Written by Andrew Moss, Managing Director at Horizon
2020 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. Many of us are wondering what the future holds for our organisations, and who knows what lies ahead? But we wanted to share our story, in the hope that it inspires and encourages others in our industry.
Horizon Marketing is now in our 12th year. And it finally it feels like we’ve come of age. We’ve found a new home, and after extensive refurbishment, moved into Melrose House in March 2020.
Just in time for – you guessed it – lockdown. Clearly the timing wasn’t great. But now we’re firmly focused on the future, with massive change bringing exciting opportunity. We’ve brought more processes in-house, with extra manufacturing equipment at our new home.
This means we can bring our creative designs to life quickly and cost effectively, without heavy reliance on external suppliers. From an operational standpoint, all teams are now fully back to work, with a combination of home and office working. Moving forward, we anticipate that the type of work we do will change for sure.
Welcoming our first customers to Melrose House
The cycle of change
When we were founded in 2009, the world was in the midst of a financial meltdown. Marketing budgets were extremely tight. We had to be resourceful, and ultimately deliver more for less. And 2021 is likely to be similar, with a focus on temporary and semi-permanent solutions and a shift away from permanent and premium solutions until retail becomes more stable.
Shopping is now a very different experience. As an industry, we need impulse purchases to return to previous levels. This will only come with increased dwell times associated with the previously pleasurable experience of shopping.
In the meantime, shoppers are seeing reduced interaction with store staff, so point of sale has to be entirely unassisted. This will lead to a new type of design brief, with simpler and clearer messaging.
What lies ahead?
Lockdown has also driven new demand. Many categories are seeing massive resurgences in popularity, such as gaming, crafting, cycling, and home working and schooling solutions.
Moving into the summer holidays, we’re likely to see increased popularity in many other more typical sectors such as barbecues and staycation-associated categories like camping.
Those who adapt to changing demands and tastes will continue to thrive. With our new stronger foundations we plan to help our brand and retail customers drive a positive curve.
This year, we celebrate our 10th year of partnership with Retail Profiling. Plans are in place for start-to-end service positioning with clients able to access a one-stop-shop via a dedicated account manager. Through Retail Profiling we have access to an international network of field marketing and merchandising specialists who can support our European activity.
We have also increased our support and dedication to POPAI and are now Gold sponsors of the POPAI Awards.
Access to consumer insights and environmental news is perhaps even more important now than ever before. Horizon stepping up to this key position seemed to be the right thing to do at the right time, and further cements our new mentality.
Phil Day, Managing Director of POPAI, shares our optimism about the future shape of retail. “Ours is an extremely resilient industry,” he says. “Yes, we need to adapt and be responsive. But the opportunities are there, as Horizon are demonstrating.”
At Horizon, we pride ourselves on our sustainability and scalability. If you’d like to know how we can add value to your in-store proposition, please get in touch.
Tel. 01353 666110
Email. enquiries@horizonrms.com
Web. http://www.horizon-rms.com/