In our last blog we introduced you to one of many new products that have been brought to market during the pandemic. GuardMe® is an all-in-one, travel-size personal protection kit that includes everything you need to keep safe during the pandemic- triple-layer washable masks with melt-blown filters, hand sanitizer, alcohol disinfecting wipes and nitrile gloves. All of these items are contained in a compact, durable carrying case that easily fits in your glove compartment or carry-on bag. Today, we are going to use this new product to illustrate how to create a point-of-purchase marketing program with display merchandising that appeals to retailers.
The GuardMe kit comes packaged in a retail box, the size and weight of which is important to understand as the box will serve as the key building block of a POP display program.
Since personal protection products can be sold through a variety of retail channels, we wanted to create a broad range of merchandising solutions that could work across multiple retail channels. We focused on 5 core POP displays that we thought would cover most of the merchandising opportunities that would be available for a product like GuardMe.
We started point-of-purchase marketing by developing a corrugated counter display designed to hold 12 GuardMe kits. The objective was to offer retailers with an attractive shipper display that could drive impulse sales and live outside of an existing planogram. We used the core messaging of “Everything You Need to Protect Yourself” on the front lip and created a die-cut header graphic to highlight all of the items contained in the kit.
The second element of the merchandising program was to create a floor display. We decided to go with a corrugated display for similar reasons: (1) It could live outside of existing planograms; (2) It could work well as an in-and-out program given the uncertain life expectancy of the pandemic; and (3) It could ship economically, and the display cost could be absorbed in the overall program price. Like the counter display, the floor display was designed to ship loaded with the base and die-cut header folded flat in the shipper box. The 22.75”W x 18”D x 76”H display accommodates 54 kits.
The third type of display we designed was an endcap. Endcaps are among the most valuable pieces of real estate in stores because of the traffic they enjoy. Given the importance that many retailers place on personal protection equipment, we wanted to be prepared with an endcap merchandising solution. Our intent was to leverage the existing gondola structure and utilize the pegboard back panel that is typically part of the existing store equipment.
The endcap kit we designed included digitally printed PVC header and side signs that attached to the existing slotted uprights. In addition, we included (25) 12” pegboard hooks. The 48” wide endcap was designed to hold 150 kits and capture the attention of both destination and impulse shoppers.
To make the endcap work with the existing GuardMe box, we had to add clear plastic hanging tabs. This was an easy and cost-effective approach to enable the box to hang.
We used the same plastic hang tabs for the fourth merchandising option we designed. Our fourth option was a permanent wing panel designed to mount to an existing gondola. The wing panel featured wire construction, measured 14”W x 6”D x 60”H, and mounted to the slotted uprights of the gondola. We utilized grid hooks and added a PVC header sign. The wing panel featured a holding capacity of 30 kits and was designed to be refilled, thereby providing a way to spread the POP display investment over a greater number of kits than the initial order quantity.
Finally, we designed a pallet display for warehouse/club stores. We based the display around a standard 40”x48” full pallet and created a 4-sided display that extended 60” high. We designed the display to have 5 shelves per side and used PVC side and header graphics to create a visually appealing presentation. The display holds 480 kits and ships fully loaded with product.
The GuardMe merchandising program is just one example of how a merchandising program can be created to appeal to retail buyers across a broad range of retail channels.