Monday, 9 September 2013

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

As I’m not a journalist I’m not sure if ‘hold the front page’ is ever said!  I’ve probably been watching too much TV.  Reading the words instantly conjures up drama and excitement, anticipation of something immensely important about to happen.

Front pages are no different to shop windows.  The shop window is the public profile of the business, an instant impression of what the business is and an invitation to look inside.  The big retailers in cities around the world realise the importance and pull of their shop windows.  Their huge budgets allow them the luxury to create amazing window displays that tease our senses and tempt us into their stores but isn’t it even more exciting when you come across independent retailers competing at the same level on tiny budgets. 

Retail bricks and mortar spaces cost money and the better the location and position on the high street the more it costs the retailer. The shop window comes at a cost, it’s part of the marketing strategy and should be given due consideration as to how it’s used. It’s the front page of the business, it’s a priority, it needs care and attention and it needs to be relevant to your customers. The shop window is telling customers who you are, what you do and how good you are. It needs to be attention grabbing and compete for customers in much the same way that magazines and newspapers do on the racks of shelves in the newsagents.

If every retailer in town treated their windows like an editor treats their publication and worked to regular deadlines, monthly, weekly even daily for some, can you imagine how dynamic the high street would be.  I think retailers could learn a lot from how magazine editors work. First and foremost is their total understanding of who their customers are, what they need on the front cover to sell more copy and always ready to ‘hold the front page’ and change things around if something comes along at the last minute that’s more exciting and more relevant to their customers.

The shop window equates to a big chunk of your advertising budget so let’s make the most of it!

No comments:

Post a Comment