FRANK MAYER & ASSOC R CIATES, INC.

BU ETING FOR YOUR INTERACTIVE PRO UDGE R C E OJECT T

www w.frankmaye er.com

Ten Questio ons to Answ wer

BU UDGETINGFO ORYOURINTE ERACTIVEPROJECT O

Theinstoremerch handisingin ndustryhasc changedovert thelastdecade e.The

initiationo ofaprojectisa amorecollabo orativeeffortth hanitusedtob be.Projectsmaycut acrossmerchandising,m marketing,purc chasing,inform mationtechnolo ogy,operationsand experiencedepartments.Eac chofthesefun nctionsbringsa auniquepersp pective customere onplannin ngandexecutio on.Thepurpos seofthispaperistogiveallp partiesaframe ework tothinkab bouttheimpor rtantfirststepofestablishing gabudget.

How wcanwebest tmeetthe objec ctivesandnee edsofthis clientwithinthef framework oftheirbudget?

Sometimesclientsexpre essthenotiont thattofullydis scloseabudgetwillplacethe emata age.Thisisaco ounterproduct tivemindset.In nrealityagood dretailmercha andising disadvanta companya approachesap projectsaying,Howcanwebestmeettheobjectivesand dneeds ofthisclien ntwithinthefr frameworkofth heirbudget? ratherthanH Howcanwema aximize therevenu uefromthispro oject? Definingobjectives,requ uirementsandabudgetareimportantdisciplinestoexercise toreinteractiveproject.Relu uctancetoinve estintheseact tivities beforelaunchinganinst ngtobuildaho ousewithapileofwood,dry ywall,bricksan ndfixtures,but tno isliketryin specificatio onsordrawing gs.Youmighte endupwithalivablehousein ntheend,butyoure likelytowasteresources s,takelongert thanyouneedandexperienc ceunnecessary y nalongtheway y. frustration Withoutabudgetinmind,itisimpossi ibletocalculat tethenecessar ryROIofaproj ject. ctuallyputtheentireproject tinperil.Considerthefollow wingscenario: Thiscanac

Aclientfe eelspressuretogetthebal e llrollingtomee eta4thquarte erdeadlineand dstarts

aninteract tiveprojectwit thoutacomple etebudgetand dROIcalculatio on.Withsoftw ware almostcom mplete,hefeel lstheneedtoe evaluate differente enclosureconce eptsandhowt they mightfitin ntotheretailla andscape.Ther reare just15we eeksleftforeng gineering,prot totype andproduction. emerchandisin ngcompanyde esigns Aninstore theenclosuretomeetall lthecriteriafo or ity,brandinga andaesthetics,butthe functionali budgetisy yettobedeter rmined.With1 13.5 weeksleft tonthedeploy ymentclock, refinementsarerequeste edtooneofthedesigns.Revisionsandnew wpricingareprovided r weeksremaini ing. with12.5w Atbestthereare10wee ekstocomplet teengineering, ,production,in ntegrationand d nttostores.Ap prototypeisau uthorizedforte estofconceptandfitofequip ipment, deploymen butengine eeringcannotb beginuntilallt thecustomerp providedelectr ronicequipmen nt arrivesforcomputermod r deling.Withre eceiptoftheeq quipment1we eeklater,engin neering providepartdr rawingsfor1.5 5weeksofprot totypebuild.W With8.5weeks sleftin beginstop theproduc ctionschedule, ,ROIcomputat tionsarefinally ycompleted. Intheend, ,itisdeterminedthattheres sultswouldbeacceptableonlyifthepriceo ofthe enclosurewere50%lowe er.Sincethisnecessitatesar redesign,evalu uationofnew andprocessestomeetthen newbudget,t timequicklyslip psawayandth he materialsa crucial4thquarterholida aysaleswhichtheROIfigures sdependedonarenowapip pe dream.

