3M COMMERCIAL GRAPHICS IS PUTTING ADS UNDERFOOT

JAMES TENSER

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- If brand images on walls, shopping carts and overhead signs aren't enough, 3M Commercial Graphics has introduced a way for in-store advertisers to cover another surface with their messages -- the floor.

Brand marketers and point-of-purchase professionals were introduced to 3M Floor Graphics in an exhibit at the Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute's POPAI Marketplace in Chicago earlier this month.

The floor graphics combine several 3M technologies: an extension of the same nonmarring adhesive technology behind Post-it notes and the company's proprietary methods for printing color graphics. They are approximately 12-thousandths of an inch in thickness and can be made in any size or shape.

"The floor graphics are designed to be applied right at the point where the purchase is to be made," said Craig Roberts, marketing supervisor for the product.

The floor graphics adhere firmly to any clean, smooth surface and can be peeled up without marring or adhesive residue. They are warranted to last up to 90 days in high-traffic retail locations, and they stay in place even under assault from commercial floor polishing machines. The plastic top layer is textured to provide a safe walking surface.

The floor graphics are available through POP producers and suppliers, through any of 3M's licensed graphics fabricators, or through 3M Media, which also offers store placement services, Roberts said.