Success Story Category: Award Winners

OMA Bronze Award

For this award-winning display, we partnered with VMC Drinks to produce something that personifies their values as a brand and emphasizes their crucial partnership. Let's explore how we did it.

Program Objectives

Our objectives for this project were to create a display that brings attention to VMC's pride in its Mexican roots and ensure that we show the strength and value of their partnership with the Mexican boxer Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán. VMC is a new brand. Mexican spirits group Casa Lumbre formed it in 2022. They are known for producing a variety of popular Mexican alcohols. They needed a strong display for their entry into the U.S. market that reminded Mexican-Americans of their roots, as identity is a great characteristic to target for marketing purposes. The display needed to be easy to set up and take down, so we created it as a case stacker for display in lobbies.

The Work

To convey the two crucial concepts — Mexican heritage and the partnership with Santos Saúl Álvarez — we decided that the key fixture of the display would be that it must resemble a boxing ring. We used two corrugated plastic columns with digital printing of the VMC brand's bird of prey on all four sides to accomplish this task. Between these columns, we hung heavy-duty colored rope elements with metal fittings. We topped them off with formed metal top caps with a gold powder-coated finish. On top of the columns, we used a contour-cut 3D corrugated header with a large-scale image of Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán that people could use for photo opportunities. The VMC logo and slogan were printed in bold on the header, showcasing their three drink flavors. This was set against a light background picture of a Blue Agave field with a simple farmers' cottage on the right, meant to represent a field in the boxer's home state of Jalisco. The midground had the typical picture of the VMC bird perched on a Blue Agave plant. The background showcased the brand's Mexican roots and the prime ingredient of the tequila portion of the drink. We draped realistic boxing ring ropes in the middle to make this display stand out. We chose the colors based on the Mexican Flag: green, white and red. Again, this reinforced the relationship between boxing and Mexico and created a unique look and feel to this case stacker display.

Results

This display was successful in several ways. It drove sales, but more importantly, it increased brand awareness in the U.S., especially among the target Mexican audience. It was not a complex display to set up, so stores quickly put it together. Overall, it succeeded in getting VMC's name into the public eye.

Summary

To summarize, VMC tasked us with creating a stand-out case stacker display to help their brand identity in the U.S. market and emphasize their Mexican roots and partnership with boxer Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán. If you are looking to break into a new market, let us help! We'll create an eye-catching, practical display that will draw attention to your brand and product. View More Success Stories  

OMA Display of the Year & Gold Award

For this project, we partnered with Marks & Spencer to deliver an inspired Q4 holiday display. We wowed consumers by bringing a taste of London to Target stores through transportation-inspired displays.

Program Objective

Marks & Spencer tasked us with bringing London's signature red double-decker bus to Target stores nationwide. They wanted the display to stock tasty sweets, exceptional deals and the latest trends to get people into the holiday spirit. The goal was to give the consumer a delightful and whimsical experience whenever they entered a Target store during the holiday season. It needed to be large, bright and capture people's attention among all of the other holiday-themed displays jostling for space at that time of year. This display was about creating an experience and driving sales through bold, modern, optimistic storytelling.

The Work

The duration for the display's lifespan in stores was two months. Considering this information, we used a sustainable corrugated structure with litho-printing and a high-tension printed liner.  The team was tasked with using Target's portable metal towers and carts for the shelving of this product merchandiser. We went through multiple rounds of samples and mock-ups, and our footprint changed throughout the process. We started with two towers and one cart but decided to use only one tower and one cart for the final display. The cart and tower had to be modular so stores could move them with products for cleaning purposes. We decided Velcro was the best option to secure the two portable units together to fulfill this request. Regarding floor placement, the display was placed in the food and beverages department. We also shipped the components partially assembled to make the process easy on store staff and reduce the amount of time needed for staff to execute the display. All hardware came with an instruction sheet and full graphics.

The Results

The display was a great success overall. It met Target's stringent requirements, and the partially assembled nature, modular design and clear instructions all contributed to the excellent execution. Marks & Spencer was so delighted with the display and how it showed off their merchandise that they requested a final sample to have in their London headquarters. For the London samples, we created corrugated fixtures that mimicked the in-store metal fixtures, and it is now proudly displayed in their office.

