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Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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A Pot of Point of Sale Gold

Point of sale window display

What’s the point of point-of-sale advertising? As the term “point-of-sale” implies, it’s to drive more sales. In the beer market, there are a number of ways to do that, whether it’s focusing on pricing, special promotions or branding.

For Tennyson Lacasio, print shop manager for Colonial Wholesale Beverage in North Dartmouth, Mass., it’s all about driving sales with displays that make potential customers stop, look, think and buy.

The project pictured here for Landry’s Liquors did exactly that as part of last year’s St. Patrick’s Day promotion for beers brewed by Diageo: Guinness Draught, Guinness Extra Stout and Smithwick’s Ale.

“Those three front windows face the main road, so you can’t help but notice the display. There were people stopping by just to look at the sign, which brought Landry’s more business for those brands,” says Lacasio. “They kept the display up through July 4 because it was getting so much attention and the owner said the sales of those brands went up. It was definitely an impact display and high-quality advertising for the store itself.”

The display was created in three panels for each of the front windows, printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene, applied to Coroplast and laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Matte UV Standard Low Melt laminate.

“We didn’t have to wrap the laminate around the edges of the Coroplast since the panels are placed inside the window and there’s no danger of moisture getting in between the laminate and the print. The matte is popular because it cuts down on the glare so you don’t lose the image from different perspectives,” explains Lacasio.

Lacasio adds that this is one of the most intricate designs he’s created, especially when it came to finding and working with all the different varieties of leprechauns from which to choose.

“I found that there were two basic types of leprechauns: cartoon and scary. We obviously went with the cartoon style. From there, I had to find those that matched from a compositional style and then properly crop and size them so they fit with the overall design,” explains Lacasio.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Step Back in Time with a Printed Cooler Wrap

Vintage London tavern design

Give the people what they want is an excellent phrase to keep in mind when you’re designing anything. In the case of Douglas Liquors in North Attleboro, Mass., the owner – who happens to be English – wanted to immerse his customers in a traditional London tavern.

Printing a themed cooler wrapColonial Beverage’s sign shop manager, Tennyson Lacasio, was happy to oblige. Lacasio did some research and brought all the elements of a vintage pub to the fore: stone walls, barrels, candle and lantern lighting, and so forth.

The tricky part is combining a themed décor-like cooler wrap with the necessary branding. And, as you can see by the design and the accompanying photos, Lacasio expertly and seamlessly worked the beers Colonial Beverage sells into the picture.

Branding and advertising at the point of sale“The only things I snuck in that were modern were the Blue Moon and Coors neon signs, but all the other brands were given a more vintage, aged look. Still, those neon signs worked well and did not distract from the theme, and that was most important to the owner,” says Lacasio.

The 44.5″ x 46′ cooler wrap was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Matte UV Standard Low Melt, and applied to Coroplast.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Need for Speed at the Point of Sale

Printing cooler wraps for point of sale advertising

Hot off the presses, or hot off the track in this case, is the latest point-of-sale masterpiece from Tennyson Lacasio, print shop manager for Colonial Wholesale Beverage in North Dartmouth, Mass. The key to a nice-looking cooler wrap, says Lacasio, is detailed measurements before you design it.

Point of sale advertising with cooler wrapsIn this case there were minor variations in the lengths and widths of the cooler areas that would get the NASCAR graphics and Miller Lite and Coors Light branding treatments, but by and large they were relatively square and level.

Once measurements are taken, Lacasio says he creates a framework with all the elements, including obstacles like cooler door handles, in CorelDRAW. Once that’s created he sets up a new file and adds the imagery.

Lacasio printed the images on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene and laminated them with LexJet 3 Mil Matte UV Standard Low Melt (3 Mil).

“I usually go with LexJet’s gloss laminate because it really gives the images extra pop, but in this case I chose the matte finish laminate because part of the problem using the gloss laminate for indoor installations is the light reflecting off the images. I’ve been meaning to try the matte laminate anyway, and this was the perfect excuse,” says Lacasio. “It came out really nice, it’s very visible throughout the entire store and it gives it a real nice finished look to it.”

