DALLAS -- IndoorDirect has launched a digital media network in high-volume restaurant chains across the country to give diners a new entertainment option and advertisers a way to reach the 42 percent of American adults who eat monthly at quick-service, pizza and casual dining locations.
Airing on screens placed throughout the restaurants, the network features "theBITE Network," created exclusively for IndoorDirect. The 60-minute hosted show features one- to three-minute video clips about entertainment, music, sports and news. IndoorDirect airs programming from an exciting variety of sources.
IndoorDirect now has ongoing rollout or pilot agreements with 11 restaurant companies and expects to have 1,200 locations deployed by December 2008.
"The average dine-in customer spends 25 to 45 minutes per meal in a location that is close to retail and during a time when they are ready to take action on messages presented to them, which makes the IndoorDirect concept a home run for marketers trying to reach a prime audience otherwise bombarded with media options," said Fred Margolin, CEO of IndoorDirect.
Margolin emphasized the difference between primary and secondary receptivity.
"In these restaurants, diners are in a primary receptivity mode because while eating they don't have the distractions that digital media networks face in other environments, such as retail locations. They are sitting while they watch. This makes viewers more open to compelling, relevant content and the advertising messages presented to them."
IndoorDirect partnered with Arbitron earlier this year to study Americans' eating habits. Five restaurant chains participated in the IndoorDirect pilot program and research study, which found that 42 percent of American's over the age of 18 had visited at least one of the restaurants studied in the previous month. The findings also indicated that 85 percent watched the network and two-thirds of the group – spanning all consumer demographics – recalled at least one ad that was featured on the IndoorDirect network.
