Is the secret ingredient to lifting sales the know how to combine friendship with experiential engagement?  Taking these factors into consideration, can point of purchase displays provide personality and interactive theatre whilst retaining their practicality and ROI? 

Creative Instore Solutions BIC lighter, which won the coveted 2011 POPAI ANZ semi-permanent display of the year Award, did just this, boosting sales by 30% within 6 months in Australia.  Designed using the product’s iconic styling, strong brand identity and bright colours, the units aimed to boost presence in store and drive sales (both impulse and planned purchases).

“These units delivered strong brand positioning within a cluttered retail environment and maximised our small footprint to drive impulse sales that exceeded our initial expectations,” said Juliana Kawakami, Brand manager for BIC lighters.

The design, a total success, is now being used in other regions of the BIC Company.  BIC Europe rolled out more than 3,500 units last July in their summertime and has just placed an additional order to take visibility a step further.

Iconic Lighter Brand BIC®

Source: Journal of Marketing At Retail – A Global Resource of Research and Reviews 2011.

Happy reading…

In 2011 we hit our 1 millionth display unit, tallied our cumulative global and Australian Award wins to 50 and celebrated global expansion with new project wins in North America, UK and Europe.

Of course this would not be possible without your help and I’d like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your ongoing support and commitment last year, which was the reason for our exciting 2011 portfolio.
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For point of purchase this is a golden insight, as it quantifies how instore theatre through innovative and engaging design, can capture customers and directly contribute to increasing sales.  From experience working with the likes of Garmin, Treasury Wines, Kellogg’s and Schweppes we’ve received positive feedback regarding increased sales due to effective point of purchase display units. However, this new research allows us to quantify opportunity and amplifies the need for attractive, interactive displays which slow consumer instore traffic as well as managing instore pathways to achieve optimum sales.

Source: ‘The path to purchase’  Jan 2012 | By Tim Phillips

On a broader sales front, now halfway through the financial year, we have hit overdrive and sales year-to-date are on track to deliver target revenue for June 2012.  Also encouraging is the new business and strengthening client relationships which continue to drive CIS.  Further to this we are in discussion with major confectionary companies, bicycle manufacturers and blue chip FMCG brands.

Of course this would not be possible without the help of each and every one of you and I would like to thank you for your hard work, dedication and support over the last 12 months. The camaraderie between our clients, the CIS team, suppliers and all stakeholders not only make it a joy to come to work but is responsible for driving innovation and engaging and relevant POP solutions every step of the way.

Below is an exciting portfolio of 2011 highlights.

Creative Instore Solutions 2011 Media Highlights

Deane Hubball

Group Chief Executive Officer

We have shown our support by making a donation that will provide for 50 long desks for the primary school, seating up to 150 students.

Every child, youth and adult of concern to UNHCR has the right to education. UNHCR, with its obligation to provide international protection and find durable solutions for refugees and other people of concern under its mandate, faces the challenge to ensure the fundamental right to education. Without an education, children, including adolescents, are less likely to be healthy, grow strong, be safe or fully participate in their communities. Without an education, communities are less likely to achieve their other development goals.

What caught my eye when seeing the story was that the original project was developed to support only 200 children, and now has demand from over 2,000 children who have made their way to the camp unaccompanied or have become separated searching for a better future for themselves.  The imagery showed a playground of dirt and a jungle gym set smaller than the one my children have in our backyard.  We can make a difference for these children and their future.

With this thought, we’d like to wish you a fabulous festive season and Happy Holidays.  All the best for the New Year!

Best wishes from CIS Europe, Australia, China and USA.

Georgie Torrens

Marketing Manager, Creative Instore Solutions

Holiday hours

CIS Australia will close at 12pm Fri 23 Dec and re-open on Mon 9 Jan

CIS Europe will close at 12pm Fri 23 Dec and re-open on Tues 3 Jan

CIS China / Hong Kong will only be closed on Mon 2 Jan.

Children at school in the Mai-Aini Refugee Camp, Northern Ethiopia.

Instore theatre is a point of differentiation for retailers in a landscape of changing circumstances, mainly structural – such as online shopping, international shopping and changing consumer desires and habits, all creating an environment of ‘Future shock’ for many of our retailers.

Matching online prices and discounting  promotions can’t be the only differentiating factor for our retailers.  Inspiring consumers and adding value to the shopping experience, is even more important than before as competition escalates.

Here is an experience I shared recently, Christmas shopping with my son.

Yesterday I took my son Christmas shopping.  We were looking for outdoor Christmas decorations and he has been desperate to go for three weeks.  I was in a hurry (on my lunch break), I had work clothes on and everything was dusty, so I just wanted to get out of there.  However, my son was desperately seeking the ultimate Christmas decoration and searched high and low checking out everything.    Finally we were in the check out queue when he pointed out to everyone who would listen (children only have one volume when they speak), that this wasn’t a great Christmas shop.  “The people working here should be dressed up in Elves outfits and the floor should have fake snow and they should clean the decorations a little”, he said.  Shoppers young and old want an experience – not just a transaction!!!  I don’t think he will be in such a rush to go back next year.

