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St Ives Group sign exclusive three year
Date Added: Wed 25 May 2011
The St Ives Group is delighted to announce that it has signed an exclusive three year sole distributor agreement with Swedish company, Motion Display to supply Electronic Paper (e-paper) display technology in the UK and Eire.
Providing animated imagery and messaging at point of sale, e-paper displays, featuring electronic ink, are an innovative way of engaging shoppers in a retail environment and proven to significantly increase awareness and sales. The news follows the two successful campaigns developed by St Ives Digital Media for Bacardi (Brown Forman Brands) which has delivered incremental sales and category share for two of its products: Eristoff Vodka and Bacardi Breezer.
E-paper provides moving / flashing images at the point of sale and is proven to create higher awareness and grab more attention than static POS. The lightweight e-paper displays have very low power consumption and include their own inbuilt power supply. Powered by rechargeable lithium batteries that provide five months of power at a time, there is no need for an external power source. Ideal for communicating price promotions and calls to action, the displays can hold a range of changeable data and are simple to attach to a shelf edge or gondola end.
Bacardi is a longstanding client of SP, the retail POS division of St Ives Group. The Digital Media division was asked to develop a flexible POS solution for two product lines, Eristoff Vodka and Bacardi Breezer. Mark Glover, National Accounts Manager (Northern Ireland), Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands explains: “Using e-paper, the St Ives Digital Media team developed an innovative solution to help our brands increase message engagement at the point of purchase. We’re delighted with results to date – up to 79% increase in sales of Eristoff vs pre-period, whilst Bacardi Breezer has increased category share over the past two months. We are now working with St Ives on new e-paper opportunities across our portfolio.”
“E-paper technology is being used very successfully across parts of Europe and North America, and offers clear operational and commercial benefit to brands looking to differentiate themselves in a busy, competitive retail environment” said Rob Padmore, Head of Digital Media at St Ives Group. “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Motion Display, one of only two licencees in the world to offer this kind of e-paper technology. With Motion Display’s technical knowledge and our understanding of the retail environment, we have a clear road map for how we believe this technology can be developed to deliver scalable commercial benefit. The division’s specialist retail marketing experience and insight will ensure that our retail and brand clients receive the best advice on how to utilise e-paper technology. As with all of our services, we are committed to adding value and achieving optimum return on investment” he added.
Commenting on the agreement, Lloyd Wigglesworth, Managing Director of Commercial Products at St Ives Group said: “As a business, we are constantly looking for forward thinking technology to complement the traditional print services that we are renowned for. The Digital Media division was established as part of the business strategy to provide full service solutions to clients, from digital signage to e-paper. Digital Media complements and adds value to our existing print and display offerings, and bringing the next generation in retail digital solutions to market illustrates the direction that the Company is moving in.”
Magnus Anckarman, VP Sales for EMEA at Motion Display added, “We are delighted to partner with St Ives as our sole Distributor for UK & Eire. The Retail industry is undergoing considerable change, where Point of Sale material is being animated, and the e-paper technology enjoys a unique position between static print and digital signage in the In Store marketing mix. With St Ives as our Partner, we can reach all aspects of the UK market, including both Brands and Retail customers.”
To illustrate the range of our services, of necessity, we have reproduced customers' registered and unregistered trade marks and representations of their brands. The rights that our customers have in their respective trade marks and brands are fully acknowledged.