Summary

In summary, Marks & Spencer tasked us with telling a story through display design. Because of its whimsical nature, they wanted consumers to see this display and their faces to light up with a smile. We brought London's famous red double-decker bus to Target stores nationwide to accomplish this. We used one tower and cart placed in Target's food and beverages department. We shipped the display partially assembled with easy-to-follow instructions to save store time. The display was a resounding success — Marks & Spencer and Target were happy with the outcome. If you want your display to drive sales and tell a story, get in touch with us today!   View More Success Stories

OMA Silver Award

We had the privilege of working with Mountain Dew on an engaging and energetic merchandiser to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Baja Blast flavor.

Program Objectives

This display's objectives were simple. Mountain Dew needed to blast people out of the water with an eye-catching merchandiser that embodied their brand persona and reflected Baja Blast's dynamic beach aesthetic. Mountain Dew Baja Blast is traditionally sold only at Taco Bell or other food service outlets, but because this was an important anniversary, they wanted to make it especially unique at retail. They decided this display would be available in convenience store environments, with 20-ounce bottles of Baja Blast. This necessitated a small format, small footprint structure to fit into the desired retail environment. Mountain Dew wanted a display that commanded attention, with a unique shape that set it apart from traditional hutch structures, to attract new and existing drink fans. It was also imperative that the display was easy to execute to get strong retail compliance rates so that Mountain Dew's direct service teams could maintain their speed.

The Work

The display's two-month life span and budgetary considerations required us to use an all-corrugated structure, which we litho-laminated to make the colors and branding pop. Our design team brought to life the unique shape Mountain Dew requested through a radically curved structure mimicking a massive wave at the beach. We used SBS pieces to curve the sides of the cabinet, making them rise magnificently above the shelves, with the wave crest breaking over the product. The SBS is also offset-printed for maximum impact. The cabinet's side has colorful graphics that set the beach scene, further reinforced by the aqua, white and yellow colors and shelves printed to look like weathered wood. For the easy execution component, we packed all components "knocked down" into a one-piece shipper for easy transport, including the set-up instructions, hutch structure and header components.

Results

The display structures' compliance with grocery, drug and convenience store aisle specifications allowed them to maximize placement while maintaining site lines for security. Sales for this display exceeded all expectations. By leveraging the rarity factor of finding this product outside of food service outlets, Mountain Dew expanded its reach to a broader audience, fulfilling the objective of attracting new customers. The success of this display was twofold. It boosted short-term sales and solidified long-term brand loyalty by meeting current fans' demands and surprising new consumers with the unique Baja Blast flavor.

Summary

To summarize, Mountain Dew tasked us with creating a temporary, small-footprint floor stand for convenience store environments to sell 20-oz. bottles of Mountain Dew Baja Blast to celebrate the product's 20th anniversary. Our unique display profile utilized wave imagery, a weathered wood look for the shelves and other aqua-toned components that reinforced the brand's beach atmosphere and lime flavor. This display succeeded in short-term sales and long-term brand awareness and fulfilled Mountain Dew's expectations. Create your own successful display with our team of award-winning designers. Contact us today!   View More Success Stories  

OMA Silver Award

We delightedly assisted the premium Italian wine producer LaMarca in their efforts to market their new 187ml Prosecco bottles in Kroger stores nationwide. Let's look at how we made this a successful award-winning display that shot LaMarca's sales up for a sustained period.

Program Objectives

Stores usually merchandise these products in two ways. Either on cut cases with the attitude of "stack it high and let it fly," or Kroger will place them on a shelf as open stock. Our mission was to elevate LaMarca's products above the rest by creating an upmarket destination for them within the cluttered wine section of this grocery store chain. Our objectives for this mission were twofold. We needed to consider how to maximize the amount of product offered while keeping the display's footprint reasonably small.

The Work

LaMarca wanted to pitch that their Prosecco display should be front and center in a locale that would disrupt the consumer's path when entering the store. We created and proposed several different concepts to support their pitch and rendered them into actual store environments. Ultimately, LaMarca decided on the stairstep design because it keeps with the elegant tone they were going for while also being simplistic and minimizing the footprint of the display. The high-gloss litho-lamination on the display's corrugated structure emphasized the high-end look and feel of the LaMarca brand. While the exterior exuded elegance, we built the interior with more practicality in mind. It housed a partition set that allowed the unit to hold 72 bottles of the smaller 187ml Prosecco bottle in a reasonable three-by-two overall footprint.

The Results

This program's results were an astounding win for LaMarca on various levels. Here are the effects this display had on LaMarca:

• They were able to create the desired disruptive destination for their brand. The retailer even paired the larger 750ml bottles at the front of the store with the display.
• In terms of sales, LaMarca achieved an incredible +25% sales lift monthly thanks to this simple, sleek and cost-effective display.
• Due to the popularity of the display, most Kroger stores kept it up longer than intended, even refilling some displays with open-stock products an astonishing two or three times. LaMarca is already planning phases for a 2024 version.

