Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Kingsdown POP Wins Design Award
October 28,
2013 by in Bedding, Industry, POP (Point of Purchase Material), Product 
Bedding vendor Kingsdown's Blu-Tek point-of-purchase headboard display has taken gold in the 2013 Design of the Times Awards.
Kingsdown, Mebane, N.C., won in the Specialty Stores category. The award was announced Oct. 9 during the Shopper Marketing Expo hosted at Navy Pier in Chicago.
For more than 20 years, the Design of the Times competition has recognized the most creative in-store point-of-purchase displays, marketing campaigns and branding solutions that effectively connect shoppers with a product.
“When we envisioned the merchandising for Blu-Tek, we really wanted it to be as different as the mattresses themselves. We wanted our product to be a standout on retail floors, which in many cases were just a sea of white rectangles. We are thrilled that our Blu-Tek display was recognized for this accomplishment,” said Kingsdown Director of Marketing Jacqueline Morton. “This recognition is really a reflection of our company’s continued commitment to providing our retail partners with cutting-edge and attention-grabbing POP solutions that will allow their customers to connect with our product.”
Fifty judges scored 123 entries in eight retail channels: supermarket/grocery, consumer electronics, convenience, drug, home center/hardware, mass merchandiser, sporting goods and specialty. Entrants presented their work fully merchandised and set up to mimic a true in-store setting in the Design of the Times Gallery, part of the trade show floor at the Shopper Marketing Expo. Judges walked the floor, reviewing each entry for commanding attention, connecting with the shopper, conveying information and closing the sale.
The Design of the Times Awards are sponsored by the Path to Purchase Institute, a global association with a mission to foster a deeper understanding of all marketing efforts and touch-points that influence purchase decisions made in-store and online. The Path to Purchase Institute publishes Shopper Marketing magazine and hosts the Shopper Marketing Expo, the world’s largest gathering of shopper marketing professionals.
As an award winner, Kingsdown’s Blu-Tek Headboard Display will be featured in the Design of the Times book to be published in late 2013. Kingsdown worked with POP display company RockTenn Merchandising Displays, Norcross, Ga., on this project.