The timing of changing window merchandising displays depends on your communications and marketing strategy. For example, consider the following questions:

1. Are you using retail merchandising to market one or more products or to enhance your brand in the market? Branding messages typically have a longer "shelf life" than product marketing. If your store display is targeted toward specific products, specials, or rates, you should have a plan to refresh your visual merchandising on a regular basis as specials expire or rates change.


2. Is your window merchandising program integrated with your institution's overall marketing strategy? If the window display is consistent with other marketing materials the change out would be consistent, how ever if it is a unique element, be sure to add it individually to your marketing calendar.


3. How many "eyes" view your branch window merchandising in a week, month, etc.? If you have heavy repeat traffic, you should avoid allowing your window marketing to become "stale." Much like a highly viewed website or blog, visitors either become bored with or "immune" to your message if they perceive that they've seen it multiple times.

The appropriate change out of brand versus product marketing is very different. Brand marketing has a longer life as it is intended to provide repetitive reinforcement of your positioning. Product marketing often has a shorter shelf life as it is typically geared to evoke an immediate action for a particular product or service.

Along with obvious opportunities or restrictions (branch architecture and visibility), you should remember to examine branch leases and local community signage regulations. Many leases, for reasons of landlord preference, local rules restricting signage, or regulations targeted to traffic safety, contain language regarding signage size, type, and/or lighting. Lease restrictions may dictate the extent to which you can leverage your branch windows for messaging.

Communities and municipalities often have specific guidelines for all commercial signage, sometimes causing you to become very creative in your window merchandising. For example, those of you who have driven anywhere in the state of Vermont may have experienced a feeling of calm and peacefulness when traversing the roads and highways. You may not have noticed that the entire state of Vermont bans all billboards and other large outdoor signage to distract you from the countryside. Local community signage restrictions may affect your branch window displays in similar ways. Be sure to research requirements before beginning the design and implementation of window displays.

Window merchandising can focus on branding, product marketing, or community issues of interest. Your choice of focus is most effective when it is inline with your other marketing programs. If your bank or credit union is currently marketing a particular product group or "special" through other media (direct mail, TV, radio, or in-branch), your branch window displays can effectively reinforce this message at the point of decision. Be sure to include a strong "call to action". Window displays are also a great way to highlight local or regional programs as well. Consider promoting your affiliations with local organizations or charitable programs.

The appropriate amount of marketing at teller windows depends on the design and layout of your branches. You should avoid a lot of visual clutter on the teller line, any messaging should be quick to read and targeted toward generating interest in asking a question about a product or special.

If you have "window glass" at your teller stations, you can use tasteful graphics to market your brand or up-to-the-minute specials or rates. Should you have an overly contemporary design with little or no bank teller window separation, you might utilize the front of your counter with brief but colorful marketing pieces.

The most important consideration BEFORE you commit to new branch window merchandising program is performing a comprehensive strategic site analysis. You might learn that some branches are perfect candidates for a strong coordinated window marketing program, while others may not justify the time or expense. Here are some factors to consider including in your site analysis.

• Branch window visibility. Analyze both types of visibility factors: Pedestrian and auto traffic. Branches will tend to fall into certain categories depending on their locations.


• Those with heavy foot traffic.
• Those with heavy slow moving auto traffic.
• Those that have both pedestrian and auto visibility.
• Those that have little visibility.


• Branch architecture. If you employ similar architecture for most or all of your branch network, window marketing could be identical for all that have sufficient visibility. Conversely, with a branch network having a variety of architectural features, window marketing often needs to be modified to conform to different window sizes and placement issues.


• Lease or community signage regulations or restrictions. Analyze your legal ability to install a dimensional branch window-merchandising program. You might find that your lease or certain local communities restricts the size and type of displays allowed.

After completing a site analysis of each branch, you should have the information you need to design and coordinate a successful window merchandising program.

When your marketing strategy is focused on enhancing your brand rather than specific products or services, your branch window merchandising program will typically have a longer "shelf life. If you think of those companies that have established their brands to the point that their name has become synonymous with their product (Xerox, etc.), you'll see how they've achieved this status. Along with having a good product, their message has been continuous and consistent over time.

Still, be wary of your visual merchandise becoming "stale." After some time period, the definition of which is different for institutions and their markets, your retail window display will suffer the cursed law of diminishing returns. Experienced management often "feels" this before it can be measured. You can make even minor changes in brand-focused window marketing and your message once again becomes fresh.

