Visual POS displays are an excellent medium for brand engagement and reinforcement in the minds of consumers. They convey brand messages so well because a picture tells a thousand words and POS displays are all about bright and vibrant graphics.

The next time you are shopping, watch for displays and brand promotional signage and ask yourself what message is being conveyed about the brand and how successfully it is being done. We do this all the time because we are in the business of brand messaging through POS displays but everybody engaged in visual marketing can learn by observing in this way.

These are some of our favourites. None of them were created by us but everybody can take some inspiration from them or have them prompt original ideas. That’s where the creative juices spring from – sparks of inspiration. Nobody would walk past these displays without being aware of them, being attracted to them or missing the brand message.

1. Captain Morgan’s Rum 

This memorable display emphasises the brand symbol, which is pretty memorable in its own right anyway. By making it almost life-sized and in 3D, it instantly creates a lasting impression even if it’s only seen in a photo as here or face to face in a retail surrounding. This is pure brand image reinforcement that says nothing at all about the quality, flavour, strength or any other product attribute. Its pure emotion and fantasy. It ties in well with the popularity of recent pirate movies over the past 20 years, which must have been a godsend for the brand!

2. PG Tips

The message in this award winning POS display appears to be not just any old tea, but the best tea for breakfast. The toaster is an inspired choice as an undisputable symbol of early morning. We cannot think of any other non-branded visual prompt that so unmistakably conveys “breakfast time”. The other interesting aspect is the use of text on a rather pale design. However, it works because the 3D toaster delivers the required eye-catching visual.

3. Lysol Click Gel

Humour may not always work because people may react negatively, but this cheeky and daring display does several things at once. It introduces the product as being a toilet cleaner (unmistakeably) if you have never heard of it before. It makes most people laugh at both the image itself and the expectation that you will reach into the “toilet bowl” to grab a product. Who wouldn’t try one? We can imagine people going home and telling their family, friends and neighbours about this display and the product. That’s about as good a bang for your marketing buck as you can hope for. There is subtlety and subliminal imagery here – what you see is what you get! Who dares wins.

The Bottom Line

The purpose of this short article is simply to illustrate that POS brand engagement displays can take many forms. They can be fantasy association like the rum, building association with an event, like the breakfast tea, or in-your-face product presentation like the toilet cleaner. The only commonality between these three examples is that they are all unavoidably eye-catching and their message is conveyed in a memorable way. QED.