Captivating Customers

Nike (Beaverton, Ore.) recently launched two major campaigns for its London flagship stores, transforming its Jordan brand and authentic basketball annex into visually alluring installations. Showcasing some current trends in visual merchandising, Nike called upon design firm Green Room (Birmingham, U.K.) to execute its vision.

Green Room sought to climb above and beyond its aesthetic expectations and storytelling demands for the Kobe XI and CP3.XI product lines. The result: a visual recreation of speed and lightning, respectively.

Showcasing Nike’s popular brand collections (i.e., the Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant lines of athletic apparel and footwear), the displays intended to both educate and grab the attention of passersby, fulfilling customers’ needs for immediate information about the products.

“Kobe XI used a repeat process of large red translucent acrylic flags at varying heights and depths to illustrate a speed stream behind a supported floor-mounted shoe display,” says Mike Roberts, chief creative officer, Green Room. The “Visualization of Speed” display manifests 3-D visual propulsion, as if driving a shoe forward to the storefront for customers to notice at first glance.  

CP3.XI’s “Striking Impact” flourishes in similar gusto and emulates the eponymous shoe’s lacing system and fearless yellow-gold color. Green Room wanted the laces reflected within a display which includes a lightning rod coming down from the store’s ceiling, striking a mock court at the heart of the store.

“The concrete was etched, battered and broken to represent a realistic crack for greater theater,” explains Roberts. And according to Green Room, consumers express immediate attraction to this display simply due to the unique lightning bolt and its shattering effect on the podium holding the product. 

According to Roberts, both activations uphold the “30-10-2” rule of retail attractions, dictating displays should captivate consumers from a 30-foot distance, engage from 10 feet, and encourage consumer interaction at 2 feet.

For the Niketown London stores, which attract more footfall than any other Nike flagships worldwide, it was especially crucial that the design present key products while telling a comprehensive story. Gaining traction as a visual merchandising trend, immediately presenting consumers with brand and product information is becoming essential.

“Consumers are used to information at their fingertips,” says Roberts. “So crafting a relevant message to consumers and telling an emotionally driven story effectively in-store is key to creating successful displays.”