Successful retail window merchandising tends to be a function of

• Your overall branch communications and marketing strategy;
• Your volume of foot traffic at different branch locations; and
• General branch visibility issues.

Bank or credit union window merchandising should be viewed as a potentially effective component of your lines of communication surrounding your branch office network. Depending on your primary marketing strategy, product or branding related, you'll want to integrate your window merchandising into the theme of the overall program. Window merchandising can be a great extension of your marketing strategy, which may include direct mail, radio, TV, newspaper, and Internet.

Foot traffic volume can strongly influence your level of window marketing. High pedestrian traffic combined with attention-getting, interesting window treatments can upgrade your brand in the community. If the other components of your marketing program are working well, attention-getting window merchandising in high foot traffic branches will often improve results.

Even if your foot traffic isn't overwhelming, for those branches enjoying high visibility from slow or medium speed auto volume, you can use bright, quick-impact window merchandising to improve branding efforts and use of retail services. While acting as a complementary component of your communications strategy, the bank window displays in branches with high pedestrian and high auto traffic may be somewhat different and targeted to the "views" available or tailored to your "audience."

In many cases, you should consider using your branch office windows to merchandise your products and/or brand. Often, your decision is heavily based on the amount of foot traffic that strolls by different locations. In addition, you may want to tailor your window merchandising to the community demographics of your branch offices.

Primary decisions to be made regarding visual merchandising typically include the following issues.

1. What is the volume of foot traffic passing by your branch offices? City, shopping areas, campus, enclosed malls, and strip malls will usually generate more pedestrian traffic than will suburban or rural stand alone branch structures. More foot traffic increases the effectiveness of detailed retail merchandising.


2. What are the demographics of the communities served by your branch offices? You should consider tailoring your window marketing to the characteristics of your pedestrian traffic. For example, a financial district office might focus on savings, investment, and/or business event issues. Conversely, a neighborhood branch might be targeted to mortgage and equity loans and community events or news.


3. What are the local signage codes for your branch office locations? Cities and towns often have different allowances and restrictions for commercial signage, be they location, size, lighting, or message. An examination of local permissions or restrictions is indicated.


4. What, if any, lease conditions exist that restrict or discuss signage? Read your leases and learn what is and is not allowed, by agreement, for acceptable signage.

These are some considerations you should investigate before you embark on a strong window merchandising program. Obviously, budgetary issues are always an integral component of your decision making process. But answering the questions above will help determine your expenditure levels.

Depending on the location and architecture, you may be able to utilize the outside as well as the inside of your windows for merchandising. The size, placement, and visibility of your windows typically dictate if and how it may be used. Retail displays can be three dimensional, tasteful, and colorful. They can be designed to be subtle or more direct, depending on your current marketing strategy. Both styles can work effectively. Customers or members may be stimulated to ask tellers about products or specials highlighted by the window merchandising.

Mall front or street front exterior window marketing may also be effective if it can be used properly. First, examine your various leases for possible restrictions, which you've agreed to. Second, become aware of any local or municipal signage regulations that may affect your decision to use the exterior for retail merchandising. Once you've determined you can use a mix of inside and outside window space, consider how best to use a combination.

While almost everyone likes the use of "motion" in displays, graphics, and marketing, window merchandising usually indicates a bit more thought before making a decision to use dynamic graphics. Much depends on the visibility issues you face with different branches.

Along with basic questions, such as "What is the 'visibility factor' of each of our branches?" it is important to know what "type" of visibility your individual locations enjoy. For example, you have one or more branches inside large shopping malls with high volume strolling pedestrian traffic. These locations may be excellent choices to integrate motion into your retail bank display.

Conversely, those branches with excellent basic visibility for passing auto traffic may not be ideal candidates for motion displays. Certain types of graphic motion could be distracting to drivers and motorists may have difficulty reading the bank window display anyway. A more static, colorful display visible from some distance might be much more effective.

If you choose to incorporate motion in your retail bank displays at appropriate branches, avoid the temptation to "say too much" with these displays. Since your viewers are also in motion, succinctly deliver your message in a minimum of time. A long or complex message in your motion component is less effective than a short, to the point, harder hitting idea. A "brevity with substance" approach to motion will typically return better results.