Frito Lay In Store Display with Red Rail Strip and Yellow Channel Strip

The typical mass retail environment leaves a lot aesthetically to be desired. Blinding or overly dim fluorescent lighting, cheap linoleum flooring, shelves upon shelves of black wire racking or khaki colored metal shelving – Mass retail could not be less inviting. So as product distributors, when we brand and advertise at point of sale – why do some in store promotions look bored and monotonous? There is still room in retail to make point of sale advertising unique to your brand. That’s why DLI wants to take a moment to look at how Frito Lay injects their own personal flair into their in store display.

Frito Lay is one of the largest global snack food companies, capturing over 59% of the snack food market. Even though they have a diversity of store fronts to cover, Frito Lay keeps it colorful and varied visually with their in store marketing. Their logo “Good Fun!” translates well through on their in store presence – as they slightly customize their in store displays to reflect the upbeat energy of their brand.

For example, instead of using industry standard black or white rail strips in every store, Frito Lay will use special Frito Lay red colored plastic rail strips to give their branded channel strips that extra pop of color. Visually your eye is initially drawn to the red of the rail, which focuses your attention to the yellow of the channel strip and then the recognizable Frito Lay logo. A white or black rail strip would not be as complimentary to Frito Lay’s shades of red and yellow, so incorporating Frito Lay red into the plastic rail strips creates a clean look that reflects Frito Lay’s brand message.

Even though it is a small detail, Frito Lay’s customization of their in store rail strips really help to create an eye catching display that draws customers into their shelf space. The Frito Lay red rail strip is the perfect backdrop for branding their logo and creates a fun and energetic atmosphere for their products in a rather drab retail space.

Roadhouse Grill Variable Data Scratch Off Card

Variable Information Printing

Variable Information Printing is a form of printing that uses a database to derive what to print on material. Also known as Variable Data Printing or Variable Image Printing can be used for a variety of sweepstakes types of promotions, such as peel and reveal tickets, scratch off cards and coupons. Variable Data Printing can even handle long complex numbers such as bar codes and reference numbers for tracking purposes. It’s a neat function of certain flexographic presses like the presses running at Diversified Label Images.

            To get started, the company must supply the printer with the variable data. This means that if images or numbers are to be printed in a certain order or randomized on a roll, the commercial printer will need that database information. Giving the printer secured data ensures quality control and that the customer gets the exact data printed on their products correctly. So what’s the cost for such a feature on your print job? Other than a simple programming fee, the cost of variable data is very affordable, along the same price lines as introducing a new version, plate or custom die.

            A variable information printing job starts out like most other game piece print jobs. The coupon, sweepstake ticket, scratch off card or peel and reveal ticket goes through a normal color process like a standard four color process print job. However towards the end of the process, there is a computer in the middle of the press and four different inkers. The inkers are not like the standard flexographic inking rollers, but deliver ink much like a standard computer printer. The inkers are set up with ink cartridges and emit ink on the printed product as it moves forward towards cutting stage. The inkers can be set up to print on different areas of the product, if for example your product needs a variable image and a barcode printed on it.

            The inkers are controlled by the computer, which will run in sync with the press. The computer will be running programs for the individual inkers so when products pass through the inkers, each inker will be print the right barcodes, pin numbers, images or text. Variable data printing, though it seems complex, easily can be added to a certain flexographic printing jobs. Variable Information Printing gives your product the authentic feel of a real game piece without overly expensive costs to added to the execution of the print job.

Product Packaging for Capri Blue Candle Company

3000 messages a day. 2.6 seconds. Meaningless numbers unless you happen to sell products in a retail environment. Your consumers on average process 3,000 marketing messages a day and take 2.6 seconds to make a purchase decision. How do you beat the numbers and get more face time with your consumer? No body can buy time or erase the fact that global consumers are overloaded with brand advertising. In 2.6 seconds, the consumer will make a decision to choose your product or the competition on the shelf. How well did you fare? If you did not lock down your target consumer base with a purchase, then your marketing efforts failed somewhere in the buying cycle. So where do we begin?

