NFL Hard Hat Display Promotes Protection For Delicate Noggins

Some people think football fans have pretty thick skulls, but when it comes to construction mishaps, even they need protection. MSA Safety Works last year found strong acceptance in the market for its hard hats painted with the logos of professional football teams, so this year it expanded the program in two ways. The company added the popular new Cleveland Browns option, and also created a countertop display that gives the program impact in smaller stores that couldn't invest in the inventory needed to qualify for a floorstand.The hard hats feature traditional safety webbing inside with the outer shell painted to represent one of the 31 teams in the National Football League. The Pittsburgh-based maker of safety equipment introduced the program last year, along with a floor display available with the purchase of four 12-hat cut cases. "We received a really positive response last year, so we decided to add the countertop unit when we updated this year," says John Quinn, marketing manager.IDL Inc., also in Pittsburgh, which previously created the floorstand, produced the new display. The corrugated unit features a cut-case base holding 12 hard hats with a two-level header measuring about 24 inches wide by 36 inches high. A smaller 18-inch by 18-inch panel on the header features the MSA logo with its lettering popping out of alternating green and black slanted bands. This graphic is placed above a four-color application photo and a hard hat shell that serves as a sample. This smaller header element projects out from the backer and is held in place with adhesive foam. The display header is available free with each two-case order."This approach gets us into smaller retailers," says Quinn. "We had a number of accounts who couldn't order four boxes to qualify for the floorstand, but they wanted to display the products. This option provides more flexibility in the program and gives us more capability to expand sales." About 1,000 headers have been produced for use in the program, which mostly is sold through hardware and home center stores. The displays began shipping in September in time for the football season.The hard hats can be shipped in a mix-and-match format of one case for any number of teams desired, Quinn notes, for those areas where local fans may have different allegiances or where several options may be popular. "Retailers definitely take a very local marketing approach with this type of product," he explains. "The chains want to have the local favorites."Some hats are popular outside of their team market, he adds, typically with playoff-caliber teams. Last year's Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos are the most popular, followed by the Packers, the Jets and the Steelers.Updating the product for the new season was easier than creating the new display format, but it was more complicated than it might seem. For instance, the Baltimore Ravens had to change their logo this year due to a legal challenge. Designing the hat for the new Cleveland Browns, who are returning to the league after three years, wasn't too challenging. Since the team has no logo, the hard hat features only a brown-and-white stripe on an orange background. But despite its simplicity, the Browns hat is proving popular this season, Quinn says."Anything with the Browns logo on it is selling great right now," Quinn reports. That's especially true just across the border in Ohio, of course, where some retailers between Cleveland and Pittsburgh are placing combination orders for Browns and Steelers cases to ensure they can meet the preferences of fans who may have switched their allegiance while the Browns were gone.

NFL Hard Hat Display Promotes Protection For Delicate Noggins

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