BU UDGETINGFO ORYOURINTE ERACTIVEPRO OJECT

Interact tiveProjec ctPlanning gChecklist t

Thepurposeofthispape eristohelpclie entsavoidscen nariosliketheoneaboveby initiatinga akioskorinteractivemerchandisingprogramwithclearly ydefinedgoalsthat willleadto oappropriateb budgetparame eters.Thefollo owingchecklist tandrelated considerat tionscanbeus sedforinternaldiscussionsto odefinethesc copeofaproje ect.A conscientiousinstorem merchandisingc companyshouldbewillingto ohelpaclientw work throughan nyoftheseque estionswithth heobjectiveofarrivingataw workingnumbe er.

1 Whataretheprim maryobjec ctivesofyo ourproject t?

Keyb benefitsforthe ebrand Keyb benefitsforthe eretailer Whattheconsume ershouldbeab bletoaccompl lish

2 Whoisthetargetuserofyo oursolution?

Physicalcharacteris sticsorlimitationsthatshouldbeaccounte edforinthede esign

3 Wherewilltheun nitbeplace ed?

Envir ronmentalconsiderationstha atwouldaffect tthedesignan ndcomponents Thea amountoftraf fficaunitwillr receive Whatpeaktrafficu usagewilllooklike

4 Howma anyunitsw willbedep ployed?

Inat testphase,ifapplicable Infullrollout Inon nerunorinsplitproductionr runs

5 Whatarethesizerequirements?

Param metersdifferf forfloorstandi ingvs.counter runits Then necessaryfoot tprintmustbedefined

6 Howlon ngwilltheinteractivesolutionbeinthef field?

Impa actsthelengthoftheserviceagreement Mayimpactplanningforsparepa artsifaproject thasalonglife e

7 Whatke eyhardwa arefeature esdotheobjectiveso ofyourpro oject

dictate? ?Somecat tegoriesof fhardware etoconsiderare:

CPU Monitor Print ter Netw workConnectiv vity Wire elessDevices Dispe ensers Input tDevice SecurityFeatures Curre encyAcceptor Powe erProtection

BUDGETINGFORYOURINTERACTIVEPROJECT

8 Hasasoftwareapplicationbeendevelopedyet?

Thefunctionsitneedstoperform Thekindofdatathatneedstobecollected Possiblelinksneededtoexistingwebsites Externaldatacommunicationtechnologiesthatmayneedtobesupported Requirementsforinterfacewiththepointofsalenetwork Typesofupdatesrequired

9 Whatlookandfeeldoyouwantyoursolutiontohave?

Howthebrandimageshouldbeincorporatedintothedesign Thekindofimpression(whimsical,stylish,streamlined,etc.)thesolutionshould convey

10 Whataretheinstallation,supportandmaintenance
requirementsoftheunit?

Thenecessityforsimpleplugandplayorcompleteinstallation Trainingofstorepersonnelmayaconsideration Thenecessityforprescribedmonitoringforperipheralmanagement Needfora24/7responsesystem

Oncetheanswerstothesequestionsleadtoabudgetnumber,a projectsROIcanbecalculatedusingtheguide,ManyHappy Returns:aReturnonMerchandisingInvestmentModel.

AWordaboutSequence
Aninteractiveunitconsistsofsoftware,hardwareandanenclosure.Aninstore merchandisingpartnercanserveasasinglepointofcontact,integratingallofthese phasesofaprojectplusinstallation,serviceandmaintenance. Thedesiredconsumerinteractionandtheamountofinformationtheretailerorbrand wantstoshareorreceivedefinethesoftwarephaseofaproject.Softwaremustbeat leastintheinitialstagesofdevelopmentinorderfortheappropriatehardwaretobe chosen.Softwaredrivesthehardwaredecision,andthehardwarechoicesdrivethe designoftheenclosure.Inordertocompletethedesignofanenclosurealistof componentswithalloftheirfeaturesandrequirementsisnecessary.

