The key move is to “break the 4th wall” and blend the physical product with the digital experience in charming ways.

This was a concept pitch I made several years ago aimed at Procter & Gamble for integrating a retail media network into grocery and pharmacy aisle endcaps. Sadly, it was never even presented.

I placed a small shelf across the display on the center fin, with a single physical product discreetly secured in place. The animations on the displays could then interact with the real thing:
• A cute animated duck could waddle around and poke at the Dawn bottle
• The signature logo rings could revolve around the physical Tide bottle
• The sun graphic could rise and set behind the Bounty paper towels

The brand logo had a constant presence on the most prominent part of the central fin display, lively animated according to the brand standards.

The rear screens used humor to grab attention:
• Dawn: a precarious stack of dishes wobbling back and forth
• Tide: the LCD became the glass door of a washing machine, with soapy laundry splashing against the screen
• Bounty: a cute kid having a grand old time throwing spaghetti at the screen, obscuring the tagline until a hand with a Bounty towel wipes it clean again

The idea was to give P&G new tools to make their products the heroes, creating a dynamic, captivating brand presentation rather than simply accepting the “pile high and price low” ethos of the typical retailer.

More details:
• Most endcaps are seen looking down the vista of the long aisle rather than straight on, so I found it far more effective to have two screens perpendicular, creating a brand “nook”
• We had access to some unusual 64″, long-proportion LCD screens. I used (4) of them in a vertical T-shaped configuration so each endcap could support two simultaneous brand promotions
• I integrated LED strip lighting into the physical shelves so the actual merchandise was illuminated just as brightly as the LCD screens…this is a critical mistake missed in so many retail media setups
• I added a vertical LED light bar on the end of the central fin, adding a big vibrant, on-brand color accent
• I took note of the rapid restocking common here in Amsterdam grocery chains, due to the small footprints. Using less inventory, restocked more frequently, gives substantially more space to the digital media and brand presence – increasing the value of the instore promotion and monetization

*** I’m looking for my next role
This is exactly the kind of work I want to get back to. If you’re working on ambitious projects that bring together physical space, digital media, technology and brand experience, I’d love to hear from you!

*** The images show my process from “cocktail napkin sketch” to 3D Sketchup model, to Photoshop presentation image, to modern day A.I. rendered image.