Creative Cut: Nautical Cataloger Doesn’t Sail Deep Enough Into the Water

Bluewater Books & Charts is a 104-page consumer catalog that offers navigational charts, instruments and gifts to the nautical community. In addition to the catalog, the company operates two retail stores and, of course, a Web site.

I suspect this catalog markets to high-income shoppers willing to spend a great deal of money on their hobby-based lifestyle, and Bluewater needs to capitalize on this with a design that’ll make sailing enthusiasts want to part with their dollars. But the Bluewater catalog is as predictable as a nautical chart in its careful organization.

Let’s look at some specific problems as well as some creative solutions that will translate into sales.

Thrill Me With Your Cover
Your cover must get prospects excited about your products. The Bluewater cover photo is compelling, but loses some of its impact because of the distracting, busy sidebar of product photos.

That said, showing product photos on the cover is a great idea, but only if they connect with what’s inside and communicate important information quickly and easily to consumers. For example, it’s confusing for customers to see the caption “Nautical Books” under a photo of a giant oyster shell with a pearl. Communicating these different categories on the cover just with copy would simplify the cover and make it an easier and more compelling read.

Use cover copy that pinpoints your identity. In this case, the copy, “The world’s leading marine navigational resource,” is buried on the back cover. Move it to the front cover as a tag below the logo to immediately tell customers who you are and why they need what you sell.

Clean Up the Design, Let the Product Shine
Rules, bars and outlines are great visual tools when employed with care. But these can be a disaster when overused. In the case of the spread on pgs. 90 and 91 (shown below), the excessive outlining of photos, bars between sections and rules around copy make the design look more like an old-fashioned B-to-B catalog than a consumer book. In addition, they take away from the product, which should be the star of the page.

To create a more contemporary design, Bluewater could introduce color backgrounds behind the photos, eliminating the need to outline every shot. Bluewater also should consider anchoring some pages with an overall background color instead of stark white.
Let Products Dominate the Page
Reducing visual clutter and enlarging some of the photos will allow the products, not the graphics, to dominate the page. After all, it’s the products you’re selling, so let them shine.

Creating wants out of needs may be a cataloger’s biggest challenge. Bluewater has a great deal of product that its probably need, but there are several ways to create the shopping “wants.”

Infuse the book with the allure of the sea. For a nautical products catalog, Bluewater’s creative presentation seems to lack the power of the waves, the sea breezes and the gut feel of being out on the water. Consider using large lifestyle photos to capture that feeling. Use these on breaker spreads to introduce new categories and to break up the monotony of the book.

Introduce best sellers, high price-point or high-margin products — and make them bigger. Much of the product in this catalog is the same size, which is too predictable.

Carefully selected hero products placed in key selling positions — upper-right corner, for example — will sell better when given more space.

Bluewater already employs an effective cross-selling tactic with text boxes in key spots to drive shoppers to additional items such as software. Use these more effectively by swapping out the photos to relate to the copy.

Will You Still Want Me Tomorrow?
The Bluewater catalog has a two-year shelf life. That’s a long time to ask someone to keep a catalog.

Bluewater might consider producing several smaller catalogs and mailing more frequently. One idea is to include a tighter, carefully edited assortment within the catalog to create interest, and then drive shoppers to the Web site for add-ons and additional information. In fact, a lot of the detailed information that’s included in the catalog might be better off on the Web site where shoppers can drill down to exactly what they need to know.

Conclusion
A passionate, niche audience gives the Bluewater catalog a great opportunity to turn sailors into shoppers. Taking the time to create a more careful balance of information vs. romance will improve the way this book sells. By infusing the allure of the sea into its product presentation both in the catalog and on the Web, Bluewater can experience clear sailing ahead.

Christine Carrington is president of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Catalogs by Lorél. You can reach her at (610) 337-9133 or chris@lorel.com.