Disney Expects Inspiration from Vendors

OAK BROOK, IL -- Who better to address the issue of creativity in P-O-P than the marketers at Buena Vista Home Entertainment? If there ever was a brand that thrives on inspiration and imagination, it's Disney. Andy Siditsky, senior vice president, creative services, addressed the crowd via DVD presentation, and Renee Richardson, head of store planning and design for Disney, elaborated on the theme, "Maintaining the Creative Edge."Siditsky said the keys to maintaining that edge can be broken down into four major areas:Education. In order to present a client with new ideas, P-O-P representatives must understand a brand's business, product category and retail channels. The first thing to do when researching a new client, Richardson said, is to find out what merchandising elements they already have out in the field, and think of ways to enhance them. "You can't go in like a bull in a china shop and just say, 'Look at me! Look what I can do,' she said. "Remember, the person that had a stake interest in the original design is probably going to be sitting at the same table with you."Richardson encouraged P-O-P executives to introduce their clients to one another in the hopes that multi-party solutions would build categories. "When you help the category, you're still winning," she added. "Think of the category as 'the team.' You can still be the Most Valuable Player on the team, but if the team loses, you've got no place to play. I think that in our competitive environment right now, we lose sight of that simple truism. No one company can do it all, so stop trying." P-O-P salespeople should encourage clients to take risks, she said, such as teaching them "how to live in new environments" such as a chain that's never carried the client's product before. Understanding the problems that retailers face helps suppliers generate solutions that will help everyone. "Guys, you've got to go out to retail," she said. "You've got to talk to consumers. You've got to talk to merchandisers. You've got to know what's going on." Design Strategy. "It's not just about one thing," said Siditsky. "It's about an overall, holistic look at how a product is being created, and about how it is being communicated across the entire campaign." He stressed that designers focus on what he termed the "VIP Treatment" -- Visibility, Impact and Profitability. Richardson added that it is important to create displays that will last and that can be inexpensively updated. At the same time, she encouraged designers to help teach clients how to reinvent themselves because all brands go through cycles of heightened popularity and aging, and need to be invigorated.Great Presentation. "Management can't be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman," said Richardson. She encouraged P-O-P company executives to ensure that their salespeople had the tools that they needed to make effective sales pitches. "Try to take as much risk as possible out of the equation during the pitch, and keep the client focused." She mentioned that she likes to work in black and white when generating renderings for retailers, because everyone will have an opinion about the color. "Imagine the whole category management strategy falling apart because someone thought that the color clashed with what was already in the store," she says. "It happens every day."Richardson also stressed the importance of persistence, because, she says, "A new philosophy might be as simple as a change in upper management in the accounts, or a change of market share. Keep knocking at the door and showing them."Execution. "Execution is about following up at retail," said Siditsky. "Just think how much of an added value you can be, and your team can be, if you take the initiative to call your client to say, 'I saw your display, and it looked terrific. It was front-of-store'...or maybe there's some constructive ideas that you can have for next time." He encouraged executives to call meetings with their clients to talk about how the product was received at retail, and about the processes of manufacture, delivery, packing and shipping."These are all things that a day-to-day person has to deal with that most manufacturers are not staying on top of -- they're allowing their clients to do," Siditsky says. "If you could show that you have added passion and value for these areas, you're going to create an edge for yourself."

Disney Expects Inspiration from Vendors

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