The Impact of Creative Elements on Display Sales

In November 2004, the In-Store Marketing Institute, in conjunction with P-O-P Times, surveyed brand marketers about the impact various communication tactics have on the sales effectiveness of product displays.Asked to rate a variety of creative elements as to their effectiveness in generating incremental sales lift for a display, the 250-plus respondents overwhelmingly cited product imagery, benefits and features as significantly better than promotional communications such as sweepstakes and entertainment tie-ins.In November 2004, the In-Store Marketing Institute, in conjunction with P-O-P Times, surveyed brand marketers about the impact various communication tactics have on the sales effectiveness of product displays.Asked to rate a variety of creative elements as to their effectiveness in generating incremental sales lift for a display, the 250-plus respondents overwhelmingly cited product imagery, benefits and features as significantly better than promotional communications such as sweepstakes and entertainment tie-ins.In fact, while non-promotional elements were rated almost without exception to be "effective," many promotional tactics -- including sweepstakes, sports sponsorships and mail-in premium offers -- were cited by a majority of respondents as being ineffective. (See Chart 1, at right.)Product imagery and description of product benefits were cited as being far and away the most effective creative elements, with more than 72% of respondents rating it as very effective (4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5) and fewer than 10% rating it ineffective (1 on the scale). Description of product features was cited as very effective by 64% of respondents and ineffective by fewer than 10%.Opinions on two other non-promotional elements were more mixed. Lifestyle imagery was rated very effective by 51% of respondents and ineffective by 18%; calls to action were rated very effective by 47% and ineffective by 21%.Among promotions, instant-premium giveaways was the only tactic cited more often as very effective than as ineffective, with 42% giving a thumbs up and 35% giving it a thumbs down. Instant-win games were cited as very effective by 25%, but as ineffective by 49%; entertainment tie-ins as very effective by 23% but as ineffective by 47%.Variations Based on Respondent ProfilesThe perception of non-promotional elements -- creative aligned more closely with the product and its selling proposition -- as having a greater effect on sales lift than promotional offers generally stayed consistent regardless of the product category in question. (See Editor's Note at the bottom of this article.) However, there were some significant differences among respondents from different industries.Packaged goods marketers, for instance, rated promotional tactics as very effective more often than marketers in the hardware/automotive category or recreational products gifts (the latter of which includes toys, sporting goods, electronics, books, music, videos, apparel, eyewear and footwear). Also food and beverage marketers typically rated promotions higher than packaged non-foods marketers (OTC, HBC, household items, pet products, cosmetics and office supplies).For instance, 59% of food and beverage marketers and 49% of packaged non-foods marketers rated instant premiums very effective, whereas only 32% of hardware/automotive respondents and 30% of recreation/gifts marketers did the same.Conversely, food and beverage marketers were significantly less likely to cite non-promotional messages as being very effective. (See Chart 2 at right.) The most pronounced differences came in the ratings for product features and benefits.Respondents who classified the mass-merchant channel as most important to their product's success rated three non-promotional communications -- product benefits, product features, and calls to action -- as very effective significantly more often than did respondents for whom the supermarket channel was identified as most important. (See Chart 3 at right.)In general, there was little difference in ratings based on job function, with one exception: 35% of respondents with sales responsibilities rated entertainment tie-ins as very effective, compared with just 19% of respondents with marketing responsibilities; similarly, 52% of respondents with marketing responsibilities rated tie-ins as ineffective, compared with 44% of those with sales duties.For a deeper discussion on the effect of display communications on product sales, read "Creative Touches," an Institute report published in June 2003.Editor's note: Respondents were not asked to rate the effectiveness of price discounts, which almost universally are considered to be the most effective type of display communication in driving incremental sales from a display. In fact, the tactic is so often used as part of a display program that many shoppers assume that products on special display are always on sale. (See "Display Equals Discount" in Related Articles for more information on this point.)

The Impact of Creative Elements on Display Sales

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