Following the successful 2008 holiday season, at-retail campaign featuring a vivid branded zone for Carhartt outdoor clothing, Klem's has once again teamed with FLEXcon to power the eclectic department store's lawn and garden center with FLEXmark® floor art™ and promote products from The Scotts Miracle-Gro® Co.
A 31 percent increase in sales of Carhartt clothing from that promotion led officials from Scotts to approach Klem's to create a similar transformation of their floor. Once again, FLEXcon played an important role with its polymeric materials technology and facilitated the launch of the campaign.
Scotts' promotion consists of 900 square feet of FLEXcon's FLEXmark floor art, depicting "Klem's Lawn & Garden Center.” Upon walking through the entrance, a visitor to Klem's, which is located about a mile from FLEXcon's headquarters in Spencer, will first see images of thick, green grass and the Scotts brand logo. A visitor can't help but go left down an aisle with more images, the first of which are shots of Scotts' 4-Step lawn care products and perhaps a reminder that it's that time of year again. Reinforcing that influence are images of bright, colorful flowers, and other Scotts' products, including Miracle-Gro®, Ortho® and Roundup®.
"Once again, the use of FLEXcon films has transformed our store and made a huge, visual impact on customers without the use of costly fixed structures,” says Jessica Bettencourt, Klem's general manager. 'These alternative advertising concepts continue to be a great success for Klem's and for our vendors.”
The floors, walls, shelves, and countertops of any retail environment are virtual canvases for alternative advertising campaigns that can develop an engaging connection with shoppers and the brand. This concept is becoming a more effective preference among brand owners and retailers. In fact, Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a New York-based private equity firm specializing in media and communication companies, predicts an 8.5 percent growth in alternative media spending and nearly an 11 percent drop in traditional advertising spending for 2009.
"The value of alternative media is its ability to be easily customized to local markets through the use of digitally-printed, self-adhesive films and adhesives, like FLEXmark floor art,” says Don Ryel, vice president of FLEXcon's Product Branding Business Team. "Vibrant colors and sharp graphics are yielded through this medium, and working with a supplier will ensure the materials will enhance and go the distance of an advertising campaign.”
FLEXmark floor art differs from traditional small format graphics in several ways. It is designed for complete floor coverage. The thin gauged clear film that is subsurface printed enhances the brilliance of graphics and provides more depth and dimension, almost photographic quality. An overlaminate is not required for FLEXmark floor art, as printed graphics are printed on the underside of the vinyl film. FLEXcon recommends the use of an ASTM D 2047 certified wax. FLEXmark floor art allows for normal floor care and is durable enough to withstand waxing and burnishing.
The FLEXmark® floor art™ System from FLEXcon consists of:
For more information on FLEXcon self-adhesive materials or products for your advertising and outdoor and at-retail branding needs, contact FLEXcon's Product Branding Business Team at 508-885-8200, fax 508-885-8400