            One of the easiest points in the buying cycle to reevaluate is the actual purchase decision, the moment in which the consumer put your product in the shopping cart. The store is one place where you literally see how you stack up against the competition. Looking on the shelf, your packaging is your product’s last stand, the final attempt make your brand stand out. Packaging is the only marketing message that 100% of consumers that buy your product will see and its the only means of communication that you have complete control over. Product boxes visually embody the core principles of your brand and directly speak to your target audience. Whether its a new font, a more modern design or different copy, your packaging should be constantly evolving to meet your consumers’ needs. If even the mightiest of brands spend money on testing slight variations of font in the marketplace, what makes your brand resistant to change in the marketplace?

            Changes in packaging can be expensive, but it should be a built in cost when selling in a retail environment. People associate thoughts, feelings, moods and abstract ideas to colors, lines and shapes. It seems crazy, but your product’s packaging is the physical representation of what your brand identity and marketing message. Companies constantly reinvent themselves as they seek greater market share while maintaining their current consumer base, so why should your product packaging not symbolize to the public your brand evolution? Due to color trends and design tastes of the consumer, packaging has a shelf life of two and a half years on average. Even the most iconic consumer products are periodically updating their appearance to show that they are still relevant to the modern consumer. So before working with a packaging expert like DLI, here are some things to think about when redesigning your product packaging.

            There is a science behind the use of colors to convey marketing messages. Consumers on average give colors and even different shades of colors certain attributes – as aquamarine says something different than royal blue to a buyer. For example if you are selling a product that requires a high level of consumer trust in its reliability and quality worksmanship – deeper shades of blue symbolize trust, responsiblity and dependability. It’s no wonder why so many financial institutions use deep blue in their logos. Primary colors like red, yellow and orange suggest vitality, energy and are the first colors the eye process (great for point of sale displays), but different hues within the colors can express a range of qualities from playfulness to danger. Make sure that the colors on your packaging match the brand image you want to present to your consumer.   

              Updates to the physical packaging and presentation also can have a big impact on consumers. For example if your actual product visually appeals to the consumer – a window box cleverly incorporated into the box design might freshen up the brand’s image and make your brand more appealing to new consumers. Changes to product packaging can communicate to the consumer that the brand is more sophisicated, premium or even hint at nostaglia with a more retro design. Whether its making the shape and graphics more clean and minimalistic or going the opposite direction for a more “throwback” feel, shapes, lines and design in pacakaging can create a controlled brand identity for your consumers when they view your packaging.

            Lastly, the actual education on the package speaks volumes to consumers. If your brand only uses premium ingredients, let it be a selling point on the carton. Are you an Eco Consciousness company using recycled materials or do a percentage of your proceeds go to a non-profit or cause? It should be advertised on your packaging so consumers know that your company stands out from your competition. It seems obvious, but many companies overlook educating their consumers about the strengths of their brand on the box. If 100% of buyers of your product see your packaging, then use your packaging to educate the consumer about your brand. Packaging plays an important role in sealing the deal with your consumers, so be careful to revaluate your packaging to make sure its giving off the right impression to potential consumers.

Branded Promotional Surfboard Signage at a Bar

Brand names have taken a hit in the economic downturn. With uncertainty in the economy and basic necessities like food and gas becoming more expensive, everyone is feeling the effects of a paycheck that does not stretch as far as it used to. With nest eggs growing and utter lack of consumer confidence – saving money has become fashionable. There is no shame in whipping out a Groupon at a restaurant and popular shows like Extreme Couponing on TLC have made heroes out of coupon clippers who purchase over 900 dollars worth of groceries for less than ten dollars. Thriftiness is lauded as a virtue and finding the ‘best” deal is saavy rather than miserly. In the last ten years, traditional branding for products has changed and brands that have a multitude of other brand name and generic brand competitors need to be on top of their marketing mix. So how do you convince buyers that your brand is worth buying over and over again, deal or no deal?

