A HIT with Kids

A relentlessly amiable purple dinosaur named Barney might seem a pushover when pitted against the likes of Spider-Man or Anakin Skywalker at retail. But HIT Entertainment, which produces the "Barney & Friends" and "Bob the Builder" television shows and markets a wide variety of children's videos in the United States, holds its own against some powerhouse properties from Disney and the big Hollywood studios.Competing for display space in the children's video category is certainly not child's play, and HIT Entertainment has learned its share of lessons along the way. Several years ago, for example, the company launched an aggressive display program that proved to be too costly. The displays were visually appealing, but were also very expensive, says Danielle Simpson, product marketing coordinator. In addition, they were not designed to be assembled very quickly. One Christmas display had 42 different pieces. Needless to say, research showed that retailers didn't have the time or the patience to assemble such complicated displays.As a result, the company greatly simplified its merchandising with a mix of displays with standardized bases, trays and headers. Although this approach reduced costs, it didn't have the desired effect with kids. Most of the graphics were limited to header cards on the top of displays, so children walking down store aisles were dependent on a parent to recognize and point out the various characters.Evolutionary IdeasThe company has since revamped its display process with the help of its main P-O-P producer, Taurus Display Corp., Cherry Hill, N.J. Taurus helped HIT marketers develop a plan for producing custom-looking displays at a stock price."They have a catalog of generic dies that we were able to use at no charge," explains Simpson. "We started using those so that we could spend less money on die charges and more money on the art. Taurus figured out how we could use some generic components to keep costs down and still have a thematic kind of display.""Thematic" is the term the company uses to distinguish these displays from stock displays. It means original, eye-catching and stylized. The company is now able to shift its display budget to make the biggest impact with kids, parents and store buyers. The money saved from using generic components, like standardized bases and trays, is now put toward custom dies and more lavish artwork. And once custom dies are made, the company can use them on future display programs without an additional charge.The money saved is often put toward life-size, or near life-size standees of popular characters. "Kids really react well to seeing a large image of a character that they like in stores," says Simpson. "The kids walk by and get very excited. With displays that just have a header on top of a base, it's unlikely that kids will even see it because it isn't at eye level."The company now uses a universal cantilevered tray on all of its displays. This tray is designed to hold either videos or DVDs, and can be made to accommodate nine, 12 or 15 products per tray. It gives designers a great deal of flexibility. But more importantly, it saves money. The trays are often produced in large production runs for multiple display programs, so the per tray cost is significantly reduced.There are two styles of free-standing displays the company now regularly produces: an easel-base display and a standee base. Both can be fitted with the cantilevered tray. Many newer designs also include a merchandising strip to hold plush toys."What we've seen in the market is that there's a big move toward cross merchandising," says Steven Hisamoto, HIT's supply chain manager who oversees spending for all display projects. "That means you don't only have videos on the display. We've added DVDs and plush toys. In some cases, we're even going to add audio products."All of these merchandising efforts have helped make HIT a leader in the children's video market. Although the company does advertise in a variety of different parenting magazines, it considers P-O-P its primary advertising vehicle, according to Hisamoto.The P-O-P WorkflowHIT Entertainment's display-building process begins by setting a merchandising budget for a video release. The marketing team gauges how successful the show is and how recognizable the characters are with children. A new, unknown property might only receive a stock display, while a more successful and well-known title will get a thematic display presentation.For example, the original "Bob the Builder" display was a standard unit with a stock base, a nine-pocket tray and a header card. The show has skyrocketed in popularity since its initial release on video. Now, every "Bob the Builder" video release gets a special display unique to that particular video.Each character in the company's portfolio has its own detailed style guide that marketers must use. This guide includes information such as what characters can or can't do on P-O-P, their positions and acceptable color palettes.After budgets are set, marketers meet with the display company representatives. Simpson, Hisamoto and Mark Skinner, creative services director, sit down with them and spend a full day brainstorming possible display ideas. Taurus then gets to work on potential designs."They'll come up with two or three different renderings," says Simpson. "We'll pass those around to our sales team and video team and let them give their comments."Oftentimes, the best elements of each design are brought together into one display. Taurus then assembles these components into a new set of renderings."Sometimes we go through three or four different rounds -- maybe more -- before we get a display that we really like," says Simpson.Once a final design is determined, it goes into production. A standard production run includes 2,000 thematic displays and 1,500 generic units per video release. Hisamoto says he doesn't have to worry about not having enough displays. Since the displays use common components, he can always shift parts around in a pinch.In addition to the actual display, other P-O-P elements are also produced. Skinner's department produces posters, banners and other collateral materials. In addition, he oversees the graphics that Taurus uses for the display. "Usually what happens is that we design the graphics and the packaging and then we give that to Taurus and they come up with the display," he says. "We have a nice in-house team that keeps the HIT look consistent and keeps the brand identity for all of the characters in line."Opportunities KnockMost of the displays that get produced support new