Summary

It was crucial to make sure we translated the upscale nature of LaMarca into this display. That luxurious, upmarket feel comes with excellent quality, carefully chosen materials and a design that gives off a calm air of excellence. Our chosen stairstep design and the high gloss-litho lamination printing blended simplicity and luxury in a way that drew people in, while the interior partition set allowed for ample storage (72 bottles) of the giftable 187ml bottle in a three-by-two footprint. If you would like to see a sales increase like LaMarca with your product and see your company on this success page, contact us today!

OMA Silver Award

We are proud to have partnered with Athena Club for this project. They are an omnichannel subscription-based provider of consumer packaged goods (CPGs) that focuses on setting a higher standard for self-care through their personal care products aimed at women.

Program Objectives

We had two objectives to meet for this project to be successful. Our main focus was to forge a quality partnership with Athena Club by helping them navigate their first foray into the brick-and-mortar retail market and launch their line of women's shaving products. The rollout was exclusive to Target, necessitating a drop-in endcap display that could turn heads from across the store. Our secondary goal was to help Athena Club eliminate any hurdles or roadblocks encountered during this program so that we could become their total supply chain partner. Athena Club is an emerging brand with only an online presence and little to no retail merchandising experience — and Target has complex merchandising guidelines. We had to step in to help them through the process to ensure mutual success.

The Work

There are two ways CPGs can execute a display at Target:

• Empty displays can meet open stock products, with a 3rd party company enlisted for the setup and filling of the display.
• A display can be completely prepacked with the product and dropped into place.

After we showed Athena Club the advantages and disadvantages of each display execution, they decided that using a prepacked display was the best option for their purposes as it offered fast delivery with a quick setup time. We then started on the design process, rendering concepts and prototypes, ultimately coupling our concepts with critical shopper marketing data. This was our eureka moment, and the perfect display chassis soon came to life. After some deliberation, we decided to use an all-corrugate structure with high-gloss litho-lamination graphics. To create order, neatness and a sense of separation between the products, we used stepped dividers and metal peg hooks to merchandise the razors themselves. The oversized razors fanned out on the side as a lug-on standoff was what turned heads for the entire unit. The execution was flawless. Athena Club merely shipped the open-stock product to our fulfillment center, and a fully assembled prepacked display appeared on the proper endcap at the right time within Target.

The Results

Our results for this program were fantastic. The customer trusted us with every aspect of the merchandising supply chain, allowing us to flex our full capabilities in this sector. The endcap successfully drove trial and brand awareness, which has cascaded into future on- and off-shelf display opportunities at Target.

Summary

Today, because of this successful program, we are working on multiple display setups for varying retailers. Athena Club and our partnership with them have proven that the model can work to convert from being solely D2C to also incorporating a B2C strategy. If your business wants to transition to brick-and-mortar retail displays and enjoy the same retail success as Athena Club, contact us today!

Objective

• Create a dynamic 3D merchandiser that conveys the Hot Wheels spirit of excitement for car racing
• Demonstrate an “Epic” track layout on the retail displays
• Foster an added level of engagement by challenging Kroger employees to enter an “Epic” competition for the “best display”

What we did

• Designed a pre-assembled litho and direct printed bin structure and easy to assemble litho mounted header components
• Highly creative dump bin boldly utilizes the iconic orange Hot Wheels track.
• A starter set of actual track components was included along with an activation kit, to be used for “Epic” contest
• Store members built creative track layouts on the pallet displays and entered photos or videos in a social media contest; engaging shoppers in and out of the store.

Results

• Huge success among Kroger shoppers and employees
• Videos of employee contest posted on YouTube helped in-store campaign gain traction
• Contest included consumer votes for best “Epic” track display

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Objective

• Come up with a way to counter a 2% decrease in carbonated beverage sales
• Leverage social media to create engagement and build momentum for Pepsi’s #sayitwithpepsi campaign
• Use consumer insights to drive the strategy

What we did

• Created 163,000 retail displays featuring emoji-clad Pepsi bottles targeted to top retailers
• Developed four merchandisers (two floor displays and two dump bin configurations). Displays were engineered for mass, drug, grocery and C store channels and designed for enhanced product visibility
• Manufacturing processes were carefully selected to meet a Spring launch date

Results

• The campaign is the largest promotional launch ever by Pepsi
• Slated to spread into 100 global markets as of 2016

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