A Closer Look at the 2010 'Display of the Year'

With a rich and colorful history, Wonka has inspired candy lovers for decades. Following a complete rebranding effort begun last year, the company created a rolling endcap for specialty retail locations that inspired Design of the Times awards judges and was named "Display of the Year" during the In-Store Marketing Institute's Shopper Marketing Expo at Chicago's Navy Pier.The endcap is the first vehicle to hit retail after the company began looking at the brand as "an experience" three years ago. Janet Planet, innovation manager on the Wonka experience, says the company dug deep to understand what the brand meant to people. "We found that it has meaning for people throughout their lives," she says. "Not many brands have that kind of power." With this key insight, she says the company decided to take the brand back to its roots: "Imagination and candy." Long considered primarily a kids and tweens brand (focused mainly on the sub-brands of Nerds, SweeTarts and Laffy Taffy), Planet says the company wanted to "age up" the brand family and get back to the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" story.Aisle Blocking with 'Wonkaness'The first step was to completely revamp all product packaging throughout the portfolio to target teens, young adults and the young at heart. The new graphics, says Planet, play up "Wonkaness" and make the various lines look like a family. "That was really the precursor to doing the merchandising work," she says. "Now it has a reason to all be together." Thomas Kobayashi, merchandise manager for confections and snacks, says many retailers had asked Wonka for ideas that would make the category more exciting. "We wanted to give our salesforce something that would say, 'Here's what we can bring to your category and drive traffic down the aisle.' Our retailer customers are discovering how they can drive sales by blocking [the aisle] out with our products and merchandising."The rolling endcap holds several Wonka SKUs -- with specific ones positioned at the top, center or bottom, based on shopper insights -- and was created to "be reflective of the new feel, bringing to life the world of Wonka," says Kobayashi. While the company had created smaller racks in the past, "This is the first time we're out there with a robust endcap," he says."The idea behind Wonka is that he's an inventor, he's unique and he's eclectic," says Tricia Bowles, manager, division and brand affairs for confections and snacks. "He's known for bringing the unexpected, so Wonka is trying to do that in the retail space." The look is suggestive of factory components, says Kobayashi: "The elements themselves are kind of retro and pay homage to the past, but they're executed with a stylistic execution that is more contemporary, so we have a balance between old and new. We were too limited before, looking primarily at that very young group from tweens to teens. Now that we're considering a much broader range, it opens up creative possibilities."Along with communicating the brand's new look, the rolling endcap also acts as a vehicle to showcase new products, which are placed directly at eye level. Currently in the spotlight are Wonka Exceptionals chocolate bars, a March 2010 launch that represents the company's first foray into a premium chocolate offering.The new look is being extended along all consumer touchpoints along the path to purchase, including online at Wonka.com (which encourages consumers to "Feed Your Imagination"), in print, on TV, and through sampling efforts and other publicity. "It all has the same visual language," Kobayashi says. "We had continuity before, but where we are now is a much stronger vision. We try and make an ecosystem of Wonka."The Burbank, Calif., office of RockTenn Merchandising Displays (headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C.), handled creative and manufacturing of the unit, which was placed in amusement parks and other specialty locations. A special version has landed in 130 ShopKo stores across the country, according to Planet, and plans are to continue distribution into additional mainstream locations.Times Square MagicBelieving the Wonka experience could reach well beyond this vehicle, Planet and her team created a store-within-a-store in Toys "R" Us' Times Square location. Considered the world's first "Wonka Store," it is the only location anywhere to offer every single confection the company sells. Planet says Creative Arts, Pinellas Park, Fla., and It'Sugar, Boca Raton, Fla., were instrumental partners in executing RockTenn's creative vision for the store, which opened in September.With mammoth sizes of its most popular candies hanging from the ceiling, a Wonka-like candy tree, mushroom tables filled with single-serve candies, factory equipment, elbow joints, asymmetrical pipes, swirls and vortexes, it brings consumers into the world of Wonka. Scents of Wonka chocolate waft through the air in the front part of the store, where the new line is available, and as consumers walk through to the edible gardens area toward the back, they are greeted with a red apple candy scent. In addition, colors that light the entire space slowly change, from hot pink to purple and through the spectrum. "There's so much to take in at one time, but it comes in layers," says Bowles. "It's truly a compelling space and one that takes you back to the movie.""There are giant gold hoppers full of candies that are supposed to look like they're in process," says Planet. "The movement in the tubes that comes off of various places and within the hoppers is achieved with light. We created these unexpected twists at every corner because we wanted it to be a new adventure everywhere you turn."Planet says she employed "secret weapons" -- Wonka's online community of 300 18- to 24-year old "creative candy lovers" (gathered via Communispace.com) -- to do special research beyond that done for the rebranding effort, and got their thoughts about what the Wonka retail experience should entail. "They were a great resource -- there are many details within the store that my Wonka community helped to germinate," she says.This month, more than 300 shopping malls, movie theaters and airports will become home to Wonka-branded digital vending machines. Featuring eight different Wonka products, these units encourage consumers to make a selection to create their own custom mix of candy via a 42-inch touchscreen. Their selection then goes into a bin that can be resealed with a lid. "In addition to creating a great billboard for the Wonka brand, it allows us to play our commercials with sound," says Planet. "We can also have other digital content on there. It's just another way to bring the experience to life."

A Closer Look at the 2010 'Display of the Year'

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