Case Study: Photography Changes Yield Picture-perfect Results at Strasburg Children

Problem: The Strasburg Children catalog wanted to improve the quality of its photographs.
Solution: It hired an outside photography studio.
Results: Strasburg Children has seen a 400 percent increase in catalog requests via phone and online. It’s also experienced an increase in Web sales and store traffic.

Strasburg Children, a multichannel marketer of high-end children’s clothing, knew it had quality products, but company officials felt its photography didn’t show off the intricate detail and delicate beauty of its clothing.

Strasburg Children has gone from four stores to almost 100. But according to Marketing Manager Amy Hough, “One of the things that failed to evolve with our growth was the physical representation of the product — and marketing in general.”

“The garment was truly second fiddle,” Hough says of the photos previously used in the catalog and on the Web site. “Our problem was, ‘Where were we going to do this?’ and, ‘Who was available?’”

Each store has photographic partnerships, so they solicited test shots early in 2006. Rob Dume, a Quad/Graphics rep who stopped in at Strasburg’s Lenexa, Kan., headquarters, supplied the initial contact information that brought Strasburg and QuadPhoto together, says Mark Kozlowski, director of photography for the catalog printer’s QuadPhoto unit.

“After some conversations with Strasburg executives,” says Kozlowski, “we decided to keep them close to their regional area and bring them into our Dallas studio. It’s one of our studios that can shoot year-round because of the weather.”

Hooked on a Feeling

While Strasburg wanted to upgrade its photo quality, the company didn’t want to lose “that warm, fuzzy, heirloom branding,” Hough says. “That was the challenge,” she says: “Show the product but keep the magic.”

Luckily, Quad/Graphics uses a closed-loop color management system for expert color reproduction. “Every-thing is color-balanced,” explains R.J. Hinkle, a QuadPhoto photographer. “We hand it off to imaging. And it’s handed down to the press.”

Hough says imaging is another reason Strasburg Children chose QuadPhoto. Although the catalog is printed elsewhere, it has begun using QuadPhoto for printing some in-store materials. “The best thing is when there’s a problem with the photography, color correction or printing, I don’t have separate vendors blaming each other,” she says. “It frees up time and money in the end.”

Worth 1,000 Sales

Hough, who spends one week each month at QuadPhoto in Dallas, says the photos taken by Hinkle and John Neuschwander, the studio’s second photographer, have been so good they’ve boosted catalog requests and Web sales.

Strasburg has had a 400 percent increase in catalog requests via the phone and online through its Web site. “I attribute that to our new photography,” Hough says. “There’s also been a sizable increase in our Web sales due to the ability to see the [clothing] detail online.”

Additionally, the stores are enjoying increased traffic and sales. “Cust-omers we haven’t seen in years have come back,” Hough says. “They’re bringing in people we’ve never seen before.”

Strasburg Children’s flower girl dresses also have been in bridal magazines, such as Brides and Martha Stewart Weddings, in the past year. She believes that’s also due to improved photos on the Web site attracting the eyes of magazine editors.

Time to Experiment

The improved photography has led the company to experiment with new lines, such as fall separates, and different layouts, such as a photo-dominated infants catalog targeted to new mothers. “It has an intro, photos and the price list,” Hough explains. “You get the feeling. You get the sentiment that you’re filled with desire to buy this clothing without having to read anything.”

All in all, Strasburg’s photography improvements have enabled the cataloger to branch out and take some design risks in its catalogs and store flyers. “We felt that if we take risks and it’s not exactly what we wanted, we’re not losing anything because the photography is strong enough to carry us,” Hough says. “We have numbers that show this is working.”

Gail Kalinoski is a freelance writer based in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. You can reach her at gkalinoski@aol.com.