simplifying the overall offering, IMPULSE is now a full motion, dynamic and accountable digital platform that has already started delivering some powerful results for clients.
The upgrade has also enabled us to enter into a test and learn phase with programmatic DOOH, as the revitalised network’s capability makes IMPULSE a prime candidate for programmatic buying.
What sets it apart from what is out on offer in-market with competitors at the moment?
Accountability and audience measurement. IMPULSE is the only DOOH offering in the petro/convenience category that is included in the industry audience measurement system, MOVE, giving advertisers assurance of its ability to reach their desired target audiences.
Impacting over nine million contacts every fortnight, IMPULSE is proven as a cost efficient small format opportunity to drive brand awareness and brand building across a range of categories and products.
How does the shift towards 100% digital benefit brands?
QMS has been a digitally led business from the beginning. We have long subscribed to the power of DOOH to provide advertisers and brands with a platform for relevant, flexible and immediate messaging and IMPULSE is no exception.
Not only does IMPULSE deliver all the dynamic ad serving capabilities of live feeds, dayparting, countdown and data triggers, it is a 100% full motion digital network, enabling brands to align easily with their TVC creative and control their campaign conditions like never before.
This improved flexibility allows for the optimisation of creative messaging, campaign start dates and creative changes and provides brands with a creative outlet that is simple, immediate, adaptable and in full motion.
Do you have any examples of how brands have used these capabilities in recent campaigns?
A couple spring to mind, and they are probably not the product categories you would expect to find on a petro/convenience network. However, given the mass broadcast reach of IMPULSE and the frequency of visitation at 7-Eleven stores these brands tapped into the ability to drive action and awareness within local communities.
The first example is automotive retailer Autobarn, who recently utilised the full motion and dynamic capabilities of IMPULSE to drive awareness of key products in the lead up to Father’s Day. Using engaging full motion video to highlight various products and having the flexibility to dynamically adjust the catalogue creative to reflect current pricing or specials, Autobarn ensured absolute relevancy of their messaging throughout the campaign.
The second example is leading insurer AAMI, who capitalised on the community aspect that IMPULSE provides brands, with a recent campaign to offer Free Roadside Assist to all essential service workers. Running in Melbourne, during restrictions, IMPULSE was able to get this extremely important message into the heart of local communities, as more and more Australians during this time frequent their local 7-Eleven for everyday essentials. Through our geo-targeting capabilities, we were also able to ensure that the AAMI campaign was optimised at IMPULSE locations near hospitals and medical centres with speed and simplicity.
What metrics do advertisers have access to measure the success of their campaigns with IMPULSE?
Making OOH easier and simpler to buy is something that drives our team every day. That is why ensuring that IMPULSE was measured under the MFA endorsed MOVE audience measurement system was one of our key objectives. As mentioned, clients can now plan, buy and evaluate their IMPULSE campaigns with reach, frequency and contacts across all the same industry approved demographics and durations as other OOH formats.
Transparency is a big issue for advertisers. How does the IMPULSE offering address these concerns?
We are passionate about our clients having the confidence and comfort that IMPULSE is 100% accountable and we pride ourselves on being transparent and open at all times. We have implemented an independent third party agnostic verification approach, whereby we work with a variety of reporting platforms to guarantee to all of our clients that we deliver what is contracted.
This has seen us invest significantly into state of the art digital infrastructure to ensure that IMPULSE and QMS as a business, remains open and transparent.
What broadcast and recency opportunities do brands have to target audiences locally?
The strategic positioning of IMPULSE across the 7-Eleven network enables brands to impact and influence consumer action at the path to purchase. It is their location at the critical point on the purchasing journey that allows brands to engage with consumers with messages that influence their actions and behaviours and ultimately their desire to buy.
With over 480 stores across Australia, the sheer scale of the IMPULSE network delivers quality engagement and awareness far broader than its traditional petro/convenience category remit, which is evident in the variety of brands and product categories consistently utilising the medium.
Additionally, something that has proven effective throughout lockdown and COVID restrictions, is the fact that the 7-Eleven stores are located in and around where Australians live. This makes it an incredibly powerful local offering with 91% of Australians living within five kilometres of their nearest 7-Eleven store.
It is this broadcast reach into the local communities that gives IMPULSE the ability to be truly targeted and to create awareness for brands above and beyond the traditional path to purchase.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.