P-O-P Acceptance

In 1998, marketers spent about $13 billion on point-of-purchase displays. Obviously, they place a high value on the effectiveness of P-O-P at retail. But do retailers agree that it's money well spent? The consensus among retailers is that, overall, P-O-P plays an important role in moving product and they do want to accept and execute campaigns, as long as the displays meet their specific needs. Retailers are less interested in generic, "out-of-the-box" campaigns that are targeted to a variety of stores, and more receptive to account-specific displays that help them stand out from competitors.Many retailers base their P-O-P decisions on several factors, ranging from ease of set-up to aesthetics. Also, before any display even reaches the store floor, it typically goes through a pretty rigorous store approval process, during which it can be rejected for any number of reasons. Retailers are presenting marketers with increasingly longer and more detailed lists of requirements, requesting exactly what they want in terms of durability, flexibility, size and visual appeal. "You can't fault retailers for not executing displays that don't fit their format," says Holly Roper, retail market manager for Promo Edge, a retail consulting firm based in Menomonee Falls, Wis. "Retailers like P-O-P if it is done right. And that means, is it the right size? Is it structurally sound? Does it look good? If it doesn't meet thoserequirements, you won't see it in stores and when you do see it, it's usually gone very quickly. Retailers have very valid reasons for not liking a lot of P-O-P and not using a lot. To expect retailers to execute every single shelf talker that is shipped to them is ludicrous."What's important to retailers is that marketers convey some understanding of the store environment when they present their display proposals. While that may seem like a common sense approach, it's not always the case, at least in the view of some retailers."Our counter space is always the most important space in our stores," says Maurice Winters, director of visual merchandising for Wolf Camera & Video, Atlanta. "It's always the best-selling space we have. When [marketers] design P-O-P for our counters, they tend to design pieces that are wide and take up more counter space, rather than P-O-P that is deep and takes up less space. Many don't understand our needs before they manufacture the displays." At Wolf, as with many retailers, the merchandising department has the final say in deciding which displays get approved, relieving the store staff of that responsibility. In fact, store staffs are instructed to simply throw out any displays that arrive at stores unsolicited from marketers."We have to approve it before it can even go in the store," says Kristin Frawley, senior creative designer for ShopKo Stores Inc., Green Bay, Wis. "The stores are also instructed that any signage they receive that isn't approved by the in-store media area is to be thrown out."Frawley notes that ShopKo's P-O-P choices are heavily weighted toward a display's overall visual presentation ã typefaces, readability, the message to the customer. "It needs to be within our style," she says. Frawley adds that a common weak point of marketer-supplied P-O-P is that the colors and designs often don't match the retail environment. "If marketers come up with a design, they're also going to be trying to get it into Target, Kmart and other stores. The color schemes and the designs they use aren't conducive to going into all those areas. Maybe it needs to be more neutral, maybe not as wild at times."Aisle Four, Next to the BeagleSome retailers have requirements that are unique to their businesses. "In addition to the normal retail hazards, we also have customers with animals in our stores," says Janis Healy, vice president of visual merchandising and store planning for Petco Animal Supplies Inc., San Diego, Calif. "Trying to maneuver around the store with an animal on overload is very difficult. A rambunctious dog can spell disaster when you're talking about freestanding displays. We have to make sure that the displays we use are very durable pieces."While Petco does accept some P-O-P that has already been developed by marketers, it is not common. The company typically works closely with its vendors to develop P-O-P that is specific to the chain's stores, using a decision-making process based on pre-established standards. "We really direct them on what it is we're looking for, and we guide them along the path until we have something that we feel will work for us," Healy says. "We've had this system in place for quite some time, so they're all pretty used to it and know that we have to go through this process. In certain cases, such as national promotions where marketers already have shelf talkers, we'll just take those and not make them do anything special for us because it's a very quick 'in-and-out' type of item. But for the most part, on anything with a life of more than a couple of weeks, we work closely with them on building in durability and making sure the display fits our stores aesthetically. We want it to stand out and fit in all at once, which is sometimes a difficult balance."Doing More with P-O-PThe flexibility of a particular P-O-P display, in terms of being able to place it at different locations in a store with minimum effort, is also a major factor in determining a program's success. One chain often has several stores with differing layouts, sizes and traffic patterns, and P-O-P that can be rearranged and relocated easily is a benefit."We try to tailor something to fit our style, and while we may use a vendor-supplied piece, we may want to modify it to reflect more of our look at the store level," says Phyllis Hamilton, advertising manager for White Hen Pantry Inc., Elmhurst, Ill. "We may want a smaller piece so it doesn't take up as much room or we may change the header card. We also try to limit our use of things like dump bins to avoid a cluttered look."Like most c-stores, limited space is a consideration in any store decision, whether it involves P-O-P, products or equipment. White Hen's merchandising department also works