Lacasio adds that the cooler wrap dominates the store; it’s the first thing you see when you walk in. The store itself, 44 Liquors, is relatively small, but it does a lot of volume at its prime spot on Route 44 in Massachusetts.

“I was looking for a sense of movement throughout the design because of the subject matter and the fact that we want people who are buying beer to get involved in the imagery. When we installed the project we took out almost all of the competitor’s advertising and now we basically own the entire space,” says Lacasio.

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Removable Bar Top Signs and More at the Tipsy Seagull

Waterfront pub graphics

A year or so ago none of Colonial Beverage’s brands were being sold at the popular waterfront bar, Tipsy Seagull. The bar is less on the waterfront and is actually floating off the adjacent marina. It’s open about four months out of the year for thirsty boaters and others who pass by the marina.

Printing graphics for tabletops and bar topsSince that time, and thanks in part to the signs provided by its sign shop, Colonial Beverage not only sells its brands at the Tipsy Seagull but dominates at the point of sale.

Colonial’s sign shop manager, Tennyson Lacasio, just installed a number of signs at the floating pub touting the distributor’s brands, beer specials and upcoming special events. The big hit was the use of tabletop and bar top calendar-of-events graphics, printed on LexJet’s new Opaque AquaVinyl Removable PSA since the material can be easily applied and removed with little to no cleanup after removal.

Printing tabletop graphics for bars and restaurants“We had tried similar projects with vinyl that has a regular adhesive and the customer had to use special cleaners to get the residue off. They were looking for something less permanent,” explains Lacasio. “They’re pleased with these because they’re not see-through, they don’t need to make such a commitment to removing them and the graphics printed very crisp. It’s also a lot easier to apply than a typical vinyl.”

The tabletop prints pictured here will be replaced with full table wraps. Those wraps will also be laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt so that the tabletops can be easily cleaned without having to remove the graphics.

For the time being they’re simply peeling off the graphics, cleaning the table and re-applying them. And, in case the pub’s customers decide to pick at them, Lacasio printed about 30 replacement graphics.

Printing graphics and signs for A-framesLacasio also designed and created two double-sided A-frame signs printed on LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl w/ PSA and a 3′ x 24′ identity sign printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene, laminated with LexJet 3 Mil Gloss UV Premium Low Melt and applied to Coroplast. Lacasio says the large identity sign can be seen from a bridge that’s a mile away from the floating pub. 

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Pouring Guinness: A Point of Sale Display that Sells while it Pours

Point of sale display with pouring beer and inkjet printed graphicsThe entire point of any graphics display is to attract attention and ultimately sell the products being promoted, which is especially true in the beer market at the point of sale. As always, Tennyson Lacasio of Colonial Wholesale Beverage Corp. in North Dartmouth, Mass., went above and beyond to do just that.

This time around, Guinness wanted to make a splash with its new Black Lager at Colonial’s largest account, Yankee Spirits, and Lacasio decided to create a display that was both a figurative and literal splash.

With a little Yankee ingenuity and water-resistant materials from LexJet, Lacasio built a promotional case display that features Black Lager (actually water dyed with calligraphy ink) pouring from a vat tap into a seven-foot tall Black Lager bottle.

Three dimensional and inkjet printed Guinness point of purchase displayLacasio created the eight-foot tall backing graphic, a brewery vat, printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene and applied to Coroplast, then attached a pipe system he picked up from Lowe’s to pour down into the bottle.

The bottle was an old promotional Miller High Life promo piece that Lacasio spray painted then applied LexJet Extreme AquaVinyl w/PSA for the neck label and LexJet TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl PSA for the main label.

“For the main label I applied the TOUGHcoat AquaVinyl to a large case card and then bent the case card to the outside shape of the bottle,” explains Lacasio. “It would have been difficult to get the vinyl to adhere without creating creases toward the bottom of the bottle so the case card was a great solution. I then attached the graphic with black Gorilla tape to the edge of the label onto the bottle.”

