Concept Designs

CHALLENGE

Therm-a-Rest is the leading brand of sleeping bag mattress pads, treasured by campers and backpackers for its high quality, comfort and durability. Neo-Air is their latest innovation – a honeycomb design that holds heat in and repels cold.

To show how the technology works, they asked us to design a display that would hold an actual cross-section of the product. We designed a steel and acrylic enclosure that holds the cross-section and highlights the technology with printed graphics. The display can sit on a countertop, be hung on a slat wall, or mount to the Therm-a-Rest “Comfort Station”.

MARKET RESULTS

Retailers welcome this silent salesperson, as it both educates and promotes this innovative technology in a simple, compact, flexible, and elegant package. It families well with other Therm-a-Rest displays and enhances its presence at retail.

CHALLENGE

• To provide a merchandising center to accommodate the full line of Therm-A-Rest mattresses and accessories. Product sizes and shapes vary widely. The display had to display all of them in a compact, adaptable, easily accessible and visually appealing display.
• To provide as much flexibility as possible, allowing for the deployment of multiple displays side-by-side or back to back, depending on available floor space and inventory levels.
• To design a system that was mobile and visually light weight, yet durable.
• To provide strong branding for Therm-A-Rest.
• To include graphics that assist the customer in selecting the appropriate mattress to meet their needs.
• To provide a section of the display to accommodate test mattresses that are easily removed and replaced.

The client wrestled with this challenge for years, coming up with displays that met some of the objectives, but ultimately failing to meet them all. The client and their retail accounts were frustrated.

MARKET RESULTS

The displays provided a much anticipated solution to a difficult problem. The Therm-A-Rest product line poses an extremely challenging display problem; product mixes vary widely from store to store. Retailers are shouting their approval. They report it to be very easy to set up, durable, and high capacity. Orders for the displays ranged from single units in smaller outdoor retail stores to as many as 6 units in REI's flagship store in Seattle. Our client is relieved now that they finally have a solution addressing the problems that have plagued them for years. The success of the display is evidenced by several substantial re-orders.