Entertaining and engaging display units will attract customers and encourage emotive purchasing.  Last Sunday I was at Pacific Fair in QLD and took this photo of a window display that did exactly that. I loved it, because it caught my attention and instantly told me what I could buy!

Georgie Torrens

Marketing Manager, Creative Instore Solutions

Oroton at Pacific Fair, QLD

Functional and engaging display units can act as the ‘the silent sales person’ for you.

“We know that people research before they shop these days (the zero moment of truth (ZMOT)), so the key is to create informative theatre that will build confidence with the brand. A successful display unit will also attract and engage shoppers so that even if they had a pre-determined consideration, with the right approach you can swing their purchasing decision,” said Steve Howell, MD, Creative Instore Solutions.

“Following this line of thought ‘the second moment of truth’ (SMOT) is product trial, usage and experience so your displays should find a way to fulfil consumer engagement without the need for immediate sales support,” continued Steve Howell.

An example of a successful display is the Garmin GPS unit which originally rolled out for the Fathers Day sales period, has again been rolled out this December, extending into additional Harvey Norman and Dick Smith Stores.

The minimal contemporary lines of the Garmin units create an immediate ‘off-location’ end cap hero for retailers. Most importantly, the display has provided the sales team with a presentation platform that has been creating interest and converting sales.  Customers can touch and feel and walk through the product offering in a secure manner.

Strong Garmin branding, contemporary design, uncluttered product information, well fitted, modular and secure units were all factored into the development of the display. As well as ease of installation and updating for sales staff.

Work your dollar harder: next time you purchase a display unit, employ a silent sales person as well.

Creative Instore Solutions' endcap display for Garmin

In a recent meeting with a global merchandising procurer, the demands of local retail became the challenge for execution.  How do you own real estate without blatant branding? The retailer, who loved the display, expressly barred any recognisable graphics or logo placement but we still wanted to cut through and create a connection with prospective customers.  Together, with our client, we agreed on slight modifications which would utilise economies of scale on the former investment, but which also allowed us to localise the point of purchase display to meet the demands of the retailer.  This slight modification saw us rework the basic framework to remove all logo placement but retain the use of highly recognisable brand colours.  The final result was a success for both parties.

In this current climate a united vision is vital but the need to understand local markets and tailor point of purchase design and merchandising in alignment with cultural, technical, sustainable and retail mandates is the tipping point to achieve sales.

Our design team places a great deal of effort on developing globally applicable designs.  Integral to the design is functionality – so we create displays that can hold various sized products and can be modified during production to execute solutions for local markets, with their local idiosyncrasies.

We pride ourselves in being able to provide both global and local solutions via its global footprint and in-market presences in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America.

Deane Hubball

Group Chief Executive Officer

The US economy is moving through challenging times and on average disposable income has reduced, but consumers are still spending $600 to $700 on an ipad.  On my recent travels through the US, Europe, UK and Asia I met with clients, prospective partners and industry peers to explore the current demands of, and opportunities for, point of purchase. Meeting with Apple Macintosh clarified two simple messages ‘innovate to fuel consumer demand’ and ‘zig while others zag’.  The question for point of purchase is what are you selling and how do you present it?

Great product – and by this I mean relevant, timely and cost effective – coupled with the theatre of sales, is a recipe for success. How this is achieved is driven by the organisation’s culture.  Your people’s attitude will make or break you. There are two approaches, seize the opportunity for innovation or join the bandwagon and moan and groan about the state of the economy.

Success, from ideation to sales is a mindset which Apple has brilliantly mastered. This mindset whether applied to product innovation or innovation at point of purchase is a driver for commercial success. At Creative Instore Solutions we live by this same mantra, ‘innovate to fuel consumer demand’, which is why we have received over 50 industry awards including numerous global awards recognising our expertise across point of purchase.  In these tough times, it will also be our backbone which drives innovation in design to create customised solutions which achieve incremental sales for our clients.

Deane Hubball

Group Chief Executive Officer

CIS demonstrates innovation by bringing cold drinks to the highly sort impulse purchase area, using cooling gel packs in this design first

Creative Instore Solutions was awarded Silver at the recent POPAI UK & Ireland Awards in the category ‘Grocery & General Merchandise – Permanent Display’ for their point of purchase display for Kellogg Marketing & Sales Co (UK) Ltd.

The display housed Single Serve Portion and Loose cereal tubs for sale across multiple target routes including education centres, hotels, quick service restaurants and universities.

Capitalising on the drive for quick access to nutritious and healthy snacks on-the-go, the modular units were designed to help retailers increase sales for self consumption, single serve and loose breakfast cereal at different consumer purchase points. The modular units housed some of Kellogg’s most iconic brands including: Crunchy Nut, Fruit ‘n’ Fibre, Cornflakes, Special K and Coco Pops. The units catered for both counter top and
shelf opportunities within the singular tray and tub design.

“The small footprint combined with the progressive feel to the design gave us a real point of difference in the trade. These factors and the flexibility of the system resulted in an extremely positive reception by our customers,” said Caitlin Alsop, Category Operations Executive, Kellogg Company.

“This award win is testament to the excellent work of our team at Creative Instore and to our collaborative working relationship with Kellogg’s,” added Steve Howell, MD, Creative Instore Solutions.