WORX Display Targets Weekend Warriors

Sometimes, an in-store display just WORX.Charlotte, N.C.-based manufacturer Positec created a positive buzzsaw of an endcap in partnership with Menards to promote the WORX Saw and 20-volt WORX drill that went up in 320 stores in October 2014.The saws sold out—before Christmas in many stores—and the drills sold about 60 percent despite being in a “saturated” market, says Caroline Berns, marketing manager for Positec. And printing and production vendor Meyers, Minneapolis, received 2015 Design of the Times recognition for its efforts in creating the four-foot-wide display that stayed in stores through at least April of 2015.“We developed all the graphics, we developed the design portion of it, what it looks like as far as the structural part, and also the execution in terms of how it functioned,” says Meyers vice president and creative director Glenn Brown, who points out that the WORX brand is better known for outdoor tools like leaf blowers and hedge trimmers. “The beauty was, they sold out of the product.”In creating the endcaps, Positec, Menards and Meyers targeted DIYers and weekend warriors. “The average homeowner who has projects, honey-do lists that they’re working through,” says Berns.“It’s not the premium tool market,” Brown says. “It’s that better tool—not the best—in the middle range, for skilled amateurs.” At $80 apiece, the price reflected that. “There’s tremendous need for tools in this price range,” he says. “Knowing the WORX brand and leveraging that quality they have behind their brand recognition, that was the reason they wanted to bring WORX into the power tool category.”The piece provided a hands-on experience for customers to pick up the tools, gave clear pricing messages and other basic information, and offered inspirational messages like “WORX: You’ve Got the Power.” Positec’s research has shown that such shoppers like to be able to hold and try out tools, Berns says.“That’s one of the reasons they’re driven into stores, versus only relying on online purchases,” she says. “We really wanted to focus on getting the tools out front of the customer, where they could touch them and handle them, and have a hands-on experience in the store. … That’s one of the ways we differentiate ourselves in store, having consumers be able to interact.”Positec has read research showing that weekend warriors are interested in handling more projects than they actually do, honey. “They need the right skills, tools and confidence,” Berns says. “Visually, we focused on larger application images showing the products in use.”While Positec provided creative concept direction, Meyers handled design, engineering, production and shipping to Menards distribution centers, she adds. In creating the graphics, Meyers worked with Positec to educate their Menards shoppers, Brown says. “We did that with both the visual elements and obviously the [information about] the features and benefits of the tools themselves,” he says.For example, the WORX saw has 2-inch lumber-cutting depth, which means one can cut through a 2-by-4—not always the case with other products and a frustration that consumers have expressed, he adds. “We created mailers for them, as well, to introduce the brand. It was kind of an all-fronts attack.”Outside of the store, Positec provided video footage to Menards to use in producing a television spot, Berns says. “This provided a consistent brand experience from TV to ad to store,” she says.The success was apparent in the sell through, Brown says. “If there’s a silver bullet, it’s when you can sell out of the product you have at the store,” he says. “They certainly weren’t expecting that. They were happy to see it.”While Meyers has worked with Positec “many times” in the past, this effort also represented the first to involve a custom display for Menards, he adds, and was aimed at helping Positec sell more products in stores where the brand did not yet have a strong presence. “We helped them break that barrier as well,” Brown said.

WORX Display Targets Weekend Warriors

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