Thoughts on Meyers Winning POPAI’s “Display Of The Year Award”

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

I have always taken it for granted that we (Meyers) have a great creative team; they have a lot of “collective” years of experience, they are energetic and focused, and most of all they are absolutely dedicated to achieving great solutions for our brand partners.  So, when Meyers won our industries two biggest awards in the same season, Path To Purchase Institutes, “Best Of The Times”, and POPAI’s “Display Of The Year”, it was really gratifying to have affirmation from the judges (made up of brand marketers and retailers, in both cases), and recognition of their efforts, as well as the rest of the team at Meyers.
We have consistently won awards over the years, and some pretty big ones too, but this was the first time for us to have a design (display), win two displays of the year awards.  I was not prepared for how great and excited that it made me feel personally. And the enormous amount of pride that was felt by all the great team members here at Meyers was really remarkable.  This is what we work for, day in and day out, it’s what “drives us.”
The awards also made me realize just how important great creative is, both for educating consumers and for motivating them at retail.  As POPAI recently reported, “76% of all purchase decisions are being made in-store”, and “If you’re not putting your brand on ‘display’ you’re less likely to put your brand in the shopper’s basket.”   But what really drove it home for me was what the article says about creative design; “Compelling creative not only sets apart in-store marketing, but it can turn the subconscious shopper into a conscious buyer.”  And it is absolutely true!  There is so much competition for the shopper’s attention, that if you have a just average (or worse) display or signage in the store, you will not get noticed.  Obviously there are a lot of other factors that can determine the success or failure of a brand’s promotion, but if the creative is bad, it just makes it that much tougher.

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Virtual Shopping?

Posted on February 15, 2012 by

Something else new (new to me, at least) that I learned from POPAI’s Market Smart Conference in Miami, a few weeks ago; Tesco has created a “virtual shopping experience” for busy commuters in Korea.  It really is amazing, but kind of makes sense when you think about it.  In Korea, where most everyone commutes by subway, and where everyone is driven to work long hours, shopping for the basic necessities such as groceries is very problematic. Enter Tesco and the their virtual shopping experience.  Throughout the subway system, they have installed large screens that are representations of grocery shelves.  While waiting for their train, commuters can use their smart phone to “shop”.  As they scan the virtual shelves of products, they scan the QR code and the product is loaded into their “cart”.  When they are finished, they check out and the groceries and other merchandise is either delivered to them, or they can pick it up.  How cool is that?

Thanks to David Plante from Target, and Jason Seeley from Wendy’s.

Tesco virtual shopping

Tesco creates the ultimate in convenient shopping.

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POPAI’s Market Smart Conference

Posted on February 13, 2012 by

I attended POPAI’s annual Market Smart Conference a few weeks ago in Miami, which was a nice break from our Minnesota Winter (which has actually been UN-characteristically mild), and came away with a lot of great insights into current Shopper Marketing Trends, and what the future may hold, thanks to speaker Jason Dubroy, V.P. Shopper Marketing/DDB Canada.

It was pretty clear from his presentation that P.O.S. ha become the “New Media”; it has become that important in impacting purchase decisions. And with regard to media, social media is fundamentally changing the way that people are making purchasing decisions. Twitter, Facebook, etc., are all changing the way we buy. “90% of consumers online trust recommendations from people they know, and 70% trust opinions of unknown users”. We have a “consensus economy”, everyone depends on reviews, not all of which can be trusted totally.
Dubroy also said that it is critical for marketers to “start measuring their shopper marketing efforts as media. R.O.I. is the “new black”.

Once again, POPAI put on a great event with really important and relevant information and ideas.

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Working With Great Customers

Posted on February 9, 2012 by

The people at Capital One Bank just love edgy promotions, and so when they came to us with a need for a new display to promote their “double rewards” program, they had only a few requests. They asked that it be “pop-art worthy,” be “different”, and oh, by the way, we need it fast. Our designers love this kind of a challenging assignment because it lets them think “out of the box”, and stretch their legs a bit.

