Point of sale display

 

Today we live in the world of discounts and offers, we say that the Indian consumer is price sensitive and value conscious but there are so many instances, where due to the sea of clutter within the retail outlet, a lot of products fail to be noticed. More over in today’s everyday low pricing retail scenario with growing emphasis on private labels, where every second product has a discount, there is a need for companies to set their offerings apart.

The idea is to get noticed.

In the past 5 years, the marketing environment has changed dramatically. One of the most important changes is that over 70% of purchase decisions are now made at the point of sale. The challenge is how to influence the decision at that point. It is at these points of purchase that a customer faces the product and a sale is initiated and closed.

With India rising, the outlook of Indians is changing too. They are willing to experiment and try out new products. Capturing this change presents a new opportunity for FMCG players. Having witnessed robust growth over the last couple of years, up gradation from unbranded to branded goods (packaged grocery, household cleaning products), demand of nascent categories (breakfast cereals, hair colors) and health and hygiene products are considered to be the growth drivers.

However there are certain issues most companies need to address, with the rising cost of differentiation and product innovation to keep the consumer happy and with the growth in organized retail it is become that much tougher for FMCG companies to compete with similar products, also as reports suggest, 25-40 per cent of consumers switch brands at the point of sale driven by display or promotion, this new trend has given the FMCG players many sleepless nights trying to find newer ways to hook on to that consumer when he passes by the product.

With the growing strength of the retail sector within India, (estimates suggest there are as many as 5.5 retail outlets per 1000 people), as well as the growing consumer strength it’s only a matter of time where each and every company focuses on spending more and more of its advertising budget within a store, where the final decision of purchase is taken. Today it’s not uncommon for a company to spend anywhere between 20- 50% of its budget in retail activation or point of sale advertising.

Also it is important to note that since a lot of these in-store promotions aid in impulse purchase decisions, it is proven that such activities or in store campaigns not only increase the sales of the product but the category as a whole too, thus essentially adding value to both the company, the retail chain as well as the final consumer, making him aware of the discounts and offerings within each store.

Also with growing media costs, intense competition coupled with straining margins for retailers who are slowly pushing their private labels so as to get potentially higher returns, it is very important for companies to break through the clutter and be proactive in influencing the consumer at the point of purchase. Thus the in store advertising medium is all set to help new brands and product launches who may not have the muscle to go through mass campaigns.

Thus what we see today is a series of customized media vehicles for below the line retail activation (sales promotion) activities and campaigns, to successfully attract and retain the consumer by influencing his purchase decision within the store and adding to the retailer revenue by renting out the retail space for such campaigns.

Gone are the days of using old card board and corrugated box displays and handling out fliers, today we have kiosks that push the sale and plastic stands that help stock the product as well as act as point of sale advertising space. Today we go a step further and speak of a series of products that help us reach the final consumer

 

 

 

 

 

The Product offered today include

 

1.       Senso sheets

 These are strategically placed at the entrances to the stores. This positioning is a powerful promotional platform as all consumers obviously move past this area on entering and leaving the store.

2.       Product displays

 The design of this media is to accentuate the position of the product by placing a display perpendicular to the product facing the consumer.

3.       Info dispensers

The info dispenser attracts shoppers with bold colors and graphics. It adds value to brand purchases by rewarding them with product information, recipes, rebates, premium offers, sweepstake forms and other non-coupon benefits!

4.        Coupon dispensers

 A coupon dispenser should SELL, not just dispense, so we crown ours with a Shelf Ad to showcase brands.

5.       Freezer catchers

The design of this media is to accentuate the position of the product by placing a display perpendicular to the product within the freezer, mainly used to promote frozen foods and beverages.

6.       Area highlighter

The area highlighter aims to frame large product sections, groups of products or an entire brand family so as to highlight a new product launch or special zone. The unit is a combination of two Category Banners, one base and one Header Board.

 

 

 

 

Flogos and possibilities

So the world is changing bit by bit and rules are being rewritten, same is the case with advertising. For what it’s worth advertisers have completely saturated all available spaces and mediums including billboards, displays, standees, building facades etc. to such a great extent that today there are only a few handful messages that a consumer notices cutting thru all the clutter.

But what about the free space up above, to that most would say blips and balloons, well we do use them as advertising mediums but tell me how many of us remember a real cool blip or balloon ha, maybe something in an eye catching colour or maybe even a new shape, well to be honest i haven’t, so being a normal individual on the street, can safely say they haven’t made such a serious impact.

