The P.O.P. Challenge
The Challenge for P.O.P. is to be noticed
One of the most demanding areas of the POP market place is permanent cosmetic merchandising. Brands may have hundreds of different SKU's (stock keeping units) with frequent introduction of new products and componentry. Customers want to test the products without contamination, so dirt and grime are prime enemies. Cosmetic merchandising is also subjected to the most unbelievable consumer abuse
The merchandising unit has only seconds in which to create interest and persuade the customer to explore the brand further. The importance of the instant imagery that the merchandising creates is therefore hard to overstate. This will not be achieved by the product alone. In those critical few initial moments, the merchandising unit is the brand!
Reflecting the brand imagery can be achieved in a number of ways, including lighting, colour, shape, graphics and choice of material. A good example is the unit we designed for the Karen Millen range of cosmetics in Boots. The back-wall colour and shelf down-lighting created an immediate snapshot illustration of the corporate brand imagery, encouraging further investigation. By the same token our unit for Maybelline in Superdrug used a multiplicity of graphics, some of which rotated in addition to being illuminated, simulating the hustle and bustle of the brand's New York heritage.
The major national retailers of cosmetics are becoming more assertive in deciding the shape, size and colour of cosmetic furniture placed in their stores. Increasingly, it is 'one look' for all. It is therefore absolutely vital that the internal features of the units reflect the individuality of the brand image. If this is not achieved, the cosmetic houses may find that their brand does not stand out in an environment where all of the exterior merchandising carcasses are the same for every one and valuable merchandising monies are not well spent.