Front-Runner

Although the company was still gauging response to the first slim jims at press time, Rick Hodges says he’ll be patient before making any future format decisions. The company plans to give the slim-jim format at least 18 months to prove its value before even considering another format change.

Regardless of response and beyond the postage savings, the slim jim has yielded at least one other key benefit: The format change forced Hodges Badge to address and upgrade the catalog’s creative, an area that had been more or less neglected for years. This was welcome news to Art Director Sue Brescia, whose department was often hamstrung by the company’s reticence to change the book’s creative.