Mission: CONTROL

After literally changing our view of the universe, the Hubble Space Telescope is now acclaimed as one of the marvels of modern technology. But it wasn't always so. After its launch 10 years ago, the telescope began delivering "less-than-stellar" photos that were out-of-focus. NASA became the butt of jokes worldwide: What sound does a space turkey make? Hubble, Hubble, Hubble.The problem, it turned out, was a 2-micron-long manufacturing error in the telescope's mirror -- about 1/50th the width of a human hair. But the real problem with Hubble, according to a panel that investigated the debacle, was a lack of communication between the people doing the hands-on work and the higher-up "experts."P-O-P isn't exactly rocket science, of course. No marketer is allocating $2 billion and several decades worth of work to any single P-O-P project. And while there's pressure, your basic floorstand isn't publicly scrutinized to Hubble's hair's-breadth margins of error.Still, it would be satisfying -- and economical -- if every P-O-P project came in on time, under budget and error free. And that means turning a sharp focus on the communication that goes on between the people doing the footwork -- the salesforce -- and all the marketing and communications folks behind their desks at mission control.Being RealisticDave Taylor, for one, appreciates both the importance of P-O-P and the communication efforts necessary to keep it running smoothly. "Product displays and P-O-S are very important to the success of selling beer," says Taylor, corporate communications manager for Coors Brewing Co., Golden, Colo. "There's a large investment in marketing programs and P-O-S here, so no one takes P-O-S lightly." What's more, he adds, "In any company, particularly a large one like Coors, communication is critical."In keeping with these sentiments, his department creates comprehensive sell-in packages for the salesforce and distributors that tout soon-to-be-completed P-O-P materials. Formats vary, but often a folder is filled with high-quality, four-color glossy sheets showing either prototypes or computer-generated images. "These give a very realistic presentation of what the P-O-S will be," says Taylor. The images are backed with a listing of the benefits of the P-O-P as well as fact-based selling information.S-B Power Tool Co. in Chicago relies less on paper and the post office and more on computer technology to keep the salesforce apprised of new P-O-P. "E-mails with JPEG files attached are a great way to show the sales staff the latest and greatest P-O-P available for a certain product or line," says Trade Sales Promotion Specialist Joanne Frias.But she points out that the low dpi of JPEGs makes them "reference-only" tools. Higher-resolution P-O-P image files are distributed via CD-ROM. The salesforce passes those along to accounts and also uses them to print simple materials -- fliers, for example -- on their own color printers. "You have to start taking advantage of the technology that's out there," says Frias.When it comes time to order P-O-P, the S-B salesforce logs onto the Web site maintained by the warehouse that stores the company's P-O-P and literature. "That system has been in place about a year now and the sales guys love it," says Frias. "All they have to do is put in their password and they can see all the line items we have available by description or by brand. They can even see how many are left of a particular item, when their order is shipping and the status of back orders. It really beats a lot of calling back and forth, having to fax in orders or flipping through a catalog."The "E-Bandwagon"Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Berkley Heights, N.J., is another company that has jumped on the e-bandwagon. Director of Retail Promotion John Pender explains that his company's internal Web site includes a live inventory of every display item available. "At any given time, salespeople can see what's in inventory, if something is out of stock, when we'll be getting more." In the works is a library of past P-O-P "so sales can see, over the last three years, what was used at Walgreen's, for instance. That may have application to what they're working on today."Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Schering-Plough's Web site is its customized-display capabilities. "The site has a universal display process, where 50 or 60 pre-engineered choices are available," says Pender. "So the salesman clicks on his choice, the pack-out shows up, the graphics show up. If he doesn't see exactly what he wants, he can submit an internal form requesting changes. This has really given our salespeople flexibility. They can create what they need to drive the sale."The benefits of electronic communication are obvious: speed, accuracy, and efficiency. "This technology is simply much more efficient," says Pender. "Before the Web site was available, the sales guys would be picking up the phone to place orders. And if they wanted a picture of a display, we'd be overnighting that, which gets expensive, or using the fax machine, which gives you a really bad copy. These days, a JPEG is sent to the reps and they can see a display almost immediately. That was unheard of two years ago. If the salesperson likes what he sees, he can send it electronically to an account."David Soltes, vice president, creative merchandising for Paramount Home Video in Hollywood, says that his department keeps the salesforce informed about P-O-P with a mix of e-mails and hard copies. "Like everyone else, we deal