That’s where flogos help,

Now so what are these flogos and how can i use them efficiently in marketing a product……

Well they are made of nothing but a soapy formulation or air and helium and can be made in various sizes and shapes, interesting ha well not only that they can be made to fly at particular heights and have a life ranging from a few min’s to an odd hour, none the less think about it, you look in the sky while waiting for your turn to enter the stadium or movie theatre or just while you are strolling around the street and you see a cloud in the shape of logo, it’s bound to catch your attention isn’t it.

That’s where this medium can be used for advertising, maybe a bat hovering above the next cricket tri series or the next IPL match or maybe a large Ganesha during the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival or say a big M for McDonalds, well the possibilities are endless.

That gets me thinking about another aspect- Ambush marketing

So for all those who don’t quite understand what i  am talking about. Well ambush marketing is simply someone taking credit for an event which they haven’t sponsored or have nothing to do with.

Like the Olympic at Atlanta in 1996, where most people thought that Nike was the official sponsor of the games due to the fact that Nike was plastered on all the billboards around the stadium and had erected towers just outside the stadium to mislead people into believing that there were indeed associated with the games, whereas truth be told the official sponsors of that event were Addidas.

So what do the associations do to prevent such fraud, well they impose rules, such as  blocking all billboard sites near a stadium so that no other company other than the official sponsors get any presence and well not allowing people wearing particular logos on them or consuming particular soft drinks within the stadium premises and the likes. Well all that is understandable but how does an association stop a company from releasing their very own flogos hundreds of feet above.

However coming back to flogos well i think of them as very interesting because they could be used as efficient marketing tools specially targeting children, remember our days as kids where we looked up at the sky searching for a familiar shape within the array of clouds only this time they will see their favourite brand of chocolate or even a superhero promoting the new batman movie hovering above them.

Well truth be told flogos do come across as a very efficient outdoor medium to promote an event or even a festival, due to their short life they may have their limitations none the less in terms of visibility they would def do a swell job.

Well yes to end on a high note, for all the environment friendly people out there flogos are organic and thus non-polluting.

 

world thru a prism

World thru a prism

Left to its faith a system proceeds towards disorder, a simple yet classic rule in physics

You tend to wonder if society at large shares the same faith and by that I do not mean actions following war or environmental damage, it’s basically the moral fiber that binds a rational, forward and liberal society.

A friend once mentioned that media is a reflection of the society we live in and if that were true then are we so blinded by the basic disorder within the system that we are constantly being subjected to news flashes about some kissing controversy or the upcoming wedding dates of Mrs. Rai., Rather than the daily happenings’ around us. Is media just representing and satisfying the sensibilities of society or did they miss the bus this time around.

Are we real ready to teach sex education in schools or do we like always hide behind the banner of culture.

To be honest I disagree that media is a representation of society, a representation of a section of society yes but not the whole, but then it just doesn’t add up, why the same stupid senseless soaps, the same family disputes and generation leaps, where did we go wrong-by we I meant people who share the same line of thought.

They say a vacuum needs filling is that the reason or is it some thing deeper like ignorance, division in society, sex, class divisions, race differences etc..

The answer is rather simple, it’s us not voicing our opinion loud enough and thus are conveniently left unaccounted `for with respect to everything ranging from condemnation of violence to corruption to practices that we may consider archaic.

Has our apathy cost us the loss of what they call the forth pillar of democracy.

That’s brings me to a more interesting piece of news that I happened to chance upon concerning Mohammad Afsal the terrorist convicted in the parliament attack case, while reading up on the case I came across something that stuck me like a sore thumb.

To begin with ill be honest am not really bothered about him being convicted regardless of the fact that the officer who was handling that case was held for bribery charges and that he had no legal counsel, but what was really disturbing was the judgment by the supreme court which said that “despite not finding him directly involved in the crime and accepting that he was not involved with the carrying out of the attack at least in terms of any direct evidence, but keeping in mind the nature of the crime and so as to satisfy the collective conscience of society he should be hanged”

Now am I the only one who finds this weird, all along I thought they needed hard evidence to nail you……..

Collective conscience is a very open ended term to me

Well in that case and in keeping with the fear psychosis the respective governments churn up to keep their electoral ballots ticking it could be justified that the war in Iraq or the extermination of Jews by the Nazis were all to satisfy the collective conscience of a part of society one way or the other isnt it……………………………..

a simple life

it is a fact that our genes have indeed divided much of our human race in terms of sex. colour, fitness, intelligence, looks and a host of such other feature and forced some of the most complicated decisions on us.questions that arise invariable due to advances in technology and knowledge, for ex- if we were to find the genetic cause of all disease ranging from diabetes to cancer to Alzheimer’s and to obesity and if we could fix the discrepancies and be a disease free world would be then truly start as equals.

