Visual Merchandising Point-Of-Purchase Display

Disha Kaushal I FC V I M/CD/06/07 I NIFT Mumbai

Visual Merchandising is the art of combining product, environment and space into a stimulating and engaging display with a view to selling the merchandised product or service.Many elements can be used by the Visual Merchandising artist in creating their displays; color, lighting, space, product information, sensorial inputs such as smell, touch and sound as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations.

Point of Sale / Point of Purchase - POP DesignA high quality Point of Purchase Display will get products right in front of potential customers and help boost your retail sales. A professionally designed Point of Purchase Display can make all the difference between a potential customer purchasing the product or the product of competition.

Stage 1:Understanding what a Point-Of-Purchase Unit is?

Point of Purchase or point of sale (POS or PoS) can mean a retail shop, a checkout counter in a shop, or the location where a transaction occurs. More specifically, the point of sale often refers to the hardware and software used for checkouts -- the equivalent of an electronic cash register. Point of sale systems are used in supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, stadiums, and casinos, as well as almost any type of retail establishment.

A Point Of Purchase is a place where sales are made on a macro level. A PoP may be a mall, market or a city. On a micro level, retailers consider a PoP to be the area surrounding the cash counter where customers pay.In recent years, the point of purchase for products/services has become an important focus for marketers, because the consumers tend to make purchase decisions on very high margin.PoPs may be real as in the case of the brick and mortar store, or virtual as in the case of any electronic retailer that sells goods on the internet.

Stage 2: Choosing a brand

The moment this assignment was introduced I was clear that I wanted to make a PoP for a stationery shop, because I felt this was one domain which needed to be worked upon.So the brands that flashed in my head were;

•Faber Castel•Camlin•Parker•Reynolds

Faber Castel and Camlin already had containers to carry their merchandise and more over the brand image itself could not hold my attention.Reynolds catered to a mass market and working on an elaborate PoP design would only add to the cost and probably would not fetch such returns.Parker, on the other hand, was an extremely cult brand and had built up a huge market due to its credibility.So I zeroed down on Parker.

Stage 3: Brand ProfileTHE PARKER SPIRIT

When he started making pens George Parker had a simple yet ambitious aim - to make a better pen. And that single, simple vision has powered the Parker Pen Company ever since.From the first patented 'Lucky Curve' system, which dramatically reduced the leakage that was a hazard of early fountain pens, right up to the latest Duofold Esparto collection, Parker’s ongoing dynamic is one of quality without compromise. We’ve built a brand dedicated to passion for perfection, and driven by bold innovation. Our philosophy is to put customers and craftsmanship first - and it’s made Parker the most recognized Fine Writing pen brand in the world.Even today, every Parker pen is carefully checked at every stage of its manufacture. That’s a clear signal of our commitment to quality – and of our continuing belief in the vision George Parker held all those years ago.

Stage 4: Knowing The ClienteleOwing to the image that the brand has built for itself Parker pens are considered a sign of Reliability, Durability, Subtle Style and Perfection.Thus the target audience also comprises of mostly working men and women in the 20-60 age bracket.It is a stable pen which is believed to be passed on to different generations.It not only adds class to the beholder but also reflects stability of character.

Stage 5: Selection of KEY WORDS

SuccessfulPocket size luxuryUrbanClassyGeekyStableDurableStylishPerfectTraditionPanacheCorporateGraduationTeacherClassroomPoiseIntellectualLegendaryBlack

Stage 6: Choosing a ThemeThe theme for this assignment will be the GEEK GOD, because I feel that the contemporary youth as well as office –goers will be able to relate to it and will either find a part of them in the image projected or will aspire to live up to the image of the brand.

Stage 7: Sketches for the Point Of Purchase Display

The display would be a counter top display with space to accommodate a maximum of 5 pens as the look will be geeky and minimalistic.We were to come up with 10 ideas for the display…

1.Making a rotating PoP with cutouts of people in 4 different professions, viz a lawyer, a graduate, a professor and a businessman all with parker pens in their pockets.

2.To make a 3-level pen-stand with the Parker arrow jutting at the top, placing 4-5 pens on the stand and placing props like a graduation cap, a degree, a tie, a pair of geeky glasses.

3. Choosing a backdrop with equations written on it, in front of it placed a cut-out of Buddha’s silhouette under the banyan tree and a single parker pen showing only the clip of the pen.Tagline: Will you be the next Geek God?

Possible Backdrop

4. Making a cutout of caricature of a geek and making him hold a degree in one hand a parker pen in the other, and placing a Graduation cap on his head.

5.Making a setup of a blackboard with equations written in black, the other half is a green board with a duster and a parker pen attached to it.Tagline: Who will be the next Geek God?

6. A print on a sunboard showing an image of geek with the face cutout empty, background of a table in a library with loads of books.Tagline: The next geek god??

7. A setup of a table with a backdrop of the image shown below a the following things placed in front of it along with a parker pen.

8. A collage showing pockets of people in different professions with a parker pen in each pocket, and a tray jutting out with pens on display.Tagline: Parker … a Geek Essential

9. A mannequin wearing a similar looking t-shirt as shown below and a parker pen in the Pocket.

10. A graphic with text like ‘10 things that make you a Geek God’ and instead of the 10th point the image of a parker pen.

I finalized with a modified version of the 10th concept and reframed it as ‘when do you know that you are a geek god?’

When you see yourself sitting in the library for hoursWhen you start wearing boring formal clothesWhen you are studying hard, burning the mid-night lampWhen you have clean oiled hair with a side partingWhen mouse to you means only a user interfaceWhen binary language makes more sense to you than anything else.When your style statement comprises of your neckties and your geeky glassesWhen you prefer gadgets to gals/guysWhen the ratio between your EQ and IQ is 1:∞When you start penning your thoughts with…

Stage 8: Making the PoP

I decided to make the PoP display out of sunboard as it was convenient medium to work with and moreover such a PoP could be easily replicated in a retail environment . The PoP is wall hanging.

9”

9”

16”

16”

Made out of 4mm sunboard

Fixed through a cut and through coppercolored chains at an angle of 140°

Wall hanging

Wall support

Fixed through a cut

Chains at 140°

Hook to hang pens

Sketch of the final display with stick-notes and the mini manual

PICTURES OF THE DISPLAY

The effective cost of the display is about Rs. 600 including the merchandise, thus it can be easily replicated in a multi-brand outlet.Such a display can be easily placed in a•Stationary shop•Book store•Gift shops, eg. Archies•Supermarkets like Odyssey•Hypermarket•Discount stores•Specialty store selling only pens•Exclusive Brand Outlet

The exercise was interesting as we dealt with the actual materials used in the industry and also had a hands on experience with product designing.