Promotional merchandising, especially in-store displays are known to be super effective and beneficial to company who implements it. However it is not uncommon for businesses to implement ineffective promotional products and bad in-store displays. Not successfully implementing an in-store display can result in limited benefits and can even negativity effect a brand image and here are 2 examples from a recent trip to China Duty Free Stores.

There can be many examples of ineffective POS displays, this example from Deau Cognac was spotted after passing though a local duty store. Here the Cognac brand are giving away a Purple Trolley each time you buy their drink.  However although you would generally consider a gift with purchase a positive, there many faults that undermine this promotion.

 

Bad In-store Merchandising

Bad In-store Merchandising

I focus here on colour association. The colour purple has no general association with the cognac brand, though this drink brand does feature purple.   Without other marketing information on display consumer will struggle with brand recognition or awareness. After the purchasing process and when consumers are using the gift due to the random colour selection theres no association to relay the gift back to cognac. This is a simple yet common mistake businesses make that can easily be corrected.  Packaging, bags, bottles and POS need to match and here they did not all match well.

gwp merchandiseDewars are also offering a trolley bag in the store but the positioning of the trolley next to bottles still does not look great.  I could make out the Sale sign, but not the logo of the bag, having to bend down to check the bag and the logo which potentially could result in consumers missing the gift. Additionally customer present and future trends are moving towards more innovative and creative gifts, whereas this can be considered if not done effectively a saturated promotional item and in this case has little association with sprit drinks

In order to improve this in-store merchandising, a link between the drink and the bag is needed, possible suggestions are placing the bottle inside the bag with additional decorations. Furthermore showcasing an innovative design feature or lining to draw in consumers and so they can identify with the brand, looking to highlight the benefits of the gift.  Alternatively POS displays work far more effectively for small promotional products in order to frame them and so they are not lost on the shelves.

Ultimately bad in-store marketing should not be the norm and as a result companies, particularly in the duty -free market should invest more time, money and effort into their promotional product strategy and design in order to get the most powerful results.

Whilst all this blog is generally negative on Trolley bags, here is another picture of the Dewars Trolley bag showing just how visible it is in the store.

bad in store merchandising

in store merchandising

Here are some other blogs on the use of trolley bags for promotions.  They do work, but some work better than others due to display location, advertising etc..   Which do you like best?

If you’re interested in this article and would like to know about effective promotional products please visit our Promo Gift blog.