            Maybe we should be taking a lesson from our consumers. Our approach towards traditional media and brand marketing should be changing as our consumers needs and wants in their products are changing. It’s our job to convince them that while the consumer should skimp on other products, your brand name product offers too much value for them to go with a “lesser” or generic brand. So why aren’t we promoting ourselves in different ways to make our brand stand out and be a part of our consumer’s lifestyle at a reasonable cost? TV, Radio, Sponsorships and Print are still great forms of advertising, but shouldn’t your brand command a presence in our daily lives and directly affect the consumer on a more personal level?

            Non-traditional marketing methods are a buzz in the marketing world, as marketers are using their time, energy and imagination rather than depending on their larger marketing budgets of the past to create unique experiences for their customers. One of these tactics is Wait Marketing, the practice of advertising to customers while they captively are waiting for a service (gas pumps, waiting rooms, restaurants, bars, lines etc..). A TV AD could be missed by a consumer for multiple reasons, but placing eye popping signage around a convenience store check out line or an Express Oil Change waiting room creates a campaign that successfully reaches your target audience every time.

            The concept for Wait Marketing is using cost effective and creative ways to engage your audience in the most basic tasks of their everyday life. If you make your brand an ever present influence on your consumer’s lifestyle, then your brand by association builds trust and value with them. The message is simple, it’s brand awareness and being part of an experience for the consumer. They have to wait for the services they ordered, why not engage their attention with your promotional products? These promotional products can then be the backdrop to cross-promote other campaigns that further engage the customer to action (sweepstakes, coupons or contests).

         Wait Marketing is a cost effective way to reach down to the roots of your consumer base, letting your brand message reach further than traditional media outlets. It can geotarget and find niches for your consumer’s different lifestyles. For example, the promotional branded surfboard hanging in a  bar appeals to a certain desirable lifestyle theme of surfing and the beach that is appealing and “cool” to the demographic that frequents that bar. Your brand becomes desirable as it is associated with with what a surfboard symbolizes to its viewers. A branded surfboard is a beautiful piece of signage any bar would be proud to display for much longer than an expensive billboard.  A branded condiment caddy at a favorite local restaurant ensure that your consumers are thinking about your product before even seeing a menu. Whether it be branded gas top pumpers, eye catching promotional signage behind the bar or a branded condiment caddy on restaurant tabletops – there are cost effective and long lasting ways to be a presence in your consumers’ lifestyle on a very personal level.

scratch-off-ticket

There are an array of different products that reinforce your brand message and entice customers into your sales funnel. But how do you get them to engage? To participate, to show up to any event or become a repeat customer? Its hard to make your customers jump through hoops, so incentive based promotions give them a reason to buy and interact with your brand. Scratch off tickets and game pieces are a cost effective way to spice up your marketing with the allusion of a game.

Where IRCs are enticing because they offer a percentage off, Scratch off and game cards increase the level of anticipation and excitement for the consumer. An instant redeemable coupon on a product or printed in the newspaper is available to everyone; we all understand that everyone in our area or in the store gets the same deal as the deal presented to us. However, now with the scratch off element, one consumer could possibly be a “winner” because it’s a game piece. They have to buy the product, spend a certain amount in a department of your store or fill out a survey to receive a scratch off ticket.

If you are not running a sweepstakes using a scratch off ticket, then everyone that participates in your sales funnel is a “winner”. In this situation, the allusion of winning is more important to the consumer than the actual bargain your scratch off is giving them. There is something satisfying and rewarding about paying less for a product than everyone else in the market or receiving 20% on your next visit – even though everyone else is getting a similar but equal value prize. Exclusivity or the idea of it speaks volumes for engaging customers who are not persuaded by coupons or other overt forms of marketing.