Completeintegrationofasolutioncanincludethefollowing: Designing,engineering,prototyping,producingtheenclosure Developingthesoftware,includingcustomcontent Purchasing/integrating/configuring/testingtheinteractivecomponents Installinginthefield Warrantyservicingandmaintenanceinthefield

BUDGETINGFORYOURINTERACTIVEPROJECT

TheValueProposition
Acompletedkioskorinteractivedisplayismorethanthesumofitscomponents,the shapeofitsenclosure,ortheuserexperienceofitssoftwareapplication.Thevalueofa welldesignedkioskencompassesaprocess,aproductandperformance. Asoundprocessleadstoaviableproductandthebestchanceofachievingthedesired businessoutcomefortheunit.Agoodinstoremerchandisingpartnerusesaproven approachthatiscreative,responsiveateverypoint,andthoroughinattentiontodetail. Themanagementofaninteractiveprojectrequiresresponsivenessthatbalancesthe objectivesofthebrand,desiresofthelocationpartner,andvaluetotheenduser.The integrationofaninteractiveprojectrequirescoordinationacrosssuppliersandpartners thattakesintoaccounttheneedsofthesethreeparties. Theproductismadeupofthequalityofitscomponentsandthemessageitcarries aboutthebrandorretailer.Kiosksandinteractivemerchandisingdonotstandalone; theyaredesignedtobeanintegralpartofacohesivestrategyandembodythelookand feelofalargermarketingprogram.Theyareavehicleforattractingandengagingthe consumer,theenduser.Thebrandingmessageisacriticalaspectofacceptanceor failureofasolution,accordingtoRonBowers,SeniorVicePresidentBusiness DevelopmentforFrankMayer&Associates,Inc.Thedesignandpromiseofasolution istheinitialattractantthatisessentialtotrialandultimatelysuccess. Attentiontodetailcanhaveasignificantimpactontheperformanceofaninteractive unitinthefield.Eachkioskorinteractivedisplayhasaparticularbusinessoutcomethat canonlybeachievedifitcontinuouslyoperatesasplanned.Ithasalifetimepurpose andalifetimecost.Componentselectionandconfigurationdomatter. Thepriceyoupaytodaymaynotreflectthecostoverthedurationofaproject.Itis crucialtounderstandthequalityofthecomponentsthataninstoremerchandising companysourcesforyourproject.Thesavingsperceivedupfrontcandisappearquickly whenaunithasacomponentwithahighfailurerate.Thepriceofoneservicecallcan betwotothreetimesthesavingsfromthecheapercomponent. Theinteractivesolutionsaninstoremerchandisingcompanyproducesshouldhavean extremelyhighsuccessrate.Askforhardnumbersthatestablishwhatkindoftrack recordacompanyhasonceitssolutionsareinthefield.Lookatthestrengthofits portfolio.Inquireabouttheprocessitusestodesign,engineer,test,produceand maintainaproductthathasintegrity.

Agoodinstore merchandisingpartner usesaprovenapproach thatiscreative,

responsiveatevery point,andthorough
inattentiontodetail.

BUDGETINGFORYOURINTERACTIVEPROJECT

Conclusion
Asuccessfulinteractivedisplayorkioskhasitsgenesisinafullytransparentconsultative partnershipbetweentheclient,thepartnersinvolvedandtheinstoremerchandising company.Startingwithdefinedparametersandabudgetestablishesasolidfoundation foraproject.Itensuresthattheresourcesoftimeandtalentwillbeusedefficientlyto achievetheverybestoutcome.Theinteractiveproductisnotjustachecklistof considerationsandcomponents;itistheembodimentofabrandanditsbusiness objectivesandthepromiseofutilityfortheretailerorlocationpartnerandthe consumeroverthelifetimeoftheproject.

AboutFrankMayerandAssociates
FrankMayer&Associates,Inc.isaninstoremerchandisingcompany withvastexperienceindesigningandmanufacturingbranded permanentdisplaysforvirtuallyeveryretailformat.Ourclientsare awiderangeofFortune500brandsandretailers.Wehavebeen recognizedbyindustrypeersforcreatingandproducingawardwinning pointofpurchasedisplays,interactivemerchandisersandkiosks.We offerpromotionalmarketingcapabilitiesthatallowustoprovideour customerswithanunmatcheddepthofservice.