The same video can serve in advertising and on an in-store screen. Provided it was shot knowing that, and arrived in time.
Two seconds, three metres
That is the physical reality of an in-store screen.
The person walks past, does not stop, looks from a distance and without sound. Everything requiring attention is lost: long text, a wide shot, a spoken hook, a logo at the end.
What works holds in three elements: an immediately recognisable product close-up, one word legible at three metres, and a loop with no apparent beginning or end.
The useful length is short, ten to fifteen seconds, repeated. A thirty-second video in store is never seen in full.
The screen does not belong to the brand
That is the point marketing teams discover late.
The screen wall, the terminal, the till or the window belong to the retailer. It decides the format, the file size, the length, the sound, and often the permitted content.
Concretely that means three things: the file must meet precise specifications, it must be validated, and it can be refused for a reason that has nothing to do with you, such as a clash with another brand running the same month.
What the retailer will require
Five elements, almost always the same.
A defined format and file size, sometimes unusual.
A version with no sound, or whose sound is not necessary for comprehension.
No price, or on the contrary a price displayed according to an imposed template.
Usage rights explicitly covering in-store distribution, which is not included by default in an advertising licence.
And the authorisations of the people filmed, valid for that medium.
That last point is the one that most often blocks an already approved broadcast. The obligations applicable to disclosures, claims and people's image depend on your situation and are checked with a lawyer, before the files are submitted.
Producing without doubling the cost
The method holds in one sentence: shoot once, export three times.
Frame wide and keep the subject centred, so you can deliver a vertical, a square and a horizontal format from the same edit.
Keep the text out of the image, on a separate track, so each medium receives its own overlay.
And plan, at the shoot, a fixed, clean, hands-free ten-second product shot. That is the shot the retailer will ask for, and it cannot be manufactured in the edit.
Who authorises what in a store
| Permission | Who gives it | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| Filming in the aisle | The store manager | An immediate exit |
| Showing a competing banner | Nobody, you avoid it | A dispute |
| Showing a customer | The person themselves | Mandatory blurring |
What is filmed in ten minutes once on site
The product on the shelf, the pick-up, the checkout filmed from behind, and a wide shot of the aisle with no faces.
What is prepared before going in
The quiet slot, a named contact on site, a list of six shots and a charged phone: nobody is waiting for a crew.
The case of trade fairs
It follows the same rules, with two differences.
The audience there is moving but available, which allows a slightly longer video, up to about thirty seconds.
And the screen is often large, which rules out images shot only for a phone. A low-definition vertical video, blown up on a panel, harms the brand more than it helps.
Good practice is to shoot in high definition and crop afterwards, never the other way round.
