You may have heard the joke about the dumb blonde who walks into a library and says to the librarian, “I’d like a hamburger, French fries, and a Coke.” The librarian replies indignantly, “This is a library!” The blonde whispers back, “Sorry, I’d like a hamburger, French fries, and a Coke.” There is a time and place for everything. Libraries are a place for whispering. But, if you are a brand looking to get noticed by distracted shoppers in a busy retail store, rising above the noise requires you to shout rather than whisper. In today’s post, we will discuss 3 practical ways to get your brand noticed by making your POP display shout.
- Repetition– People learn by repetition. Great athletes become great through practice and repetition. The same is true for brands and retail environments. A single POP display in a crowded retail store might be easy to overlook, but brands that create visual repetition are hard to miss.
One way to achieve repetition is to have multiple fixtures with strong branding in the same physical area of a store. These can either be the same fixture or a family of POP displays that are connected with common branding. In our last post entitled “College Bookstore Displays that Drive Sales and Build Brands,” we shared the example of how Uscape Apparel has achieved success in over 700 retail locations through strong branding and effective merchandising. Part of Uscape’s formula is to have multiple branded fixtures and signage in the same area as illustrated below.
The case for the effectiveness of repetition in merchandising is even more evident in this Uscape video which features multiple instances of a customized version of our stock 4-WAY merchandiser.
While it is hard to miss multiple well-branded fixtures that are positioned in the same area of the store, repetition can also be achieved through what is known as “secondary placement.” Secondary placement creates repetition when a brand secures placement of an additional POP display in another part of the store. This creates another destination for purchasing the product while reinforcing the brand through a secondary impression and point of contact. For a deeper understanding of this retail approach, you might want to check out our blog “POP Displays and the Benefits of Secondary Placement.”
- Differentiation– Creating displays that stand out yet fit in is another way to shout your brand in today’s ultra–stimulating retail environments. We discuss the importance of this merchandising construct in our blog “Retail Displays Must Stand Out Yet Fit In.”
Being different than the host of other displays that can be found in retail stores while also fitting in with the store décor can be tricky business. However, there are many ways to make your POP display stand above the crowd, including using a unique combination of materials, creatively using bright and eye-catching colors, showcasing graphics that tell a compelling story, and incorporating LED lighting, lightboxes or digital media players.
For example, it’s hard not to notice the unique mannequin shown below.
Similarly, the vivid imagery and stunning use of colors in the lightbox shown below is hard to miss.
Creating an element of surprise is a proven way to differentiate your POP display while also creating a memorable experience for the shopper. For example, the multi-colored horse shown below was placed outside a grocery store to promote the upcoming horse racing season at Del Mar Race Track. It creates an element of surprise since shoppers do not expect to see a brightly decorated, multi-colored horse in front of a grocery store.
- Interaction– Creating interactive display designs that stand out to catch the attention of shoppers and create engagement is another way to shout your brand. This can be done in a variety of ways such as using touch screens and also providing ways shoppers can physically interact with products. For example, PetSmart saw significant sales lift in PetSafe’s line of shock collars and pet accessories when we took the product out of a locked case and created a display that had tethered products that customers could touch and feel.
Our final example is one that is not only interactive but also uses repetition to make a brand statement along with distinctive, colorful graphics to achieve in-store differentiation. We created the Shoe Dog kiosk shown below for Road Runner Sports. The kiosk was incorporated a camera to film customers on a treadmill so store associates could recommend the right type of shoe for customers. It included a large video screen, computer cabinet, keyboard deck and Shoe Dog graphics.
The store overview shot below shows how repetition, differentiation, and interaction can combine to create brand presence and impact that is hard to miss.
If you are looking to make your brand stand out at retail, give us a shout at sales@richltd.com.