–What We Can Learn from Creative Pranksters-
Today’s blog is about one thing- creativity. Our goal is to get you to tap into the creative side of your brain, to stop playing it so safe, to think out of the box. When designing custom retail displays that will catch a shopper’s attention, it sometimes pays to think like a prankster. By definition, pranksters are a bit on the mischievous side, but there is no question that top-notch pranksters are creative and know how to get attention. High Schoolers, particularly seniors who are weeks away from graduation, are notorious pranksters. You may have heard about the high school seniors who got their principal arrested by having the police officer convince the principal that he was driving a stolen motorcycle. Those are the types of pranks that are still talked about at reunions 50 years later.
Anyone can be a prankster. Tapping into the prankster within you will help you design more creative POP displays and ultimately help you differentiate your merchandising approach and your product from Joe Shortsleeves who repeatedly produces dull and boring displays.
To help inspire your creative prankster juices, we thought we would share the story of the Cardiff Kook. Cardiff by the Sea is a small town which ironically is located by the sea in Northern San Diego County. In 2007, the Cardiff Botanical Society and the City of Encinitas provided the funds to erect a 16’ bronze statue of a surfer boy called “Magic Carpet Ride”. The statue was placed near the San Elijo Beach Campground along scenic Pacific Coast Highway.
The statue was supposed to be a tribute to the local surf culture, but local surfers were quick to criticize the surfer’s poor form and the anemic wave he is riding. The statue resulted in a full-blown backlash within the community. Magic Capet Ride quickly became known as “Cardiff Kook.” Kook is slang for a wannabe surfer.
The controversy surrounding the statute has given rise to a decade-long tradition of dressing up the statue in various costumes throughout the year. This clandestine work is pulled off by an unknown set of pranksters who continue their protest through their own form of creative expression. The pictures below require no explanation. Which of them do you find most creative? Let us know your vote.
#1- Breast Cancer Awareness
#2- Prehistoric Flying Reptile
#3- Shark
#4- Clown
# 5- Alice in Wonderland and #6- Bride
#7- Tribute to Michael Jackson
#8- Lovenote to Local Politicians
#9- Christmas
#10- Crucifixion
#11- Tribute to Local Artists
#12- Chicago Bulls
#13- First Responders
#14- Epic Wave
#15- Cartoon Head
Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim Hollen has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. Jim Hollen also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.