one little sticker

lately i've been paying a lot of attention to store displays and why they are placed where they are. it's turning into a hobby of sorts. tonight i stopped by wendy's in between disasters at work for some grub and came across my latest tidbit of knowledge. as i was standing in line waiting for the staff to slaughter another cow and reinvent the secret recipe for coca-cola, i made up my mind on the purchase of 3 bacon cheeseburgers and a large fry. i decide to forgo the drink deciding that i don't need the caffiene and sugar. while standing there in this "fast" food line, my eyes wander around the counter and come to rest on the soda machine. it's one of those dealies with just the top poking out where the consumer can see the stickers for each type of fountain drink on hand. one of these stickers is missing. i start to think how tacky it looks and then begin searching for what it might be. i eventually learn that the spigot belongs to dr. pepper, one of my favorites. from this experience, i've learned two things:

lesson number 1: the longer you can keep somebody in the store or in front of the product without upsetting them, the more likely they are to spend money. had i not had to stand in line for damn near 10 minutes, i never would have coughed up the $1.29 for the XL dr. pepper.
lesson number 2: product placement that can engage a consumer is more likely to sell. had that sticker been there in the first place, i probably would not have bought it. the blank space stuck out and made me first, think about it, second, seek it out, and finally impulse buy it.

Number 1 seems fairly straitforward. The real trick is going to be applying that second one.