RadioShack and Compaq
form Brand Alliance with
'The Creative Learning Center'
Lippincott & Margulies Translates Concept into In-Store Center
New York, August 31, 1998
The boundary between home and school became a little more blurred recently with the announcement that RadioShack and Compaq have formed a unique retail partnership under the banner, The Creative Learning Center. Lippincott & Margulies, the global corporate and brand identity management firm, designed the new retail concept, which features Compaq's line of Presario personal computers.
"The Creative Learning Center combines RadioShack's valuable image as a trusted resource for consumer electronics with Compaq's reputation as the number one provider of reliable, technologically advanced computer systems," said Leonard Roberts, president and CEO-elect of Tandy Corporation/RadioShack. "It's an absolute win-win situation for consumers and the beginning of one of the most powerful brand alliances to enter the retail market," said Roberts. The Creative Learning Center offers consumers a user-friendly atmosphere where they can consult with specially trained RadioShack sales consultants to purchase the computer that best suits their needs. The center will be integrated into more than 5,000 company-owned stores nationwide by mid-August. According to Peter Dixon, Lippincott & Margulies' design director and project manager on RadioShack/Compaq, "The goal was to present a warm, inviting and open atmosphere for the Compaq and RadioShack offering that inspires learning and discovery." The center also needed to project a distinctive co-branded image, yet work effectively within the existing store architecture, Dixon added.
Emphasizing the at-home learning environment, Lippincott & Margulies created a "home" for The Creative Learning Center. "A red roofed, white clapboard "house" acts as a welcoming beacon, drawing customers into the center and highlighting the ease and comfort of a home-based learning environment," Dixon said.
Also included in the center are freestanding desk-like fixtures with "windowpane" graphics and large scale sliding panels incorporated into the perimeter merchandising area featuring bold graphics with a discovery theme.
"RadioShack and Compaq's highly recognizable brand images play off one another in The Creative Learning Center in a positive, mutually beneficial manner—and in which the consumer is the ultimate beneficiary," Dixon said. The Creative Learning Center showcases three levels of Presario computers, along with computer printers, peripheral items and accessories including mouse pads, joysticks, disks holders, printing ribbons, disks, computer stands and software programs. The new center is supported by a national direct mail program and television advertising campaign. Earlier this year, Lippincott & Margulies teamed up with RadioShack on the introduction of The Sprint Store at RadioShack and, more recently, on the creation of 'PowerZone,' featuring RadioShack's line of battery products.
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