In-store roll-up banners: best practices to convince distributors and measure the real impact

In the retail store, visibility has become a rare resource and brands must redouble their ingenuity to emerge. Among the available theatralization levers, the kakemono remains a unique POS advertising support. Visible, vertical, and high-impact, it allows you to capture the shopper's attention from a distance, but it also concentrates many tensions on the ground.

Unlike more discreet devices, the kakemono does not integrate naturally into all retail outlets. Its deployment can therefore not be improvised. It implies upstream preparation, structured negotiation with retail chains, a clear contractual framework, and rigorous field execution.

But even when the kakemono is accepted and installed, a question remains: how to ensure that it is genuinely effective? All too often, POS operations are limited to a deployment without any real measurement, due to a lack of reliable indicators or access to sales data.

This article proposes a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to understanding the challenges of the kakemono in stores, convincing your distributors, securing its field deployment, and measuring its real effectiveness, while taking operational constraints and the limits of available data into account.

The kakemono: a high-impact but high-constraint POS display

The kakemono is a vertical, self-supporting, and generally mobile point-of-sale advertising display. Unlike devices integrated into shelving, it is installed directly on the floor and aims to capture the shopper's attention from a distance. In retail stores, it is mainly used in an event context, during promotional operations, product launches, or seasonal highlights requiring enhanced theatralization.

Due to its size and verticality, the kakemono offers high impact potential. It makes a brand visible in an environment saturated with visual stimuli and creates a clear reference point in the customer journey.

It is precisely this capacity to capture attention that makes it a popular tool for marketing teams. But it is also what makes it more complex to have accepted by distributors.

In stores, space is constrained and every square meter is optimized. The kakemono occupies a significant amount of floor space and can interfere with the movement of customers or staff. It can also partially mask products located behind or in the immediate vicinity, creating a visual imbalance in the aisle. From the retailer's perspective, this type of display must therefore be evaluated with caution, both for commercial reasons and for safety or compliance with layout rules.

Unlike other more discreet POS displays, its visible and massive nature leaves no room for improvisation. This is why the kakemono cannot be viewed as a simple communication tool to be deployed freely. The stronger its potential impact, the higher the standard required by distributors. They therefore expect guarantees.

This reality explains why installing kakemonos in stores rarely relies on a simple request from the field. It requires structured arguments, a clear framework, and, in many cases, contractual planning.

Convincing your distributors to place your kakemonos in their aisles

Since kakemonos are generally used for events involving theatralization or promotions, it is crucial to prepare your arguments to convince your distributors to validate their placement in their aisles. The latter may have strict policies regarding merchandising and store presentation, which can include specific criteria regarding the size, design, and content of advertising displays such as kakemonos.

Space constraints in the point of sale can also be an obstacle to using kakemonos. Finally, display windows and signs may be concerned about the visual harmony of their sales space. If the kakemonos do not fit well into the store decor or if they disrupt visual coherence, your contacts might be reluctant to authorize them. Let's face it, the kakemono requires space, and tends to obscure the products behind it: great for competitors!

This is why you will need to prepare a solid pitch to convince your distributors to accept their installation in their stores. Here, a good practice consists of creating financial projections that will allow the buyer or department manager to evaluate the additional benefit they will derive from it.

And above all, refer to the rules that apply, starting with the distribution agreement!

Anticipating the arrangement of kakemonos in distribution agreements

In some cases, the distribution agreement contains specific clauses regarding merchandising and product promotion. This of course depends on the standard agreement of the retailer or store, but also, if applicable, on the specific conditions you manage to obtain following annual negotiations.

Thus, when you manage to integrate the placement of advertising displays such as kakemonos into the distribution agreement, ensure you clearly describe the rights and responsibilities of each party regarding supply, placement, locations in sales outlets, periods and durations of use, etc.

Some promotional agreements may, however, be concluded outside of the main distribution agreement. These agreements can specify the terms of use for kakemonos, including promotional periods, placement within the retail store, and other logistical details. This happens, for example, when you manage to sell a guerrilla marketing operation to one or more sales outlets during the year.

Failing that, carefully keep all correspondence mentioning a prior agreement (email, SMS, etc.). It is important to base your communication on clear, written documentation to avoid misunderstandings. Honoring commitments is a pillar of any commercial business relationship, and thus of trade marketing.

When it comes to partnership, you should also try to obtain checkout data to evaluate the performance of kakemonos by retail outlet. And above all, in any case, equip your field representatives with a merchandising optimization application to ensure that your marketing and commercial goals are met!

Succeeding in the field deployment of kakemonos

Selecting the truly eligible retail outlets

Not all stores are suitable for deploying kakemonos. Before any operation, it is essential to target sales outlets capable of hosting this type of display without degrading the customer experience or disrupting store organization.