The resulting display was the culmination of the “Double Rewards” offer, Meyers’ creativity and Capital One’s personality – Capital One Bank is about compelling value made easy. It communicates with humor and edginess that sets it apart from other banks.

The display, along with the window clings and posters, was entirely successful in driving inquiries to the bankers, and in getting appointments to discuss the new program. Capital One says it was one of their most successful promotions ever.

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Waste To Energy

Posted on November 2, 2011 by

Doing our part to be as “green” as possible, Meyers sends its waste to the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) in Downtown Minneapolis. The HERC is a waste-to-energy facility that burns garbage to generate energy in various forms.
The HERC facility provides electricity to Xcel Energy and steam that supplies area businesses in nearby Downtown Minneapolis, as well as to Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins (87′ & 91′ World Champions).

  • Garbage burned at HERC provides electricity for 25k homes each year.
  • HERC provides steam to 1,500 buildings and homes in Downtown Minneapolis, as well as to Target Field.
  • 11,000 tons of ferrous metal are recovered and recycled every year at HERC.
  • Processing one ton of waste at HERC, prevents the release of one ton of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

You can learn more by visiting their web site.
http://hennepin.us/HERC

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Meyers Wins 2011 “Best Of Times” Award

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

An interactive display designed by Meyers, Minneapolis, for Positec’s Rockwell tool brand took home the top “Best of the Times” award in the Path to Purchase Institute’s 2011 Design of the Times contest. Rolled out to 1,800 Lowe’s hardware stores nationwide, the interactive endcap edged out seven other top “Platinum” award winners to claim the top prize.

High impact and brand defining graphics set this display apart from the competition. This new “category defining” display was the result of an “out of the box” design and creative session that not only resulted in this end cap design, but has totally redefined the “look” for Rockwell displays going forward. The central flat-panel monitor is linked to each individual tool and the button at the tool location activates a short, informational message about each one, describing the benefits and uses. The display, with its rugged looks and powerful graphics, along with the interactive features has proven to be “irresistible” and pulled in shoppers to give it a try.

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Meyers Wins the Prestigious “Hormel #1 Award”

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

The Hormel No. 1 Award recipients have been announced for 2006 to 2010, and once again Meyers has won the coveted award. This prestigious honor is presented to Hormel’s top supplier partners every five years, and this is the third straight time that Meyers has won. Meyers is one of only 23 companies out of Hormel’s over 3,500 suppliers to win the No. 1 Award this year.

In order for a supplier to qualify for the Hormel No. 1 Award, supplier partners must:

  • Have a supplier-rating index of 96 percent or better in the fourth calendar quarter of the reporting year. The average of the five-year supplier-rating index must be equal to or greater than 96 percent.
  • Be a recipient of the Spirit of Excellence Award (an annual award given by Hormel Foods) for a minimum of four times throughout the last five consecutive years.
  • Meet additional requirements in the areas of: number of products sold by the supplier to Hormel Foods; dollars of exposure and deliveries to Hormel Foods; number of Hormel Foods locations serviced; and participation in continuous improvement processes.

“This award recognizes suppliers that demonstrate a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, growth, partnership and customer service,” said Melanie Faust, director of purchasing. “Long-term successful partnerships with our suppliers allow Hormel Foods to achieve our goal of elevating the everyday with our customers. Congratulations to our Hormel No. 1 recipients and all of their employees.”

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SoBe Pure Display

Posted on August 30, 2011 by
SoBe Pure Display

SoBe Pure Display

Using an innovative display solution, designed and produced by Meyers, SoBe introduced “Pure”, a new enhanced water beverage, at most Super Targets nationwide (June 2011), with in-store demos.

The SoBe Pure display engaged shoppers and created a real “social” connection by having them press the “Like” button (connected to the bright LED counter) to vote for the new beverage, or “like” it (think Facebook).

In addition to the bright LED counter, the shoppers were drawn in by the innovative lighting used in the display. Using LED lights behind the transparent bottles, gave the unit an “aura”, creating a distinctive and appealing look.

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