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It’s one thing trying to design point-of-purchase material that

will grab a shopper’s attention in store. But when it has to appeal to

different consumers from two completely different age groups and with

few common interests, it makes the job that little bit harder.

Such is the challenge facing POP specialists in the toy sector, which

have to consider the child, who ultimately benefits from the purchase,

and the parent, who pays for it.

So how do they meet it?

’Certainly, compared with other sectors in which we operate, the toy

market can be a little more complicated,’ admits Patrick Bell, chief

executive of POP solutions company, Coutts Retail Communications. ’You

have to understand where the balance of power lies and the different

things that motivate parents and children.’

Perhaps not surprisingly, Bell finds that children gravitate toward

communications and mechanics which appeal to their sense of cool.

Parents, however, look for value-for-money, educational and/or skill

development capabilities, repeat use value and the ability to keep the

child occupied.

Bell admits that reconciling the two is not always easy: ’Some of the

issues which motivate parents are not easy to communicate via POP

material,’ he says, ’other than via the brand name, which parents

already feel comfortable with, so it’s important to make sure that this

is highly visible on the displays.’

Nigel Petty, chairman of Evans Petty Associates, concludes that the toy

sector clearly exposes the obvious conflict between the needs and

desires of children and those of their parents. But he still does not

believes that the sector differs greatly from any others in which the

company operates.

’The issues are exactly the same,’ he says. ’The most important elements

are position, position and position, because no matter how good the

merchandising material you produce, if it’s stuck behind a pillar, no

one is going to see it.’

Petty claims he is surprised that more toy brands have not become

involved in category management and space planning exercises in store to

help retailers sell more products.

’Although it’s nice producing the creative work, it has to be

practical,’ he says. ’The walkways have to be correct so that people are

pulled through the store. Ultimately what you come up with must show a

return on the investment.’

As toys become ever more sophisticated, it in turn makes it harder for

the more conventional toys to grab the consumer’s attention.

Classic with a twist

’The problem for conventional toys is that they are not as exciting as

interactive toys,’ says Petty. ’How do you compete with something which

produces theatre?’

This was the problem Petty had to resolve when asked to help his client,

Lego, come up with a POP solution for a window display in Hamley’s toy

shop in London’s Regent Street last autumn.

The focus of the display was Lego’s UFO kit, part of the company’s

’Space’ range and the client wanted a solution which would create a

sense of excitement.

The answer Evans Petty came up with was a unit which projected an image

of the finished UFO model four feet into space, through the window, in

such a way that the image hovered above the heads of the crowds passing

by outside to their great bemusement, ’particularly those who had had a

drink,’ says Petty.

The image was projected day and night throughout the six weeks of the

promotion, and was considered a tremendous success in terms of getting

across the message that Lego still offered fun and excitement for

children.

At POP and retail merchandising agency RTC, marketing executive

Juan-Carlos Jeffrey is also conscious of the increasing complexity of

toys and believes it is having an impact on the design of merchandising

material.

’The more complicated toys become, the harder POP material has to work

in explaining what’s going on,’ he says.

’I think if you look at the POP material for some of the more

sophisticated toys you can buy, particularly video games, there’s a lot

more information explaining how it works and how to set it up than there

ever used to be.’

According to Jeffrey, there’s something else at work too. ’There’s

always going to be the nag factor,’ he says, ’and a certain amount of

advertising and POP material is obviously aimed at creating it.’

RTC’s US headquarters has been involved in a number of award-winning

projects with Toys ’R’ Us in America. One project involved designing a

Monopoly Wall for Hasbro with the aim of strengthening the games section

in the store.

Between the retailer and the manufacturer, RTC project-managed and

co-ordinated the POP display design.

Its other project with the games retailer was on a temporary display

called the Batman feature shop. It was selling merchandise for the

feature film. Toys ’R’ Us has introduced a new store concept in the US

which includes an area specifically designed to cater for short-term

promotions.

Jeffrey says Toys ’R’ Us - both in the US and in the UK - is

particularly good at POP because of its total focus on the games

sector.

One set of products that generally have a head start on other toys are

those consisting of merchandising linked with a blockbuster film.

Coutts has recently been involved in a promotion for Tesco centred on

the release of the film Godzilla.

Film spin-offs

The company was commissioned to create a promotional hot-spot which

would pull together a range of licensed Godzilla toys supplied by a

number of different manufacturers. Not only did the unit need to appeal

to the target age group and meet the functional demands created by

differing pack sizes and types, Coutts also had to conform to the strict

pre-release restrictions on the use of film imagery.

While this minimised the scope for creativity, Bell says that the highly

branded presentation of the product in an off-shelf, high-traffic

position, will help to ensure that both the toy manufacturers and the

retailer maximise the opportunities that the investment in the licence

has created.

So while designers may target the parents who control the purse strings,

there’s no doubt that pester power can have a significant influence on

the final purchases made.

And whether by nagging, or by more subtle means, Jeffrey believes

children do have a great influence on buying decisions, even at an early

age.

’Kids are more sophisticated, more brand aware and more open to peer

pressure than ever before,’ he says, ’and it’s happening earlier and

earlier.’