June 25, 2008— Ten A.R.E. members were recognized with awards in the 2008 POPAI Outstanding Merchandising Awards (OMA) Contest.

Hundreds of entries competed for gold, silver, and bronze honors in three divisions, based upon length of time in the store - Temporary, Semi-Permanent, and Permanent. The divisions were further broken down into 28 categories such as Cosmetics, Entertainment, Snack Products, etc. An additional category for Digital Signage was also added this year.

Among A.R.E. members, Frank Mayer & Associates Inc. received special distinction with a "Creative Best of Show" award for the Cervelo Bicycle Retail System project.

Frank Mayer & Associates Inc. also won:
• gold OMA in the "Permanent, Transportation" category, for the John Deere AMS Guidance Display System project
• bronze OMA in the "Permanent, Entertainment" category, for the Microsoft Games for Windows Kiosk project
• bronze OMA in the "Permanent, Sports Equipment" category, for the Cervelo Bicycle Retail System project

Other A.R.E. members winning awards were:

Harding Display Corp.
• bronze OMA in the "Permanent, Snack Products" category, for the Hershey Family Bar Rack project

IDL Inc.
• gold OMA in the "Semi-permanent, computers" category, for the Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8k Endcap project
• silver OMA in the "Permanent, Computers" category, for the Microsoft Vista Launch Inline Display project
• silver OMA in the "Semi-permanent, Computers" category, for the Microsoft Office Productivity Endcap project
• silver OMA in the "Semi-permanent, Sports Equipment" category, for the Nike Golf SQ Sumo Iron Display project
• silver OMA in the "Temporary, Toys and Accessories" category, for the Transformers Archways project
• bronze OMA in the "Semi-permanent, Sports Equipment" category, for the Nike Triax Vapor 300 Timing Display project
• bronze OMA in the "Temporary, Toys and Accessories" category, for the Enchanted Tales Feature Shop project

Leggett & Platt Display Group
• gold OMA in the "Semi-permanent, Multinational" category, for the Crest Mulan Oral Center project
• silver OMA in the "Semi-permanent, Books, Newspapers" category, for the Staples HP PS C4385 Exclusive Endcap project
• bronze OMA in the "Semi-permanent, Multinational" category, for the Tango Unexpected Shopping Experience Display project

Nanonation
• bronze Digital Signage in the "Network, Retail" category, for the Harley Davidson In-Store Branded Media Campaign project

PFI Displays Inc.
• silver OMA in the "Permanent, Beverages - Liquor" category, for the Dekuyper Modular Rack project

Packaging Concepts LTD
• silver OMA in the "Permanent, Personal Products and Accessories" category, for the Nokia Counter / Slatwall Display project

Process Displays Inc.
• gold OMA in the "Permanent, Home and Garden" category, for the Ryobi Lithium Home Depot Endcap project
• silver OMA in the "Permanent, Snack Products and Soft Drinks" category, for the Wm. Wrigley Big E Dump Bin project
• silver OMA in the "Permanent, Specialty Retailer" category, for the GameStop Menu Sign project
• silver OMA in the "Permanent, Transportation" category, for the 3M Car Endcap project

Synsor Corporation
• bronze OMA in the "Permanent, Electronic Interactive and Technlogy" category, for the Kodak EasyShare 5300 All-In-One Printer End Cap for Office Depot project
• bronze Limited Production Run Awards in the "Permanent, Limited Production Run" category, for the Kodak Digital Picture Frame Wall for Wal-mart project

Universal Display & Fixtures Company
• bronze OMA in the "Permanent, Snack Products, and Soft Drinks" category, for the Flat Earth Merchandising Family project

A detailed event recap, including photos and summaries of select winning projects, is featured in the May issue of Marketing at Retail magazine.