Creative

Roughly speaking, all catalogs are styled in the tradition of either Louis Vuitton or Wal-Mart. No, really. The former are created using a traditional catalog workflow: merchandiser, designer, photographer, stylist, color house and web printer. The result often is a high-end look that’s inspirational enough to coax customers into paying the substantial product costs. Cocktail-party stories about these catalogs feature the photographer too heavy to fit into a helicopter and an art director arguing with modeling agencies by cell phone while standing on an island in a remote Alaskan lake shooing deer away from a fully styled bedroom set at midnight (true,

The metamorphosis of Rob and Diane O’Connor from wide-eyed idealists to razor sharp, gimlet-eyed catalogers who are on top of every facet of a $17 million merchandising operation is as inspiring as it is fascinating. Now in their early 60s, the O’Connors are at the top of their game and supremely fit. How fit? Rob O’Connor recently ran a 150-mile marathon across the Sahara in 100-degree heat carrying on his back bedding, an eight-day supply of food and a small stove. In the process, he raised $17,000 for cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic as a thank you for his successful prostate surgery.

What if you could achieve double the response rate you currently earn with your catalog mailing? What if you could mail for much less than the cost of the catalog? And what if you could do all this and make a profit? You can. Highly targeted, lower-cost marketing communications vehicles such as mini catalogs, solo direct mail pieces and flyers complement your catalog mailings. An advantage business-to-business (b-to-b) catalogers have over consumer catalogers is their knowledge of purchasing motivators, industry-wide purchasing patterns and product life cycles. Think about it: Customers in certain industries buy during specific times of the year, while others buy

What if you could achieve double the response rate you currently earn with your catalog mailing? What if you could mail for much less than the cost of the catalog? And what if you could do all this and make a profit? You can. Highly targeted, lower-cost marketing communications vehicles such as mini catalogs, solo […]

Comma Crazy “I’ve got a lot of changes,” said the cataloger. I sighed. We’d already been through countless rounds and sent files to the color house very late. And the cataloger still was making changes. Color costs were soaring. I got out my red pen. “Ready for your changes,” I said. “OK,” said the cataloger, “in the first sentence, third word, remove the comma before the word ‘and’ ... “ One nice thing about smaller catalogs is that often they’re run by entrepreneurs who are pretty good at distinguishing between things that matter and things that don’t. But as a catalog company

Like so many facets of direct marketing, improving Web-site conversions depends as much on applying an appropriate focus, some common sense and thorough planning as it does on adopting the latest technological breakthrough. Indeed, 43 percent of Web executives, marketers, developers and IT managers said conversion rates are the most important Web-site metrics they track, according to a survey from NetIQ. It’s astonishing, then, that 66 percent didn’t know their own conversion rates. What’s needed? The logical first step toward improving conversion rates — and overall Web-site performance — is to apply some of the same knowledge you use in initiatives for

Many catalogers who use customer testimonials say this creative element boosts sales and adds a friendly touch to their brands. Below are some things to consider if you, too, want to utilize this creative element in your print catalogs. Testimonials Work Most catalogers report a general boost in product performance when they use testimonials, although many admit they don’t scientifically measure the impact. “I used testimonials at Gardener’s Supply and think they can be really powerful catalog marketing tools,” says Susan Stone Russel, the former circulation manager at Gardener’s Supply catalog, and currently a manager at Intuit. “My main objective

When you call a catalog advertising agency, designer or copywriter, you expect to have things your way. After all, you have the cash. While you certainly can have things your way, the strongest-selling catalogs generally are those in which the cataloger has worked as a partner with — not a dictator to — the creative team. How can you bring a detailed knowledge of your product line and customers to the table, without smothering the creative process with non-negotiable rules? Following are four guidelines that may help. 1. Leave your quirks at the door. A national manufacturer with a highly respected brand launched

As a business-to-business (b-to-b) cataloger, you know that your large catalog is an essential selling tool, as well as a brand differentiator. Its benchmarks of success may include strong revenues, remarkable customer response and overall profitability. A good strategy for any catalog’s mailing frequency should be based on the book’s anticipated order-response curve. But when you create a large b-to-b catalog that’s expected to have a shelf life of four, six or even 12 months, how can you ensure that it keeps selling well during its entire campaign? The following 10 steps can help. 1. Understand the order-response curve. This is defined

Many catalog managers have an idea of what they want their brand to be, only to learn through trial and error that what they want it to be may not be what it is. Likewise, in an effort to deliver something exciting to a catalog client, many creative agencies suggest remaking a brand to become more appealing to a different audience (e.g., younger, hipper, wealthier). Certainly, there may be legitimate reasons to redo your brand, but understand that it’s a difficult and complex process requiring thought and expertise to execute. Making an abrupt change and unveiling a new creative or merchandising concept could