part two: pop collateral — retail’s best friend
by John Siebenthaler

Powersports POP: Creating A Dealer Kit
The Magic Eight Ball says these are challenging times for retail in general and powersports in particular. Want to make lemonade? You’ll need a little sugar.

The process of converting foot traffic to register receipts is not an exact science. Price, marketability and need all factor into consumers thought processes as they kick the tires and light the fires.

How? POP. It’s all around in conventional retail and a big portion is taken up with what we refer to as collateral POP, a catchall category that’s pretty much made up of non-print, non-dimensional advertising.

Modern Materials Expand Possibilities
Even though it may be considered the bread and butter of instore marketing, it’s far from mundane. In fact, POP today offers some of the most exciting merchandising opportunities available for retailers and and manufacturers to connect with consumers.

With today’s high tech materials and production innovations, durable, versatile and colorful POP projects convey a sophisticated subliminal nudge at the checkout counter. They should be as much about media as it is about concept.

While print advertising’s a mass communications two-dimensional visual experience, POP’s ability to engage all the senses — sight, sound, smell, touch, and even taste — adds a big layer of versatility. The goal: to score another hit for modern marketing concepts by making the consumer debate an impulse purchase decision.

Design With A Purpose
Weak graphics mean your message probably won’t get much playback. Like the man said, "If you can’t say it, you can’t whistle it either."

Leaving design to chance, pushing commonplace conversion themes like ounces to grams and inches to millimeters instead of memorable product features and distinctions, is a potentially costly mistake — and a waste of valuable retail real estate.

Counter mats, commonly seen in the automotive aftermarket, are versatile, economical to produce, and when properly thought out popular with retailers. For our mat project (right) we paralleled the client’s print ad efforts in order to provoke a dialogue aimed at a cash register conversion.

Promoting The Brand
POP’s a versatile category of sales enhancements and very flexible in terms of media and purpose. Use POP for one-time promotions or long-term brand building strategy. Either way the customer’s more likely to remember your product and make a spontaneous purchase decision.

Most automotive dealer kits contain a variety of POP offerings, from dangles and wobblers to static cling posters and lo-tack mats. Structural elements might also be included. The final goal’s one of choice, flexibility and ease of setup and installation for the retailer.

Banners, Mats and Pop-Ups
Just like retail merchandise, POP materials compete for valuable real estate at the street level. For the powersports industry, the job’s a little tougher because of the wide disparity between retail environments, a generally smaller store footprint compared to big box parts outlets, and the overlap between aftermarket and OE-franchise parts.

On the other hand, odds are good there’s not much competition for your promotional space needs. Whatever aftermarket POP that’s out there — and that’s not much — is subject to challenge on content, quality and creative performance. More good news — most of the materials in common use today don’t require setters or detailers for set-up or installation.

What’s Right For Me?
The world of POP is one of dimensional art, saturated graphics and compelling design that breaks through the noise and clutter of the average retail environment. Incredibly versatile, there’s a different solution for every situation and that translates into significant relief for the doldrums manufacturers and retailers are facing today.

Is POP expensive? Prices run from modest to wow, especially if a marketer wants to take advantage of the emerging technologies now coming into use. True 3D graphics, Flash displays, multi-media electronics — even scent-driven subliminal aroma therapy concepts are finding success on the sales floor. The sky really is the limit.

As the pressure from online sellers mounts, POP just might be the ace in the hole for manufacturers who depend on the traditional brick and mortar physical environment to showcase their goods. Multi-outlet retailers can also take advantage of the POP concepts to freshen up showrooms and improve sell through.

Sales and Marketing: New Realities, New Strategies
As retailers and manufacturers scramble to read the tea leaves of the new economic reality, POP’s an important key in unlocking a practical sales solution. And regardless of the approach taken — brand support, product promotion or environmental enhancement — point of purchase marketing is a solid investment in consumer behavior modification. It’s always on, conveying a consumer impression of innovation, quality, value and trendiness: exactly what’s needed in these tubulent times.