closely with its vendors to choose displays that best suit the stores. "There are certain displays that we would not put in our stores for aesthetic reasons," says Hamilton. "We certainly want to promote things that distinguish what our stores offer versus our competitors."P-O-P durability is also important to White Hen, as well as the volume of traffic in a particular area of the store. "The coffee area of the store, for example, is very busy and at best, you would only be able to put a fairly small piece of P-O-P there," Hamilton says. "It depends on the location of the store and what's going on in that area."Store layouts also dictate how Petco executes P-O-P in its stores. With several different store formats, Healy says that P-O-P needs to work within the size and space requirements of a particular store, allowing the retailer a high degree of flexibility."We always want to make it as small as possible because we have a lot of different store formats," Healy says. "If it's a freestanding display, can it go in the center of an aisle and also serve as a sidekick? We have stores that are as small as 2,000 square feet and as large as 20,000-plus square feet. We've also grown a lot through acquisition and, as a result, we have stores that we've tried to 'Petco-ize' as much as possible. We're always looking for flexibility in a display and being able to use pieces and parts in different ways."I Want What I WantTo ensure that they receive only the types of displays that will fit in their stores and are easy for the store staff to set up, many retailers also request that marketers include specific instructions when they ship displays. That way, store personnel will know as much as possible about a specific program's assembly requirements, information about the product being promoted, program duration, etc. This practice not only benefits marketers by increasing the rate of retail compliance, but retailers also appreciate displays that require as little of their attention as possible."I need to make sure that displays ship well, that they arrive at the stores, and that they are able to be handled easily," says Caroline Levy, associate production manager for Old Navy Stores, San Francisco. "They also have to include a brief and simple instruction sheet so if something is not working, the store knows how to fix it."Adds Wolf Camera's Winters, "Items have to be 'self-service.' The store staff is given specific instructions as to time frame, where it should be placed and how long it will remain in the stores."The amount of assembly required at retail has long been a critical element of retailer compliance, with most stores preferring as little assembly as possible. That way, not only is the store staff free to perform other functions, but the displays appear the way the marketers designed them to appear."We prefer that displays come pre-assembled, but if that's not feasible from a shipping standpoint, we require very detailed instructions on how to set them up," says Petco's Healy. "We also require the vendor to include documentation that tells the stores what the project is and what they need to do with it. The other thing we insist on is that any P-O-P that comes into a Petco store has an 'up-and-down-date' and a Petco logo somewhere down in the corner. That let's the stores know what's approved and not approved."How to Choose?If the goal of P-O-P is to promote and increase product sales, then a retailer's decision to accept a display is most likely going to be based on a store's sales patterns and what moves best in a location or region. "The P-O-P we use depends on exactly what type of product we're trying to move," says Wolf Camera's Winters. At ShopKo, marketer-supplied P-O-P also comes in handy when a particular program is not cost-effective enough to be handled by the store, based on expected sales returns. "Some of the programs probably wouldn't be worth doing internally," says ShopKo's Frawley. "Maybe a product isn't selling as much and the vendor has more of an interest in it. If we're not going to get the right return, then we can't really justify the display."Another issue that is familiar to most retailers is maximizing valuable retail real estate while also keeping the rate of inventory turns moving. "If there are two vendors vying for the same floor space," says Petco's Healy, "we're going to put what's going to sell the best out there."Tell Me What You WantMost retailers agree that the working process between them and marketers can always be improved. The result of more open lines of communication would be more openness by retailers to use marketer-supplied P-O-P, and a better understanding between the two parties as to what the other needs and wants."I need more good vendors," says Old Navy's Levy. "I also think it's hard to develop a relationship. It takes a lot of time and I don't have much of that. Also, our turnaround times are very quick. They need to communicate and give me a lot of options and be able to come over to our office frequently. Their location is important as well so they can get me a prototype quickly. I need them to manage me in a way. If they have any questions, they have to hunt me down, figure out that they have what they need and then run with it on their end."What it really comes down to is a matter of simple, common business courtesy, according to Promo Edge's Roper. "As an industry," she says, "four or five years ago we were fighting the battle of does P-O-P work? Now, we're in a whole new ballgame where we can say we know P-O-P works. Retailers are getting better at executing what they do accept, and manufacturers need to understand that retailers do not execute everything. It's really a simple process:manufacturers shouldn't be force-feeding retailers, and retailers shouldn't be force-feeding manufacturers. It should be, 'We want to partner to sell product.' The retailer isn't there to do anything but sell product. And for manufacturers, that's all they want to do, too. So, it should be a matter of, 'O.K., how do we sell more product?' Let's just cut to the chase and figure it out."

P-O-P Acceptance

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