Scratch off tickets are also a great incentive to foster better attendance and participation at events. Raffles, scratch offs and peel and reveal cards have the fun appeal of chance and game play that customers enjoy recreationally, so offering them at product launches or during special sales can increase the volume of purchases during that initial visit or guarantee repeat business. A scratch off also can incorporate cross promotional deals within your brand family or partnered with another company like a coupon.

Essentially, scratch off tickets have endless capabilities from a promotional standpoint. They fill all the same roles as an in store coupon, yet they have the power to make a customer buy x amount when they originally go to buy y amount or come back to the store to receive 20 percent off their next purchase. Using the allusion of game play and chance, scratch off cards appeal to broader base of consumers who might not be tempted by an everyday coupon to actively buy your product. Theres a level of anticipation and exclusivity that speaks to the buyer as they scratch away to discover their mystery prize, so scratch off tickets reach customers that normally will not participate in your sales tactics.

Retractable Pulldown Sign Printed for Retail Store

Advice on Getting the most out of Commerical Printing

 If you sell a product to the public or in a B2B environment, at one point in time you have worked with a graphic designer or art department to create promotional pieces using a printing vendor. Whether its your product’s packaging, an instant redeemable coupon, a brochure or a t-shirt, the printing industry still plays a huge role in product promotion. Sometimes grand ideas on the computer screen and the drawing board do not always translate well to print media, unless you design art with your particular choice of media in mind. In order to save you and your commercial printer of choice time and effort -  we will go over two key issues that can affect the quality of printed promotional products:

1.Who is my consumer and what is my message?

            Know your target audience. This is the foundation for any constructive conversation with your graphic designer and your marketing team. If you don’t understand your consumer base and your message – then your promotion is lost from the beginning. What works for some companies might not be the best promotional tool for your company, so know your brand message and consumer base when designing a promotion. There is no one size fits all for promotional campaigns. If Pepsi uses a life size cut out sign of Jeff Gordon in a grocery store to sell more soft drinks, that same cutout idea might not be the best strategy to promote your line of luxury bath salts. A printer is not going to advise you on what is going to work in the market. It sounds like common sense, but it’s a commonly made mistake by businesses. A good printer should be able to take your vision and your artwork and make it press ready, but they have to have some base to work off. If you have a commercial printer with an in house graphic design/art department, then they will be able to advise your on specifications they will need to reproduce your artwork. But, if you send your printer terrible quality artwork, don’t expect a masterpiece.  Think carefully about what speaks to your consumers and devote a proper budget to make sure your creative and images for the promotion are high quality.

2. Sort out the basic technical details when shopping for a Commercial printer

           So you want to create a label for your barbecue sauce. That’s great, but are you looking for a flexographic printer, a screen printer,  an offset printer or a digital printer? How many labels do you need? What type of stock material (substrate) do you want to use and how many colors are you printing on that stock? Has this printer done labels before and do they have any samples of work they have done for previous clients? What’s your budget? What’s the turnaround time for getting this out in the market? Set realistic expectations and do your homework. A screen printer doesn’t generally do labels and a flexographic printer rarely prints brochures. Check your prospect’s website, their portfolio of work and samples will show what they do best and if they are the right fit for your job. Printing is a competitive field, so many commercial printers have their own particular specialties and niche markets and they build a name for themselves in that field. You don’t have to settle for bargain basement quality printing when there is a bevy of qualified printers locally and nationwide that will quote your project at competitive pricing.

        In printing, your sales representative and art/production department can hold your hand and help/advise you on how to turn your vision into reality, but ultimately you are the creative director when it comes to your printing project. You must choose the right target audience, message, product and team to produce the product. The saying “Bad in, Bad Out” perfectly describes what happens to ideas that don’t translate well in print medium. Choosing a printer ill suited for your needs and cutting corners on your artwork/product concept will never create a high quality printed promotional piece, so work smart and plan ahead to get the best results for your business.