the answer is no,
we would still be divided on the basis on economic standards and what would truly happen now is that the world would be further divided based on the rich choosing designer babies who per say would be tailor made to succeed in life and the poor well lets leave them outta the discussion for now.

but then the question with respect to designer babies is that who decides what normal or standard is.is being white better than being brown or black, is being tall something that guarantees instant success.

honestly colour and certain characteristics are based and adapted on the immediate surroundings we live in, so how does one choose a perfect baby.some say choosing designer babies is bad and against humanity, but to be honest we all somehow follow it, we all choose the schools children go to, the food they eat, the things they learn so truly what is so inhuman or bad about parents choosing a better life for the child by being say cancer free.

the complicated decision here is based on the fact that what then is truly considered good, where does this perfect life choice stops.is cancer bad, am sure we all agree it is and yes, its justified that a child if could, should be born without it, then what about diabetes and obesity – is diabetes bad, what about people who with diabetes still lead a healthy life,choosing against it would just be racist, as people do live a very satisfying life with diabetes.

however it does compromise an individual in someways, and if we target anything that makes a person less compatible so as to simplify our life, then what is the perfect height and weight is the question, that favours human survival.who says having a higher iq makes you more successful.

lets take this discussion a little deeperdisease testingthe common opinion that stems against it is based on the fact that it could lead to a bias during certain stages in life such as jobs, choosing a bride or groom based on the fact that we know the genetic basis of a person and chances of him having a disease or falling ill.

thus potential employers and suitors would choose people who have a more suited genetic makeup. so clearly that should not be mandatory as it would create a Major rift in society which would be much more powerful as compared to the caste and color based differences that exist today.

however if we apply the same scenario in terms of certain other jobs id have my doubts if it is indeed such a bad idea, let me explain, for example, a pilot flying a plane if more prone to a certain condition that could endanger the lives of the other passengers, would you not say that such testing would indeed be justified, now in the same way a person driving a car, working with explosives, leading expeditions all in someway would be a potential harm to others as they are responsible for the lives of people around them. thus we could justify the need for genetic testing to ascertain if a person has a chance of failing during such an event.

well as i said life does throw up some complicated questions at us, the solution is a personal choice i believe, which is what being an individual is all about.

stem cell banking

With advances in science and technology, today we find ourselves at new crossroads where at times we are faced with crucial decisions, that may some day give a us a new lease of life, stem cell banking is just another one of those crucial decisions that every person should be aware of.

So what exactly are these STEM CELLS
Stem cells are the master cells responsible for producing all the mature cells in our blood and immune system. Right from the white cells that fight infection, the red cells that carry oxygen, to the platelets that promote clotting.

‘Cord blood banking’ as the name suggests is the harvesting of these stem cells from the residual blood obtained from the umbilical cord following child birth. Research proves that this cord blood is a rich source of stem cells and by far the safest and the best. Once the child is delivered the cord is clamped and then by inserting a needle in the umbilical vein the blood from the cord is collected and preserved, this absolutely safe non invasive procedure takes just five minutes and does not in any way harm either the mother or the child.

More over with advances in stem cell research, there are promising results in terms of therapy with regard to diseases like Parkinson’s, Diabetes, Heart Attacks, Spinal Cord Injuries, Muscular Dystrophy, other then the 70 plus diseases including the Acute and Chronic Cancers, Anemia’s, Thalassemia’s and Immune system disorders that are a proven and well established cure today.

Further more these stem cells could also be seen as a security cover for the entire family as these cells have a 25% chance of matching a sibling and a good chance of matching both the parents since these cells share the same genetic tree.

Another interesting fact is that stem cell research is in no way a new field with stem cell treatment dating back to 1988 where the first treatment with stem cells was carried out, however with the kind of effort and research put into the field today it is evident that the world at large is moving from the primitive drug based therapy to the more natural cell based therapy model as this is absolutely safe and has far less adverse effects.

So from cardiac myopathy and ischemic heart disease to the diseases affecting the nervous system like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s they all fall under the scope of treatment with the help of STEM CELLS.

The next question being why store these stem cells when we have bone marrow?

To answer this question lets look at a few advantages of using or storing stem cells form the umbilical cord Research has shown that survival rates double when a person’s own cord blood or a family member’s cord blood is used, as compared to using an unrelated donor sample from a public stem cell bank. Also since cord blood is a non invasive procedure as compared to bone marrow that has to be aspirated from the person’s body it is much easier to obtain.

These cells also have a greater chance of being a match as compared to cells form the bone marrow as these are naïve and immunologically immature. More over the rate of rejection in transplants with stem cells obtained from the bone marrow are much higher.

These are just a few of the reasons why cord blood stem cell banking has taken such a forefront the world over.