Boxoffice-December.1992

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VIDEO: Merchandising
In-Store Promotional Campaigns:
Sidestepping Studio P-O-P
By George T. Chronis
I casual look through video trade
\ magazines will always reveal nu-
"Xmerous studio advertisements
jting new releases and the promonal
campaigns supporting them. The
ligatory P-O-P kits made up of theatriposters,
standees, counter-cards,
'ilf-talkers and hanging mobiles have
:ome standard— and in another word,
ring.
Discounting the secondary irritation of
p-P kits that never arrive, or arrive too
^ to be used effectively as customer
sers, how helpful is it really to be using
same materials as every other
leo store in the U.S.? Even if a chain is
ge enough to be looked on with extra
or by their distributor reps and are
tunate enough to receive extra promonal
materials from which its more aric
employees can create eye-catching
plays,
the basic ad materials are still
; same.
>mart and savvy dealers know that the
leo retail business is in a state of conidation,
and the stores that stay in
siness will be the ones that do the job
ter, and with greater flair, than their
mpetitors. The smartest of all also
ow that these goals can be accomshed
without putting out a lot of
mey.
rhe studios are quick to point out how
jch money was spent on advertising a
jtion picture in its theatrical release. As
iwell known, studio promotion camigns
are enormous. What may often be
gotten, however, is the multitude of
iducts that are licensed around characs
and props from high profile movies,
fore too many bad memories of "Dick
icy" toys and curios that couldn't be
d causes a panic, the object of this