Bottle Necker on Pompeian Olive Oil

   In previous posts, we have talked about the importance of using effective display space to distinguish your brand from your competition. Depending on your budget, you still can achieve giant results at the point of sale without offering a coupon or emphasizing your product area with in store marketing material. Neckers or Bottle Tags hung on the neck of your product’s packaging can be a great way to attract the eye’s attention.

            Neckers truly speak one on one to your customer and grabs their attention.  It builds brand identity and allows extra room to further promote why the consumer should chose you over every other company on the shelf. Neckers pull the customers in with their bright colors and ad copy, its hard to resist reading a necker when comparing brands on the shelf. In this article I have included two excellent examples of the way neckers can be effectively in different ways, one promotional and one informative.

          Pompeian Olive Oil chose for their promotion an informative necker that educates the consumer about the health benefits of olive oil. The bright red necker pops on the shelf and creates a subtle call to action through brand education. Every olive oil on the shelf is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acid, but in the consumers mind, its just Pompeian Olive Oil. The necker helps build brand trust as consumers are invited to learn more about the benefits of olive oil at Pompeian’s website, building their credibility and also directing consumers to their website. Upon entering Pompeian’s website, consumers will receive more marketing messages concerning brand knowledge that empower the consumer to feel like they are making a responsible decision by choosing Pompeian Olive Oil over other olive oils. Pompeian did not have to use a sale or a special offer to draw consumers into their brand, but instead empowered the consumer through a necker that is informative and educates the consumer.

Sunlight Detergent Promotional Necker

1. Lack of Testing

You are about to make a significant investment for your business whether its 2,000 dollars or 3 million dollars to run this type of promotion. Coming up with a brilliant, cutting edge prototype is great, but it’s useless if it does not work in the market. For example, QR codes leading to special landing pages or PURLs are neat for running a promotion to Millenials and Gen Yers with smartphones, but would how would the same promotion fare with less tech savvy Baby Boomers or lower income demographics? Testing out several versions of your sweepstakes in different sample markets will give you concrete data and general projections for how your promotion will fare in the market. From that research, you can tweak your sweepstakes to provide optimal returns.

2. Making your Sweepstakes too Complicated

Customers should not have to jump through hoops of fire to gain entry into your sweepstakes or buy every single product in your product family. The idea is to generate buzz and sales, not turn people off to your sweepstakes. Your test results should show you if your sweepstakes is too complicated to bother with, but if you put yourself in the consumer’s shoes – what would entice you to enter? The prize in combination the means of entry should make it almost impossible for the customer to pass up your promotion.  

3. Not Making your Sweepstakes Compliant with Sweepstakes Law

If running a sweepstakes in the United States, make sure that your sweepstakes is compliant with federal and state sweepstakes law. Ever wonder why all sweepstakes you see have the disclaimer “No Purchase Necessary” with instructions on how to enter outside of paying? The Federal Trade Commission put sweepstakes laws in place to prohibit gambling and illegal lotteries outside of state run lotteries. Check individual state laws as well – if you are running a sweepstakes in Florida, Rhode Island or New York, depending on the cash amount, you must register the prize with the state. Don’t let your promotion bring potential scrutiny and legal ramifications on your department and your company. Big and small companies have been burned on these laws, so make sure your sweepstakes is reviewed by your compliance department or an outside legal consultant. Essentially, there is a lot of legal red tape concerning sweepstakes – make sure you are on top of those laws wherever the promotion is run.

4. Picking Prizes that don’t appeal to your Consumer Base

A sweepstakes can be a test of how well you as a company understand your customer base. If you are marketing to the mass affluent market (six figure annual income households), the chance to win  a free baseball cap  is not the right incentive for them to upgrade their account with your company. However, free season tickets to the ballet or a major sports team might be more appealing to a consumer base with more disposable income. Giving away a million dollars is not the only way to generate huge buzz, just make sure you are targeting the right demographic with your prize. Referring a friend to your company and then filling out paperwork might be too much of a hassle for a chance to win 100 dollars, but supersizing your drink order to get a cup with a peel and reveal sticker or a scratch off piece might be worth the extra 50 cents for that same 100 dollar prize.

