Walking the store: auditing your campaign in person

You're standing at the counter of a store on your campaign list, holding a bottle of water you just bought. The screen by the register cycles through its rotation. Your ad comes up. Is it running? Is it sharp? Can you read it from here? Is your product actually in the cooler? An in-store campaign audit is a planned visit to stores in a campaign to check exactly these things, in person.

Reports tell you what the system recorded. A visit tells you what shoppers see.

How should you prepare before visiting?

Pick the stores. Choose a sample from the campaign list, ideally across different markets and store types. The store locations page shows where the NRS Digital Media network operates, and your campaign's store list will narrow it down.

Plan a route. Visiting stores in the same area on the same day saves time, and seeing several stores in a row makes differences between them easier to notice.

Know the creative. Bring a copy of each version that should be running, so you can recognize them and check details.

Know the product. Confirm which SKUs should be on the shelf and where you'd expect to find them.

Plan the timing. Visit during normal business hours, avoiding the busiest periods if possible, so you don't get in the way.

What should you check in the store?

The screen. Is it on, working and clearly visible from where shoppers stand? Is it clean and undamaged?

The creative. Does your ad appear in the rotation? Is it the right version for this store? Does it display correctly, without cropping, distortion or color problems? Can you read the main message from a normal distance?

Timing in rotation. How long do you wait to see your ad? This gives a rough sense of share of rotation, though a single visit is only a snapshot.

The shelf. Is the advertised product in stock? Is it where the creative says it is? An ad for a product that isn't there is a problem worth reporting.

Nearby displays. Is there in-store signage or a display for the product, and does it match the screen message? Mismatched offers confuse shoppers.

The setting. Does the store environment suit the brand? Most neighborhood stores are ordinary, well-run places, and that's usually a good fit.

Compare what you see with the requirements on the creative specs page, especially for safe areas and legibility.

How should you behave in the store?

As a customer. Buy something. Don't disrupt the store's business, block the counter or distract staff during busy moments.

Respectfully. The store owner and staff aren't responsible for your campaign. If you have questions, ask politely and briefly, or save them for the network.

Carefully with photos. If you want to photograph the screen, ask permission first and avoid photographing customers.

What should happen after the visit?

Record what you found. A short log per store: date, time, screen condition, creative observed, product availability and any issues. Photos where permitted.

Share issues with the network. A screen that's off or creative that displays incorrectly can often be fixed. Contact the NRS Digital Media team with specific store details.

Share stock issues with sales. If the product wasn't on the shelf, your sales team and distributor need to know.

Look for patterns. If several stores show the same issue, such as creative that's hard to read, treat it as a creative problem to fix across the campaign rather than a store-by-store issue.

Repeat during longer campaigns. A visit in the first week catches launch problems, and a later visit shows whether things stayed on track.

Use the findings. Audit notes help interpret campaign results and improve future creative. The broader practice of digital signage management relies on this kind of in-person check.