RadioShack Heightens Battery
Sub-Brand Awareness
Lippincott & Margulies Creates New PowerZone Display
New York, August 14, 1998
Seeking to help RadioShack capitalize on the growth opportunity presented by the battery market, Lippincott & Margulies recently lent its branding "power" to their development of 'PowerZone' in 5,000 company-owned stores nationwide. The leading corporate and brand identity consulting firm helped create the new merchandising concept as a self-contained, sub-branded entity that promotes a cohesive brand image for RadioShack's line of battery products and accessories.
According to Leonard Roberts, president and CEO-elect of Tandy Corporation/RadioShack, "the battery market has demonstrated strong growth trends during the 1990s and we anticipate market sales will reach $4.9 billion by the year 2000. We know from research that consumers purchase an average of 39 batteries a year. Now, with PowerZone, RadioShack is making those purchases as convenient and affordable as possible."
For Lippincott & Margulies, "the challenge was to create a design that was fully integrated into the stores, yet still projected a distinctive brand character that would both enliven and promote battery sales," said Peter Dixon, design director and project manager of Lippincott & Margulies.
PowerZone is comprised of a family of modular components designed to be easily assembled and installed in the existing fixture system of an individual store. "This provides the level of flexibility needed in both locating the displays appropriate location, as well as optimizing the size of the display," said Dixon.
Identifying upwards of 16-linear feet devoted to the new merchandising area is a bold, internally illuminated sign rendered as an oversized RadioShack-branded battery with the name PowerZone highlighted across the top, he said.
Lippincott & Margulies also designed the dramatically striped black and white horizontal band that acts both to identify the extent of the display and integrate the PowerZone look with existing RadioShack graphic elements. "This promotes continuity and clarity around the perimeter of the store, creating a recognizable design language to the environment that travels well from store to store," Dixon added. Other over-scaled battery elements appear on freestanding fixtures and are also mounted at display points along the wall to reinforce brand communications.
PowerZone showcases a comprehensive array of batteries including RadioShack Enercell alkaline as well as hard-to-find specialty batteries, battery chargers, power strips, and a wide range of adapters, cords and remote-control timers.
Earlier this year, Lippincott & Margulies supported RadioShack in the introduction of The Sprint Store, which is housed in over 6,000 RadioShack stores nationwide. The concept was designed to develop a retail identity that would align with and leverage the overall brand strategies of RadioShack, Sprint and Sprint PCS.
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