5. Not Properly Advertising your Promotion

Seems like the most obvious mistake of all, but if you have been worrying about all the other elements of putting together a promotion, the actual promotion of the promotion might have slipped your mind. Is an in store promotion the best way to reach your customers or should it be mailed? Should it be solely based on social media platforms or is traditional media the way to go? These are issues that should be resolved during testing, just make sure you are open to listening to the results rather than being blinded by your own opinion or pressure to move forward with the promotion despite the warning signs. We all know that the market can surprise us, something we agonize over fails to garner huge response and something we hastily put together at 4:30 in the afternoon can become a screaming success. Make sure you are using the proper channels to best reach your target audience.

Electronic Pricers in France

In today’s market, technology reaches further into every aspect of our daily life every year.  Certain items and processes we would never dream of being mechanized or “smart” become the new standard within several years of their introduction.

 For example, I first saw self checkout machines in the 1990s in a designer organic food store in California. I did not pay much attention, because I thought it was a neat concept that never would be cost effective for an average store.  A year later, I was stunned to find rows of self checkout aisles in a small town discount grocery store in West Virginia. Today it’s very rare to go into a large chain grocery store or discount retail store that does not have a self checkout option for your convenience. Technology at the retail level is more than just bell and whistles if it gives solid ROI and improves your business operations dramatically.

          On the surface, one trend that appears to be another expensive restructuring is the introduction of electronic price tags in retail stores. Electronic pricers are sweeping the markets in Europe and Japan, as retailers are jumping on the bandwagon to make their stores’ pricing wireless. Even though on the surface it seems to be a frivolous use of computer chips and plastic, electronic pricers provide tangible benefits for large retailers. Electronic price tags increase profitability as it eliminates the direct costs of labor and material in the manual changes in price, as well as opening up new doors for running better promotions and stock control.

                A simple change in price on 500 different products in a store would waste multiple man hours on physically updating prices by hand, not to mention the percent of error that comes with manual change. With an electronic pricing system, a change in price can be accomplished with  virtually zero error in less than a minute. Personnel then can devote that time to improving customer service and other areas of retail that require their attention. These price tags also give retailers the unique advantage in running time based promotions in store. Retailers using electronic pricing can run “happy hour” promotions easily, as discounts on certain products only run for a short window of time. Time lapse promotions notably increase the number of impulse buys and reach a new target market of shoppers that do not respond to coupons or traditional means of in store promotions.

               Electronic pricers also have the bonus feature of displaying stock inventory as the software can sync in with your inventory system. On the floor, personnel can answer customers’ questions about stock items instantly through electronic price tags and cut down on wasted time and effort on inventory questions for both staff and customers. This new system of on site inventory control minimizes items out of stock on retail shelves, increasing customer satisfaction and in store efficiency.

               The benefits of an electronic pricing system streamlines a retailers’ day to day operations and increases profitability as it cuts down on errors, provides better stock control, runs better promotions and let personnel be more efficient in their job functions. Pricer, a leader in electronic pricing, asserts that retailers will see ROI benefits in a huge way within two years of purchase. While startup costs for an electronic pricing system are more expensive than a manual setup, the returns will be found in lower operating costs and increased profitability. Essentially, electronic pricing will pay for itself and then give the retailer  significantly lower costs and maintenance fees than a manual pricing system in the long term.

           While electronic pricing gradually infiltrates the American retail market, successes in Europe and Asia are not going unnoticed by large retailers. While electronic pricing is being used in smaller bontique retail shops at the moment, the interest and movement for advancement of electonic pricing systems are gaining in popularity. Technology will reinvent the way America shops once again.