The circulation system uses a sump pump at the bottom of the bottle, which feeds to a plastic line up to where the pipe comes out of the main vat display and back into the bottle. Lacasio says getting the pipe to align with the bottle properly was a bit of trial and error, but once set it worked like a charm.

Inkjet printed and Coroplast mounted point of sale display“When we were trying to aim the water into the bottle I got soaked a couple of times, but it didn’t harm the graphics at all. We just wiped them down with paper towels and there was no problem with the ink running or smudging,” says Lacasio. “I was very impressed with the way in which the AquaVinyl handled the water getting sprayed on the graphics; it was just another example of LexJet products coming through for us.”

Lacasio also produced information Guinness signs on either side (food pairing information, for instance) and a 3’ x 8’ hanging banner heralding the new Guinness beer for St. Patrick’s Day. The informational signs and the banner were printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polypropylene and applied to Coroplast.

“I had about two days to complete it after we met with the Guinness rep. There was some question as to whether or not it could be done, so it was quite fulfilling to install it as it was designed. Plus, the display is extremely shoppable. In other words, you can grab beer from the display without worrying about it falling down or coming apart. People were picking up cases as we were finishing the display, and that’s what you want,” says Lacasio. “When you walk into the store there’s a wall of Guinness to your left, and the big display is right there as soon as you walk into the store. You can hear the water circulating, so the sound of it further grabs your attention.”

To get a sense of the experience of walking into Yankee Spirits, seeing the display and how it works, check out the YouTube video embedded below…

Posted on by Regan Dickinson Posted in Case Studies & Profiles
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Leveraging Point of Sale Signage and Product Placement with Design

Printing signs for point of sale

It’s no secret that craft beers are the fastest growing segment of the beer market, and due to their growing importance to liquor store owners and other purveyors of fine brews, craft brews require a different sales technique at the point of sale.

Point of sale signage for craft beersIn the beer market, price points have traditionally been the top sales point in a typical point of sale sign. However, with craft beers the sale is different. Beer distributors that sell craft beers take extra time and effort to educate the customer about the various types of craft beers, even going so far as to take a page out of the wine menu and pair them with complementary foods.

The project show here produced for Raynham Wine & Liquors in Raynham, Mass., by Colonial Wholesale Beverage Corp. – designed, printed and installed by Colonial’s Tennyson Lacasio – is a perfect illustration of the craft beer sales concept writ super-large across 90 feet of cooler space.

The sign has just a taste of branding at either side, with 12 foot long bottles of Colonial’s latest addition to its beer portfolio from Boulevard Brewing Company, Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale and Long Strange Tripel, as bookends to the sign. Other than those two bottles, there’s no branding and no pricing. The rest of the sign marks the store’s Beer Cave, flanked by a quick explanation of craft beer types shown bubbling up in the glasses in which they’re made to be enjoyed.

Though light on branding and absent pricing, Colonial’s Lacasio says this treatment is entirely appropriate, leading consumers to Colonial’s craft beers. It’s also exactly what the store owner wanted, giving Colonial better product positioning in the store while helping cement the relationship. Colonial went head to head with a competing distributor on this project, and pulled ahead for the point of sale victory with Lacasio’s classy, crafty design.

Making beer signs with an inkjet printerThe 90-foot long by 43-inch tall cooler sign was printed on LexJet TOUGHcoat Water-Resistant Self Adhesive Polpropylene and applied to Coroplast, which was attached to the wall with an industrial hook-and-loop system, a.k.a., a product that rhymes with Melcro.

Lacasio says he only uses the industrial hook-and-loop system for signs that will be attached to the wall permanently, or for a long time. This method is preferable to screws and washers that mar the overall look of the sign, he says.

Lacasio and one of Colonial’s merchandisers spent the good part of a day applying the graphics to the Coroplast, working from the middle panel out to ensure an even application across the cooler, making sure to leave some extra material at the end so you don’t come up short after all that work.