An ICv2 release. ICv2 is proud to announce the winners of our Movie Moolah Display Contest, but first we would like to thank all the retailers who took advantage of the opportunities offered by the debuts of the Spider-Man movie and Star Wars Episode II and created displays that linked their stores with these great properties and reached out to new customers. Every entry that we received exhibited creative use of a wide variety of materials that brought attention to the products displayed while making excellent use of the iconic elements of the properties involved to grab the attention of potential customers.
As part of the contest each retailer had to write 100 words about their store, 100 words about the display, and 100 words about the results of their efforts. We have included these entry submissions along with pictures from each of the stores in the accompanying articles that feature each of the three winners.
We were pleased that for the first time one of our winners was from outside the United States. Two of our winners operate stores in small cities, while one of the three winners is located in a major city, demonstrating that it's not the size of the store or the market, but the ingenuity of those involved that really matters in a contest like this.
First Place Winner---The Silver Snail, Toronto, Canada
The Silver Snail, one of the oldest comic shops in North America, is located in Toronto, perhaps the most civilized and cosmopolitan city on the continent. Their Spider-Man window display featured a stunning background mural by Chalkmaster Dave, and a superb full size Spider-Man figure created from a mannequin and posed in a characteristic (and very attention-getting) position that only Spidey would use. The lesson the Silver Snail display teaches is that if the elements are this strong, you don't need anything else to grab people's attention.
Click here to see more pictures of the Silver Snail display, and to read their description of the store, the display, and the results.
Second Place Winner -- Bookery Fantasy, Fairborn, Ohio
The folks at Bookery Fantasy in Fairborn Ohio made great use of the window space they have which includes one smaller central window and a large walk-in window that is on the customers left as the enter the store. Steven Bates, the manager of the store used the contest to allow one of his new employees, Khalid Smith, a chance to exhibit his design talents. Using an attention-grabbing Dr. Pepper Spider-Man standee as the center of attention for the smaller Spider-Man window, Smith managed to include a formidable array of Spidey products including, trading cards, HeroClix figures, action figures, comics, and even the Spider-Man Monopoly game. The larger Star Wars display also makes great use of promotional standees as well as a rolling R2-D2 cooler.
Click here to see more pictures of the Bookery Fantasy display, and to read their description of the store, the display, and the results.
Third Place Winner -- Wade's Video & Comic Madness, Levittown, Pennsylvania
With a large front display window to work with, the folks at Wade's Comic Madness used an inflatable Spider-Man figure on the outside to draw attention to their window which included a wide variety of Spidey merchandise ranging from breakfast cereal to resin figures, comics, trades, and toys. The merchandise displayed in the window was set against the backdrop of the New York skyline complete with the flag-draped twin towers of the World Trade Center. A poster for Free Comic Book Day also had a prominent position in the display.
Click here to see more pictures of the Wade's Comic Madness display, and to read the description of the store, the display, and the results.
Once again the staff here at ICv2 would like to thank all the retailers who participated in our contest, and our sponsors -- Topps, Wiz Kids, and Diamond, and prize sponsors Dark Horse and Ballantine Books.
This display contest is part of our big May Movie Moolah promotion. We're currently in May Movie Moolah Episode II. Click here to read all about it.
Click here for the first prize listing, worth over $2400.
Click here for the second prize listing, worth over $1,000.
Click here for the third prize listing, worth over $600.
We did a number of stories on merchandising movies as part of our promotion. Here's some of our coverage:
We talked to two retailers in different parts of the country about how they merchandised entertainment trading cards. Find out how they do it in 'Merchandising Entertainment Cards'
For an enlightening interview with Long Beach retailer Darin Erickson on how he successfully sells movie merchandise in spite of competition from a nearby discount store see 'Moving Movie Merchandise, Part I'
Len Katz of The Joker's Child in Fairlawn, New Jersey gave us his strategies for selling movie-based merchandise in 'Moving Movie Merchandise, Part II'
For an overview of the movie merchandising business see 'Navigating the Movie Merchandise Minefield.'
For a look at the 2002 movies, and which ones might be merchandising powerhouses see 'Best in Shows -- 2002'
For an overview of the entire May Movie Moolah promotion, see 'Retailers, It's May Movie Moolah!'
