SoftKey Strips Down its Packaging, Beefs up CD-ROM Display Options

PC users now have an easy, inexpensive way to try new software with softKey International Inc.'s newly released Platinum line of CD-ROM products. Priced comparably to music CDs and sold in their familiar jewel-case format, the line is expected to attract both the casual computer user and the more sophisticated software buyer."With 36 new titles, this is the first time a software company has introduced such a broad range of CD-ROM products," says Eric Levin, SoftKey's manager of strategic sales and marketing. "This is a great way for people to quickly try software without spending a lot of money."Levin adds that the Cambridge, Mass., company's CD-style packaging and pricing strategies also benefit retailers. "The jewel-case packaging means we can display a lot more product in just a fraction of the space required for showing standard software," he says. "And with each title priced at just $12.99, customers can get five disks for about the same amount they'd spend for just one piece of conventionally packaged software. People are very comfortable buying CDs in this price range, so we expect our approach will create a whole new marketplace."SoftKey debuted the line in November at COMDEX '94 in Las Vegas, and released it to large computer and office supply stores in January. Product categories include games, productivity, entertainment and "edutainment," which are represented by Platinum titles such as the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar, the Time [magazine] Almanac, the American Heritage Talking Dictionary, PC Paintbrush and MPC Wizard. New releases are planned and will be offered quarterly to update and rotate the product line.The company is helping retailers accommodate the Platinum packaging with three displays. A floorstand and a tabletop unit are stock CD displays typically used in music stores. The floorstand measures 70 inches tall, has a 16-square-inch base and features a four-sided tower measuring 8 inches square. The tabletop display is also 8 inches square but measures 32 inches high.The floorstand has 40 facings and holds 160 CDs, while the tabletop unit has 16 facings that hold 64 CDs. Injection-molded ABS was used for the bases and caps, and K-resin for all other parts. Both displays were designed by Berkeley, Calif.-based Plastic Works.Visual ImpactLevin is most excited about the third display, a custom rotating unit that holds product on two sides. "The other two displays have slim profiles and don't take up much space, but we felt we needed a third vehicle that would create more impact and splash in big stores because we have a lot of large-store customers," he says. "We created the A-frame display from scratch to meet this unique need."Designed by the Chicago firm It's A Concept, the display measures 17 inches square and 72 inches high. It is made of vinyl-coated hardboard with 16 heat-bent acrylic pockets, eight on the front and eight on the back. Each pocket has three facings measuring four CDs deep, for a total of 192 CDs. FHC Chicago, manufactured the display.According to Levin, the display gives retailers some important advantages: "It takes up very little space but holds more product than our other floorstand, and its gravity-feed system means the display always looks fully stocked. Also, the acrylic pockets are a good design solution because the entire front of every CD is visible to customers."All three displays feature custom pricing headers designed by It's A Concept and manufactured by Vulcan Spring, Philadelphia. The header for the A-frame display is made of coated wood. It is mounted with a circular logo decal made of prismatic material. A starburst decal allows retailers to fill in the price. The two other displays' headers also feature prismatic material, which is mounted on styrene. A dollar scroll with numbers from 8 to 15 and a cents scroll ranging from 89 to 99 cents permit customized pricing.Levin says the headers were created based on focus group findings. "Customers are used to paying discount prices, so they're looking for good deals," he says. "Even though we do custom print jobs all the time on our headers, we found that people don't trust preprinted pricing because they don't think they're getting a discount. So we decided to give each store the ability to adjust prices because customers are loyal to their individual stores and will trust they're getting a good deal."SoftKey has distributed 2,000 A-frame displays and 1,000 each of the jewel case displays.Retailer reactions so far have been "phenomenal -- they can't get the stuff fast enough," Levin says. He adds that SoftKey is very optimistic about customer reactions. "We did testing in 45 stores before committing to a major rollout, and the results were astronomical. Our line became the best selling product in the store in every case. In this industry, selling one of each title every month is considered an OK result. But during tests we were selling two per week of each title."

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