Occasionally, though more and more, you see a point-of-purchase display that’s a bit on the minimalistic side. By that, we mean that while the design of the unit itself may be complicated and visually compelling, the actual product is minimized – in quantity. These are eye catching for a couple of reasons, but also bring up questions that only results can answer.

LESS: fewer actual units of the product will fit in the display. Maybe no more than a dozen, as in this example. When filled, it looks spectacular, so much that you almost HATE to remove one and upset the balance.
MORE: Does it cost more? Consumer thought: They must be pricey if they only have a few on display.
LESS: Is the retailer low on stock? Consumer thought: Should I buy it now?
MORE: When units do sell right off the display, is the retailer able to keep it filled? It looks BEST that way!
LESS: As with a seasonal item like the example below, you can create the impression that they are a limited edition offer. Buy now before they’re gone!
MORE: For a retailer that may not be ready to invest in a larger quantity, a display like this gives them an opportunity to see how popular the item might be.

If less does equal more in the world of POP displays, then you might want to try creating more of less!

It’s all in the design, when it comes to a point-of-purchase display, right? It may not be rocket science, but building a great POP display is all about the collaboration of experts in a variety of skilled trades that rely on each other to do their jobs right. Without the talents of each contributing to the final product, a display may never see the sales floor.

You know what you want the result to be, but do you know how to get there? It all starts with your expert product knowledge, combined with the know-how of a designer to incorporate the colors, images, consumer usability, materials and even sustainability into the mix. Your POP designer is the next visionary here. They know just enough about every part of the process to make it stunning, simple, and most importantly, possible.

Materials may be a jumping off point. You may know that you want to use a wire display because it accommodates the product packaging the best. Your designer knows how to combine it with litho graphics, molded urethane, acrylic, sustainable products and more. No two POP displays ever have to be alike – there are that many options.

The engineering of a POP display is equally important. Like a piece of art, every aspect needs to work together, the look, the construction, the accessibility and the ease of shipping and set-up.

Production is the next stop in the collaboration chain. A manufacturer brings together all these parts in the final step of building the display – sometimes building and shipping thousands around the world. Their expertise is using the right tools to create the final product efficiently and in mass quantity.

Next time you see a great display, remember the teamwork that created it. And remember that it all starts with you.

One way to approach the design of your new point-of-purchase display is a little game called “What’s Your Problem?” that can be applied to just about any business problem that requires ingenuity and group input. Gather 4-6 members of your staff – it can be anyone. If possible, include a member of your POP display design team, if you have a vendor selected. Start by giving each person a pad of sticky notes and a pen. You, the facilitator, stands by a white board. On the white board make a list across the top several of the known challenges that you need to solve with your new display. Be sure to have the product(s) on hand for study by your game players and, if relevant, current POP displays.

Choose a product challenge from the list. Set a timer for 3 minutes. When you say “Go,” each player writes down one solution per sticky note and hands it to you. The object is to write down anything that comes to mind, no matter how crazy, expensive, dated, been-there-done-that, eye-rolling dumb, etc. There are no limits or boundaries. You place the sticky notes on the board under the written challenge. (If you are having a hard time keeping up with the sticky notes coming at you, then your group is doing it right.)

Encourage creative thinking, never-tried-this-before thinking, and promote a no-idea-is-a-bad-idea atmosphere. When the time is up, read back the sticky notes. Give the writer of each note an opportunity to expand on the idea. Sometimes just a sliver of a great idea will come through and once the group grabs a hold of it, you may be surprised where it takes you. At the end of the first round, you’ll have dozens of ideas to apply to your design process and a reinvigorated team. Even if only one really great idea comes out of it, you’ll have a new POP display strategy that not only sells products, it solves problems.

Many factors go into designing a point-of-sale display. You’ve got so much to say, and only a few seconds to make an impact on a consumer. My personal favorite communication tool is the photograph – when done expertly, a photo conveys the exact meaning you hoped for and more, it’s vague enough to allow viewers to find their own connection to it, yet spot-on in just the right way. But enter the photo collage, which is the fusing together of multiple photos with the intent of impressing numerous themes (not to be confused with the artistic form of photomontage which is more like superimposing one image on another). You get the sense than someone got a little too happy with Photoshop or one of the many free collage tools available out there.

High impact doesn’t mean jazzing up a display with every possible descriptive photo. Your POP display is the display – it’s not the product. A really well designed piece will appear to be about just one thing but really conveys depths of meaning: quality, value, prestige, comfort, satisfaction, any number of things that make a consumer decide to purchase.

Take any photo that has emotional appeal and see how many meanings you can assign to it. Here’s an example, a little boy with a handful of caterpillars:

What’s this photo capable of selling? Kids clothes, hair products, hand sanitizer, gardening products, camera film? With the right appeal (and irresistible charm helps, too) a high impact photo can launch your design ideas. Some of the most historically successful products went to market with a simple, high impact message, just take a look back at the century plus of Coca-Cola ad campaigns!

Rosie is the nice cashier at my local grocer who had to open her Express Lane this morning when the store became unexpectedly busy. Unfortunately, she was hindered by two things: two very large, difficult to manipulate displays which had been used to close off the lane. (Yes, this is how merchants may opt to use your POP display). One, a metal and plastic spinner, overloaded with batteries, several of which went flying off the pegs as she attempted to drag it across the floor. The second display was wheeled and looked like my toddler son’s race car bed–but only from the side view. From the front it looked like a weird red plastic box with two sets of black ears. It held a vast selection of popular toy cars. Despite the fact it was wheeled, Rosie had great difficulty moving it because it was also nearly the size of my son’s race car bed.

As a casual observer/customer, I noticed several things were wrong with these displays. First, they just weren’t proper for use in the checkout lane. The toy car display was obnoxiously large, better suited for a toy store or big box retailer than a grocery store. With half the width, an eager child would still ply away from his parent to snag a few of these 89 cent beauties. Plus, the delightful car design was wasted on the fact that when it was not blocking the lane, it was in line with the battery spinner, so that you never saw the sports-car profile.

The battery spinner was crammed with batteries, and not just the brand on the spinner’s full color signage. It had clearly been dragged across the floor a few too many times and, due to the sheer number of available pegs, appeared to have become a repository for batteries of all brands from pricey to bargain.

User-friendly design means customer-friendly, but also merchant-appropriate. Help keep your displays looking great and ensure they will be used properly by considering the scenarios. I’m sure Rosie would love to tell you a few things, too.