title launches. However, the company takes full advantage of opportunities to merchandise the entire catalog of videos when they present themselves.Mass merchant corporate buyers, for example, are offered pallet designs. HIT has designed a special hex pallet that meets all of the mass merchant's display specifications, so it's easy to outfit it with graphics and send it out. These pallets generally feature a new title on the front facing and the catalog titles on each of the sides."This is something that has worked out really well for us," says Simpson. "We've done this for both 'Bob the Builder' and 'Barney.' The catalog titles get pulled off of the shelf and put on the pallet. It gives them a lot more exposure. A parent who sees Barney for the first time in the store will see not only the brand new title, but also Barney's older titles."Christmas provides another opportunity. Since retailers are generally bombarded with holiday displays, HIT combines its titles to increase the odds of getting placed. "It's a big time of the year for us, but it's also a difficult time to get P-O-P into a store because everyone does a display at Christmastime," says Simpson. "This year, we are doing it a little differently. Since Barney has a Christmas video coming out, he will get his own display. We'll have another display for all of our other titles, including Barney. We'll make that as flashy as we possibly can."It's no secret that getting displays placed at retail and keeping them placed is a challenge for any marketer. With each of the company's display programs, Simpson hopes to get two weeks of floor time but realizes she sometimes gets far less."They might put it up on Monday night and take it down on Tuesday morning," says Simpson.She says mass merchant accounts are very good about pre-ordering displays for titles that they would like to promote.Hisamoto says that bright, colorful and creative displays still have a good chance of getting placed. "If it's a nice display that looks good, it stays up," he says.The company tries to work with mass merchants and other retailers to get feedback on its displays to help ensure future placements. Salespeople often sit down with store buyers to get their opinions and suggestions on display programs. That information is then brought back to marketers. "We definitely take those comments to heart when we are creating our next display," says Simpson.Skinner says they're also working on ways to give store managers more display options. For example, a recent display for "Bob the Builder" featured a detachable standee so retailers that didn't want to use the display and the video tray could still use the graphic. "We designed it so that if a retailer wanted to make their area child-friendly, they could lose the display and still keep the Bob character standee," he says. "It gives them options and tools to spruce up their video area."Display PlanningPrior to a new video release, the company tries to estimate how many displays the field will accept. Simpson sends out a sell-sheet with details about the upcoming display program and a pre-order date is specified."Then we have our sales reps contact the retailers," says Hisamoto. "That gives us a good idea of what kind of a demand there will be for a particular video release."Sometimes, this process can even predict the success of video sales. A recent video for Bob the Builder's "The Big Game," sold out in a scant six hours. The display featured two of the characters playing soccer. The video tray was positioned between them."Kids really responded well to that display," says Simpson. "The buyers did, too." Not surprising, the display was just as well received by consumers.Virtually all of the company's displays are made of corrugate and don't stay up in stores for very long. Simpson says they would like to do more permanent pieces, but that doesn't happen very often."A lot of things are in the works but nothing has materialized as of yet," says Simpson. "Right now we only do one permanent display every couple of years."On the temporary side of the business, however, things show no signs of slowing down. In fact, the company is now doing more P-O-P than ever. Hisamoto attributes that to the fact that they have been able to show retailers and executives from within the company that they can produce creative and effective programs that get results.Display program sell-ins are carefully monitored internally. The company also does store checks to confirm that displays are being placed. Sell-through sales data is then tracked through a program called Retail Link.To the FutureMarketers have a very busy year ahead of them. In 2003, the company plans to release 54 new videos. More than 90% of those will get a thematic display treatment, says Simpson. However, she isn't worried about running out of new ideas and approaches to displays."We try to look at each new release as something totally different," she says. "We get a whole new world to deal with every single time we get a new video."Skinner agrees. "The themes of the videos are always changing and that gives us new things to work with," he says. "Based on the themes of the videos, we're able to make the displays very different and impactful every time. If the video shows Barney riding a bike, then we might show him on a bike on the display because that is something he has never done before. If the video shows him surfing, then we might show him surfing on the display."The designs of our displays are really where we want them to be," Skinner continues. "Our next step is to consider motion and lights."Up until now, marketers at the company have been able to keep video release dates and displays far enough apart that various titles don't compete with one another. Though many of the videos have slightly different target audiences, there is some overlap and pilfering sales from other company-owned titles is always a concern.The company is currently considering releasing two displays to the marketplace at the same time: One for Bob the Builder and another for Angelina Ballerina. "We think it will be OK since one is targeted toward boys and the other toward girls," says Hisamoto. "But we'll have to see if we actually will do that.""It's a constant balancing act," says Simpson. "We have a release schedule that changes almost daily because of that very reason. The lines do cross and the more properties we take on, the greater the possibility that we will take sales away from one of our other titles. In the big picture, though, they are all sales for HIT."

A HIT with Kids

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