By Charlie Derra, Category and Shopper Marketing Consultant at Curious Puffin, an FMCG Category Management Consultancy
You’re pitching a new brand to a retailer, you’re working on a range review where you want to recommend a fixture relay, or you want to create an aspirational future vision of the category. All of these scenarios would be served well with an image of the fixture. But what should you consider, and what are your options to create this?
You’re pitching a new listing
If you haven’t already, chances are the buyer will want you to come back with some solid category and range recommendations. That means:
- The right range based on their feedback on potential space
- The category size of prize (not just your brand growth)
- What you should replace
- Where you’ll sit on shelf
The best way to execute points 3 and 4 is with a visual or planogram. But what are your options for doing this?
What’s the purpose of a fixture visual?
A visual provides a shelf layout that shows exactly where your product could sit in-store. But it’s more than just a pretty picture:
- It proves you understand the category (and the constraints), knowing where your proposition fits and what it might replace
- Helps the buyer picture your product in context
- Brings your brand to life at shelf level, where it matters most
Buyers are busy. If you can show them how you’ll grow their category and make their job easier by taking the time to think about what that means in-store, you’re already ahead.
Options from DIY to Advanced Virtual Reality
You have lots of options to do this.
PowerPoint / Canva: Create a mock shelf and add your pack shots – basic but effective.
AI: With the advancement of image generation LLM’s (large language models) can help create visuals with the correct prompts (See the recent Curious Puffin AI Blog).
Excel: Use colour-coded cells to represent a shelf space.
Photoshopped Images – get in store, take some photos and overlay your pack shots/ SRP. This is also a great opportunity to include any shopper marketing that you will be doing to support the launch. If you aren’t comfortable doing this, speak to a designer; most design agencies would be able to help with this.
Physical Mock-ups: Create in-store shelf mock-ups using foam boards or an actual shelving unit if you have one. This is also a great way to help create theatre if the buyer is visiting your offices/factory.
Advanced Tools – Planogramming to Virtual Stores
If you have a budget, there are plenty of tools that will create your retail-ready visuals and planograms. Retail partners may have their own tools, such as Dunnhumby. There are also options from agencies, including Nielsen Spaceman, BlueYonder, or CatManToolkit, who will bring a data-based, professional recommendation based on retailer fixture dimensions and product sizing with specialist software. Other agencies, such as Sodaltive Creative or JDH will provide a full planogramming service where you don’t need to buy the software
Source: NielsenIQ
The Bigger Picture Visual and Fixture of the Future – As part of your proposals, you might be recommending new kit, a new position in store or a full POS overhaul to help inspire and educate shoppers. 3D images or virtual store visuals can be a solution you invest in at this stage. Sodalite Creative would be an example of an agency offering virtual stores with real-time fly-throughs and fully immersive VR with headsets.
Source: 3D virtual reality supermarkets | Sodalite-Creative
I asked Tony Jerodiaconou, Managing Director at Sodalite Creative, what he expects to see next for the industry: “I have worked in retail for 40 years, and I have seen space planning evolve from basic black and white diagrams printed on a plotter to fully immersive, interactive virtual reality environment where the viewer is able to interact as if they were in a real store. Modern virtual reality has made the communication of a manufacturer or retailer vision easy, allowing decisions to be made more swiftly with fewer mistakes. The power of this medium cannot be underestimated. With the onset of AI technology, who knows where we will go next, but for sure, it will be exciting“
Get in touch
Curious Puffin can support clients with choosing and creating the right in-store visuals for projects. Get in touch: [email protected]
