Electrifying the Industry

Charge up your accounts with static cling sales

By Erik Cagle

When it comes to static cling labels, John Shanley doesn't mind being an island unto himself. Shanley, president of Labels West, Woodinville, Wash., is among a small core of manufacturers who produce these labels.

Shanley has a patent on a piggyback-type form/static cling label combination. He is also moving into the point-of-purchase beverage market, because grocers routinely use static cling labels to promote weekly specials.

Static cling labels are relatively new on the market--newer than pressure-sensitive labels but older than the Internet. Increasingly, distributors are finding new ways to permeate the retail market with this innovative product.

"One of the beautiful things about [the static cling label] is that it goes down and comes up without any difficulty and you can reposition it," Shanley said. Polyvinyl and 8 millimeters thick, these labels receive a magnetic charge at the point of manufacturing, according to Shanley. They are clear or white and generally have a life expectancy of three months.

Among their applications are:

• Oil/lube change labels. They're inserted in the driver's side corner of a car windshield to remind the operator when the car is scheduled for maintenance.

• Point-of-purchase advertising. They are the most popular with kitchen appliances and entertainment equipment.

• 'Window clings,' as they are routinely called, represent another popular application. They are used to beautify a window or celebrate a season or holiday.

In all three applications, the common ground is the label's ability to detach from the media at the user's convenience and be reapplied. Equally as important, these labels leave no sticky residue.

Upper Class Label

Selling static cling labels only takes a little imagination, according to John Egbert, chairman of McCourt Label, Lewis Run, Pa. However, it's not for everybody, because the cost runs four to five times that of standard paper.

"The raw material cost is expensive, so you're not going to sell it to someone who's trying to get away cheap," Egbert said. "Dollar stores are not going to buy static cling point-of-purchase displays. People who sell the digital TV might do it, because they're going to get $3,000 for a television set.

"You don't sell a Mercedes to everybody," he added. "I won't say static cling is a Mercedes, but it's not a Volkswagen, either. It's kind of approaching the high-price spread. If you need perfect removability without adhesive residue, static cling labels may be your product."