with computer problems. Sometimes [e-mail] works, sometimes it doesn't." He adds that the quality of JPEGs doesn't match professional printing. "JPEGs show up quickly, so they're great as a kind of 'Whaddya think?' for the salespeople. But typically the sales guys want to make a better presentation, and JPEGs don't guarantee the best reproduction."Schering-Plough's Pender takes exception to the idea that he needs to keep his sales staff "in the loop" or vice versa. "Our company doesn't have a 'P-O-P department.' We consider it 'Customer Solutions.' Seventy percent of our work is generated from sales. We're all focused on the customer, so basically there's a oneness going on between us." Still, he concedes that "the display world is evolving very rapidly lately, with a lot of [display] structure changes, especially driven by the mass merchants."Since his staff is juggling more than 100 projects at any given time, these little details can add up to a flood of information. Schering-Plough staffers use an electronic tracking sheet/critical dates schedule to "maintain integration between the two departments on a daily basis," Pender says. "Executing with excellence is something we strive for -- not missing a shipping date and making an account's timeline. Many times those timelines change, quantities change. With our tracking system, the salespeople can check on the status of their projects via e-mail. The tracking sheet also lets them confirm all the specs that they told us initially."Others maintain that a full-blown schedule is overkill for the salesforce. "Typically, sales is not included in production timetables," says Tom Graves, director of marketing services for South Beach Beverage Corp., Norwalk, Conn. "We tell them when to anticipate things, but they couldn't care less about the nuts and bolts. They just want to know, 'When can I have it in my hot little hands.'"He does agree, though, that the voice of the sales staff is invaluable in the success of his department. So at SoBe, he gathers the troops -- sales, marketing, merchandising -- for frequent, informal meetings.Of course, for larger companies, the size of the field salesforce is so huge and their locations so far-flung that it's impossible to assemble the entire staff regularly, either for input sessions at the beginning of a project or for feedback once prototypes are complete. SoBe manages this challenge with its distributor advisory board, a group of four or five salespeople who serve as a sort of "mini internal focus group," says Graves.Similarly, S-B Power Tool has a merchandising committee comprising several field people who specialize in retail and several more who specialize in the industrial end. "This group gives us feedback as to how elements are working, what our competitors are doing, what their customers are saying," says Frias. "They're the sounding board for the rest of the region."Paramount Home Video's Soltes says that his department will make formal prototype presentations on a rare occasion, "when there's a harmonic convergence," he jokes, and the salespeople happen to be in town when a prototype is completed. "But typically we ship the prototype, if it's shippable. If the project has been managed properly, we're sending them exactly what they asked for."Quarterly ReportingThe story is much the same at American Greetings in Cleveland. "Our company is so huge and we have so many salespeople," says Julie DeCocker, manager display design, that formal presentations are a rarity. But the company does have several systems in place to ensure that feedback from the field makes its way to headquarters. The field staff prepares quarterly regional sales reports, for example, that show up on DeCocker's desk with P-O-P-related issues highlighted.A toll-free number handled by the American Greetings' retail programs operation group offers a dedicated outlet for P-O-P comments. "The 800 number is specifically for the salespeople, but we get calls from retailers, too," says Display Consultant Kathy Poet, who works with a group of a dozen employees to handle the calls. "It's a way to connect us to what's going on in the field." She says the nature of the calls coming in range from specific to sweeping. Sometimes it's a call about a part missing in the display for one particular store; other times it's more general, maybe how a display is difficult to assemble. In either case, Poet's group documents the calls, then puts an e-mail or phone call in to DeCocker's group and eventually sits down for a meeting to discuss the next steps. "It's a very worthwhile system," says Poet. "We've redesigned P-O-P based on the feedback we've gotten on the 800 line. It really works out a lot of problems."The feedback system at SoBe, on the other hand, is more free-form. "Our sales guys aren't bashful," says Graves. "If they don't like something or an account says something to them, my phone rings. It's not a formal process but a very efficient one."Clearly, there are many means to manage the flow of information involved in successful P-O-P. Regardless of a company's approach to communication -- high-tech or traditional, formal or fluid, or a combination thereof -- all agree that the human element reigns supreme. "It's a challenge to make sure everyone is on the same page," says Schering-Plough's Pender. "But you have to look at technology as a tool. In the end, it comes down to old-fashioned management. You need professionals managing a project from beginning to end."

Mission: CONTROL

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