Creating a Winning Catalog

Cataloging is not a beauty contest. Catalogers are in business to make money, so it’s not always the prettiest catalog that gets the best response or sells the most merchandise. While an aesthetically pleasing catalog works for apparel and home furnishing offerings, for some types of merchandise, a less pretty, more product-dense approach works better. The Damark catalog, featuring electronics and computers, is one such example.

Damark focuses on product and price. It uses inexpensive paper instead of thick coated paper. It includes simple product shots instead of fancy spreads. It utilizes short, benefit-driven copy instead of long-winded, story copy. And it works: Damark’s predominantly male customers number 10 million.

Part of Damark’s success must be credited to the way it cleverly employs proven direct mail techniques: the use of dot whacks, “hot” colors, bursts and color blocks to draw the reader’s attention. But what enables Damark to feature the latest computer and electronic products is production technology.

Products drive Production

According to Randy Rudolph, director of creative services at Damark, catalog production must be lightning fast to offer products on the cutting edge. Its bread and butter products are computers and electronics, which are constantly upgraded and enhanced as technology advances. Because the catalog must react to the market, “Each catalog has a short lead time,” says Rudolph.

Damark utilizes the latest in production technology, including computer-to-plate printing, digital photography, the re-use of digital assets and an in-house proofing system.

Damark’s main printer is Banta, and Banta Digital Group handles its digital assets. A whopping 95 percent of its photography is digital, and Damark re-uses 80 percent of its images. It uses Adobe’s portable document format (PDF) workflow, which allows the pages to be built quickly. Design, says Rudolph, “is basically plug and play, using Quark documents.” Everything is done in-house because, according to Rudolph, “No one can do it faster, cheaper, or as good.”

Creative Approach

Damark’s creative is also driven by the products it sells. High-tech computers and electronics aren’t sold by a cataloger creating a mood, but by the desire to have the latest in technology or the coolest new gadget. It’s not selling a lifestyle, but rather the latest products at low prices. So unlike many other catalogs, Damark features simple product shots.

Many consumers are looking to buy these products at the cheapest price possible, and Damark wants to compete for their business. Damark “isn’t afraid to show the price,” says Rudolph. In addition, as customers are brand-sensitive when purchasing electronics, brand logos are included with almost every product.

Additionally, because of the technical nature of the products Damark sells, it employs what Rudolph describes as “promotional copy”—benefit-driven copy that quickly explains why each product would be welcome in the home.

Damark relies on testing to tell it what creative works and what doesn’t. Among the things it tests: offers and teasers, cover wraps, dot whacks and paper stock.

Assertive Creative

Rudolph describes Damark’s creative as “in your face.” To this end, Damark begins selling right on the front and back covers. Damark has tested both product and concept covers, says Rudolph, but “has found product covers to be more effective.” The front cover features a great offer—free shipping—in large type. This is an effective attention-getter, as many consumers cite the shipping charges as the main reason for not ordering from catalogs. To find out the details, the prospect is directed inside the book.

A fluorescent pink dot whack covers part of the headline. According to Rudolph, Damark tests dot whack placement, and says, “We’ll put it over the copy; we’ll put it over the photo; but not the price!” Damark has tested dot whacks in different colors, but always returns to fluorescents. “We’ve tried gold and silver, but those efforts weren’t so successful.”

In addition, the cover uses bright red and yellow bursts and color blocks to capture the prospect’s eye. This is one area Damark doesn’t test. “We don’t test colors,” says Rudolph, “because we know which colors work.”

Damark uses icons on the front cover and throughout the book. According to Steve Trollinger, vice president of marketing for J. Schmid & Associates, a catalog consultancy, Damark does a great job with this technique.

“The ‘after-holiday clearance’ icon lets customers know this item is low-priced; the ‘new’ icon indicates which products are new to its existing customer base and alerts new customers that the catalog has cutting-edge products,” he says.

Another plus is Damark’s “4 Pay Plan,” which is introduced on the cover and is available for products over $99, allowing buyers to spread payments over four months. This is a selling point for a catalog that features some relatively expensive products, and Trollinger believes that “it draws people into the book.” This offer is also stated inside the catalog, on a page that cleverly includes only products that are eligible for this plan.

he front and back covers also do a good job of showing different product types and price points. “Both covers feature low, moderate and high price-point products,” Trollinger says. In addition, the back cover includes information on payment options and the phone number. It also uses variable printing to include a personalized message to the prospect.

Between the pages

Inside, the catalog is broken up into different sections, including housewares, electronics, computers, phones and fitness equipment. Says Trollinger, “For some catalogs, we advise them to spread out products for pacing, but for Damark, which is a dense catalog, it makes sense to include like products together.” Trollinger says the effect is similar to a mini-catalog for each category.

While Damark employs a grid design, which can give a catalog a monotonous look, Damark’s grid “is broken up by varying the design, which affects the pacing” (how the customer moves through the catalog). Overall, the effectiveness of the product spreads is excellent. “In addition to picturing the product, insets show the product in use, the uses for the product or explain how it works,” Trollinger says.

Another effective use of creative is how shipping and handling prices are included, but then crossed out. This really illustrates the savings and drives it home more than just mentioning it on the cover.

While few people actually order through the mail—for a catalog with a technology-savvy audience Trollinger estimates that 85 percent order by phone, 5 percent use the Internet, and 10 percent actually do mail-in orders—Damark supplies an order form, which is smart, since many people use it to organize their orders. It also generates prospects by asking for the names of friends who would like to receive the catalog. The order form copy is dense, but informative, and makes ordering “as easy as 1, 2, 3.”

What works—and saves money

Compared to many apparel and home furnishing catalogs, the Damark catalog may seem a bit, well, cheaply produced. But there’s a good reason for this: While many catalogers use a thick, coated paper to show off their products, Damark uses cheap supercalendared (SCA) uncoated paper for the entire catalog, including the cover. Rudolph says, “We’ve tested using nicer paper, as products tend to look nicer with a nicer paper, but found that our customers are not sensitive to the paper; so we’ve gone back to the supercalendared.”

In addition, the current catalog is a bit smaller than it used to be—by about 15 percent—measuring in at 71⁄2˝x10˝. More savings: Damark buys its own paper, and is now utilizing a short cutoff press for paper savings.

Overall, Trollinger believes Damark’s creative and design are excellent. The positioning of the catalog, he says, “goes along with its style. It is a value-oriented-catalog, so it uses a value-conscious design.” It positions itself effectively as a catalog that contains great deals on new products, as it illustrates by the use of icons, bursts and color blocks how much money the customer is saving. The Damark catalog is a winner because it combines proven direct mail techniques, the latest in production technology and cutting-edge products.

Pushing the right creative buttons: Damark’s grid pattern is broken up with brand badges, red and yellow price bursts and icons for its 4 Pay Plan and special values.