Foodservice equipment supplier Edward Don & Co. employs a targeted marketing strategy that helps it deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

By Alicia Orr Suman

When Powell started in 1979 as a junior copywriter, he worked mostly on The Binder, the 700-page catalog the sales reps carried on sales calls. “It was updated every three weeks, so there was always plenty of work. Those were the days of typewriters, drawing boards and light tables,” he reminisces.

Powell says that in the 1960s and early 1970s, the foodservice supply market was very different, and Edward Don didn’t have the competition it has today. The company’s emphasis back then was on building order size. “We needed to find ways to differentiate ourselves. We wanted to position ourselves as the industry’s premier supply company with the most experienced and knowledgeable reps. We upgraded our photography, went to bullet-style copy and started publishing magalogs with better paper stock.”