How to Destroy Your Brand with Poor At-Store Marketing

In the brief history of this blog, I have taken occasion to highlight retailers which do a great job of connecting to the customer via spectacular at-store marketing. Unfortunately there are plenty of retailers that do a poor or inadequate job. I believe it is necessary to call them out as it helps us learn what not to do.

1. Confusing and Cluttered Environment
In a sense, it is understandable why marketers want to promote all of their products at the same time. But the result is often a cluttered environment which results in a confused or overwhelmed customer - such as the examples we see here from with Dairy Queen and Hartz Chicken Buffet.

Dairy Queen

Hartz Chicken Buffet

Instead of this POP clutter, concentrate on promoting your core brand products, other items will sell just fine around the main items.

2. Non-distinct POP
One example of retailers that fail to set their brands apart is auto parts retailers.  Take a look at the photos below and see if you can tell me at first glance which one is Advance Auto, which is O’Reilly and which is Auto Zone.

Couldn’t tell?  Neither could I. It would be better for auto parts retailers to be unique with their signage. For instance, develop a consistent theme or aesthetic that is unique to your brand. Utilize this aesthetic in all of your marketing channels (including at-store marketing) to ensure that consumers will recognize your marketing and associate it with your brand at every touch-point. Good branding, along with a well-thought-out marketing strategy, inspires loyalty in consumers.

3. Hastily made POP 

Nothing is worse than hand-written POP that is hastily written and placed.  While this may be effective for moving merchandise quickly, it has lasting detrimental effects on overall brand image. Subconsciously, it devalues the brand in the minds of the consumer, therefore hasty POP may actually drive customers away from your stores. Ultimately it screams to consumers that there was no strategy or thought put into this signage. If this grocer really thought through their at-store marketing, they would have known there would be leftover Halloween candy. Why not plan for this well in advance and have professional-looking signage and marketing messages ready?

 These have been just a few examples of poor execution in at-store marketing.  In a day when retailers are fighting tooth-and-nail for customer loyalty, brands can ill-afford to be sloppy.  Marketers, have you seen at-store marketing that makes you cringe?  On the other side of the coin, what retailers inspire you to be loyal to their brand?