Material Matters: 'Need to Know' Basics

From "Buying Custom P-O-P" Ask any pressman at any in-store-marketing print facility a simple question: "Who gives you the biggest headaches?" Almost invariably, they'll cite advertising agency account execs on press checks. Their offense? Trying to apply the color and clarity and print standards they've become accustomed to in magazine advertising to vehicles like Peyton Manning standees and ceiling-mounted lifestyle graphics. Some complain. Some argue. Some even scream, "Stop the presses." Suffice it to say, they aren't helping. No matter how sophisticated the field of in-store marketing becomes, an element of "by the way, we'll need a display" panic often lingers within the process. Knowing the limits of one's knowledge is the first step on the path to wisdom. Get out of the way, in other words. On the other hand, specialized materials and processes can greatly influence in-store marketing decision-making within certain product categories and channels of trade. A cosmetics brand manager does not need to memorize chemical formulas for copolyesters. But understanding that certain plastics process easier and hold up better in stores than others is a big deal. It's understandable that the eyes of suntan lotion marketing execs might glaze over during discussions about "rotational molding" and "pallet skirting." They might unglaze once they realize that both terms can relate to placement issues with the big box chains. The in-store marketing display process is a serious, complicated R&D initiative that starts with the conceptualization of a project (a sales rep meeting with a client, for example) and carries on through every stage of project management, supervision, modeling, tool customization, prototyping and the development of a manufacturing plan. Says who? Says the I.R.S. tax code (section 41). Many P-O-P companies underestimate the amount of their activities that qualify as research and development, according to RSM McGladrey's Paul Pinkus and Brian Halminiak, the industry's foremost experts on this area of tax law. The charts attached at the right are general rules of thumb that present basic time-frames and cost ranges for different types of materials. They are presented here as a reminder that virtually every P-O-P display project involves custom manufacturing processes, and folks, they all... take... time. Banging your shoe on a conference room table will not change certain laws of physics. Likewise, the prices are merely representative. Nobody should wave these charts around during a price negotiation. In short, materials matter. A lot. And remember -- Big Brother is watching.

Material Matters: 'Need to Know' Basics

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