Sales floor area (convenience vs. supermarket vs. hypermarket), aisle width, store traffic, or even the aisle layout are determining criteria. A kakemono deployed in a store with too many constraints faces the risk of being refused, moved, or removed prematurely. Conversely, in a suitable store, it can become a real visual anchor serving both the brand and the distributor.

For this targeting phase, we advise you to tag your retail outlets during each visit to note in your CRM whether or not they have the capacity to host this type of POS display. After that, you will only have to save a view in your CRM "Kakemono - ok" which will allow you to quickly visualize on a map the locations to visit or call if you need to implement a kakemono POS display. This targeting phase also helps prioritize the efforts of field teams and avoid uneven deployment, which is often a source of tension with major retailers.

Defining clear and actionable implementation rules

An agreement in principle never guarantees compliant implementation. To limit execution gaps, it is essential to formalize simple, understandable guidelines that can be applied by regional sales managers.

These guidelines should specify:

• the exact location of the kakemono (aisle entrance, end cap, promotional area),

• its orientation and distance from products,

• safety and traffic conditions to respect,

• the planned duration of its presence in store.

The clearer these instructions, the more they reduce the risk of field interpretation and facilitate dialogue with the department manager. They also constitute an objective basis in case of non-compliance or early removal of the display.

To do this, use your CRM's document management system (DMS), which allows sending standardized and actionable guidelines directly to regional sales managers.

Supporting area managers in execution

The deployment of kakemonos heavily relies on area managers, who are the direct interface with the retail outlets. Their role is not limited to installing the display, but to ensuring its acceptance, compliance, and longevity.

This assumes they have access to:

• a clear pitch in case of store reluctance,

• visibility on the rules negotiated beforehand,

• simple tools to report a refusal, relocation, or removal.

Without this support, the kakemono becomes a sensitive, even conflictual topic, and the operation quickly loses its effectiveness.

Monitoring actual presence and compliance in-store

One of the main pitfalls of deploying kakemonos lies in the discrepancy between what is planned and what is actually in place. Field monitoring is therefore an essential step.

Taking photos, validating implementation checklists, and tracking compliance by store allow you to verify that the kakemono is present, ensure that it complies with the defined rules, and quickly identify at-risk retail outlets.

One of the major contributions of CRM lies in the ability to compare the theoretical plan with field reality. Thanks to field survey features, your teams can confirm the actual presence of the kakemono during each visit.

By consolidating field data, the CRM allows for quick identification of discrepancies between stores. You can locate stores where kakemonos are not in place, analyze the reasons for refusal or removal, and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Adapting deployment based on field realities

Finally, successfully deploying kakemonos requires accepting a certain degree of flexibility. Despite a precise framework, local constraints may arise: store remodeling, competitor operations, safety imperatives.

The issue is not systematically imposing the system, but knowing how to adjust it intelligently. An agreed relocation, a shortened duration, or replacement with another display can sometimes preserve the commercial relationship while maintaining the visibility objective.

It is this capacity to finely manage field execution, rather than settling for a theoretical plan, that makes the difference between an endured POS operation and a truly high-performing deployment.

Measuring the real effectiveness of kakemonos in-store

Deploying kakemonos without measuring their effectiveness is like running a POS campaign blind. To be useful, analysis must focus both on proper field execution and real sales impact, while keeping the inherent limitations of available data in mind.

Tracking key field execution indicators

The first step involves measuring what has actually been deployed in stores. These indicators make it possible to verify that the planned operation has been properly executed.

Among the key indicators to track:

• the deployment rate of kakemonos compared to targeted stores,

• the refusal rate upon installation,

• the actual duration of the kakemono's presence in store,

• the level of compliance with the implementation (positioning, orientation, safety).

These indicators provide an objective view of the campaign and help identify discrepancies between the theoretical plan and the reality in the field.

Verifying proper execution in-store

Any agreement negotiated with the retailer never guarantees conforming execution. Field control is therefore essential to objectify the situation store by store.

Uploading photo proof, associated with implementation checklists, makes it possible to confirm:

• the actual presence of the kakemono,

• compliance with set guidelines,

• any potential relocations or early removals.

This monitoring prevents basing analyses on declarations and forms a reliable foundation to steer operations and adjust the actions of field teams.

Analyzing the impact on sales, methodologically

Ultimately, the effectiveness of a kakemono is measured by its impact on sales. The analysis is typically based on comparing sales before, during, and after the campaign, ideally compared with control stores not equipped with the display.

However, this analysis often runs into a major obstacle: partial or non-existent access to scan data. In this context, results should be interpreted as trends rather than absolute proof of performance. Combining data on presence, visibility, and field execution with changes in sales nevertheless makes it possible to identify actionable correlations.

It is precisely this combination of mastered execution and careful reading of sales data that allows drawing concrete lessons, improving future operations, and strengthening team credibility during negotiations with distributors.