The Double-edged Sword of Inserts’ Implied Endorsement
Inserts in packages or statements benefit from an implied endorsement of the sponsoring marketer whose package or statement the insert is riding along with. This can be a boon or a curse.
In most cases, package inserts create a positive boost with the implied endorsement. Customers are receiving merchandise they ordered; they’re happy to receive what they’ve ordered and will look more favorably upon the inserts in the package because of it. This includes those bounceback catalogs many catalogers insert in outgoing shipments.
But beware if customers aren’t happy with the merchandise in that package. Then, that implied endorsement becomes a “curse.” “When customers aren’t happy with the merchandise,” Jill Eastman-Vidal, director of third-party marketing at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM says, “they won’t be happy with your insert.”
In the case of gift purchases, if customers like the gift they receive from a cataloger, they may order something for themselves from the inserts or bounceback catalogs. But if they’re disappointed, they won’t even consider it.
In these cases, the only thing customers or gift recipients will do with the bounceback catalog is get the customer service number to complain or make a return.