DDi - June 2011 - (Page 16)

16 | Visual Perspectives More than meets the eye L et’s start with a broad statement. The function of visual merchandising for many retailers and wholesalers is not fully understood, and because of this, it simply is not leveraged to full advantage. That’s not to say there are not those who do fully understand and embrace visual (and do it well!). But, generally speaking, most retailers don’t. Let’s look at something as simple as the industry nomenclature assigned to this function. From company to company, our world can take on any number of titles: visual, visual design, visual presentation, visual merchandising, visual marketing, display, display design, merchandisers, trimmers, designers, assorted acronyms…and the list goes on. I once sat in an hour-long meeting with four executives to discuss the title of the department (no kidding). Just think of how many sign holders or scarf rings I could have bought for the cost of that time! Clearly, there is an opportunity to develop some industry-wide consistency here. Creating better industry standards around this function, its roles and related compensation is long overdue. Hopefully, this is where I come in. Serving a number of years in various positions in the ranks of retailing—specifically in what I will call the special forces of visual merchandising—I am excited to have the opportunity to write this new column in DDI. Because of my longstanding career in visual merchandising and having the fortune to have worked for a variety of retailers, I have much to say about the world of visual—and I am certainly not shy to offer an opinion. I have a lot of heart around this subject, and hope to focus my insights and passions to help you all become better at your craft. Now, how about the function of visual merchandising? When people ask what I do for a living and I tell them that I am in visual merchandising, they then say: “Oh, do you design the stores? Pick out paint color? Design signs?” I try to explain that there is a group of people that strategize and plan out every aspect of how products are presented within the four walls of a store (plus the ceiling and back room, of course). They still look perplexed—someone actually has to figure that out? Well, yes, as a matter of fact. And it is a lot more than just making it look pretty. I think this is a common misnomer about visual merchandising. To me, successful visual merchandising is a pragmatic balance of art and science and should be, in many instances, weighted more heavily on the science side. I commonly use the analogy of a cupcake to describe this balance. The bottom portion of the cupcake represents the science, or the primary foundation of visual merchandising: space planning, product placement, adjacencies and organization. It is the general merchandising framework of standards, Ann Fine Patterson systematic practices and planning that creates this foundation. The top portion of the cupcake—the frosting—represents the art form, the display and appeal that helps to attract and differentiate. You need the solid foundation of the cake (the science) to support the frosting (the art). Since it is front and center, most people see the frosting only—which is good, but to successfully leverage the true function of visual merchandising, you must apply the framework of the science behind it. Visual merchandising creates the in-store experience. It is a 3-D expression of the brand. It creates organizational efficiencies and ultimately motivates purchase decisions that result in sales. Bottom line, effective visual merchandising is intended to create a positive customer experience that drives sales. This column won’t be a critique on window display or store design, and it won’t be a commentary on who is making the best mannequins or props. It will, in fact, be intended to look beyond what is most typically seen as the end-result of visual merchandising. I hope to share perspectives on the function, value and benefit of visual merchandising, and what it takes to get there. I hope to provoke thought and conversation about this function, as it is truly more than what meets the eye. I am hoping the perspectives I’ll share in this column will help to enlighten those not just in visual, but also in overall retail and wholesale, marketing, store and graphic design to the world of visual merchandising and how to best leverage it as a function and a partner to success. In addition, I hope to help support those in the field of visual merchandising—to provide a view that may help you navigate and communicate within your organization. Stay tuned for the next installation in August! —Ann Fine Patterson, principal of Ann Fine Patterson LLC, is a 20-plus-year career professional in visual merchandising, focused on retail visual presentation and the multidimensional bricks-and-mortar customer experience. She shares her insights in this bi-issue column. E-mail her at ann@annfinepatterson.com. | June 2011 www.ddionline.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - June 2011

DDi - June 2011
Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Visual Perspectives
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
ASICS Amsterdam
Behind the Scenes: Macy’s Flower Show
Shopping Marketing & Consumer Insights Section
Focus on the Shopper
Shopper Marketing Roundtable
POP Products
Right Light
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Shopping with Paco

DDi - June 2011