Cirque du Soleil partnered with FAO Schwarz to create a Fifth Avenue window display featuring merchandise for the company’s Wintuk show during the 2010 holiday season. The company of daring acrobats, jugglers, and illusionists has extended its brand with products that range from apparel to CDs to novelty items like snow globes.
Most marketers would leap at the opportunity to display merchandise in this premier toy store’s holiday window, but Cirque’s sales were less than spectacular. The window ended up as a marketing opportunity for the show rather than a merchandising coup.
There were two major logistical challenges that could have been addressed to drive more sales without changing the product assortment:
- The lines to get in the door at FAO in New York wrap all the way around the south side of the store, creating a human shield that blocks a large part of the display from passersby.
- Consumers are directed by security to walk about 10 feet into the store (and away from Cirque merchandise) in order to keep the line moving. Even without security goading them, most people are eager to walk away from the entrance and into the heat after spending an hour waiting in the cold.
The solution: Keep the display in the window, but add merchandising about 15 feet into the store. This strategy would have paired high visibility with high shop-ability. As it was, the merchandise was in the corner, and customers had to abruptly turn around after entering the store to find Cirque products.
Even with high-profile marketing opportunities, the placement and merchandising of your brand extension can be just as important as the products.
cirque du soleil, display merchandising, fao schwarz, merchandising, retail, retail branding, visual merchandising, window displays
