โIโm embarrassed to be seen with my products.โ The catalog was filled with attractive young models playing in the snow. It looked very nice, except ... โYou sell camping gear, right?โ I asked. โAbsolutely,โ said the catalog manager. โWhich none of these models is using?โ The manager smiled. โOur products are so ugly and boring, we realized the only way to sell them was to show something else.โ โSo how are sales?โ โNot great.โ Iโm amazed by how many catalogers are embarrassed by the products they sell, and I see it in all product categories. It doesnโt correlate with the products themselves, either. Theyโre
Creative
Catalogers looking to improve their workflow and productivity have much to celebrate these days. With the introduction of Adobeยฎ InDesignยฎ 2.0 and the much-awaited upgrade from QuarkโQuarkXpressยฎ 5.0โyou now have significant improvements in page layout production applications. Both InDesign 2.0 and QuarkXpress 5.0 added upgrades that will save catalogers time and money. Both programs support tables, export to PDF, offer image and content libraries, produce pages for the Web, and support XML. Your design staffers will love the layers for versioning and the automatic table of contents creation and indexing. But after those similarities, itโs evident that Adobeโs InDesign, with its
It turns out you can judge a book by its coverโif itโs a catalog. Even small books must make big first impressions. โYou need to get [customers] to open your book, and youโve got about three seconds to do it,โ says John Rossiter, a senior sales representative from printing company R.R. Donnelley and Sons. And while design and copy undoubtedly play larger roles in grabbing customersโ and prospectsโ attention, without the right paper stock a catalog cover may go unnoticed or misrepresent your brand. Following is a rundown of what to examine when selecting a cover stock. Brand and Basis Weight Many consultants and
The nations of the European Union enjoy well-developed mail-order markets; much of the continent now shares a common currency; and the Internetโs rise has dismantled many of the perceived barriers to international trade. U.S. catalogers have much to offer Europeans, too. American catalog executives well understand the power of branding and have developed niche offerings that are only now beginning to be exploited across the Atlantic. That said, however, there are differences between the two regions that can make your navigational efforts difficult. Below, weโll identify those challenges and explore ways around them. Creative Challenges While language differences are more apparent when
One night in 1950, a truckload of grapefruit was late in arriving at Ed Cushmanโs tiny fruit packing business in West Palm Beach, FL. Cushman was there supervising as the growerโs truck was being unloaded. As the last 20 bushels came off the truck, Cushman asked the workers, โWhat the devil is this? These arenโt grapefruit!โ Said the driver, โI donโt know. I just deliver what they give me.โ Turns out this particular grower had a few trees of Mineola tangelos, and they almost looked like orange bells. โMy dad came up with the name โHoneyBellโ,โ says Allen Cushman, now president of
Choosing a print location for your international catalog requires more than throwing a dart at a world map while blindfolded. When marketing overseas, should you print and mail your catalog in the United States or in your target country? An economical solution is based on production, distribution and your marketing strategy, according to Tim Ohnmacht, manager of international business development for printing company Quad/Graphics. Your marketing strategy and mail volume largely dictate your printing and mailing location. For example, if youโre banking on the cache of being an American company, consider printing your catalog in the States and mailing your piece using the
Country Store catalog is a home-improvement success story with a high-tech twist. The catalog is produced by Reiman Publications, Greendale, WI, which was founded by Roy Reiman in 1964 as a magazine publishing company. In the early 1970s, Reiman launched Farm Wife News magazine and began offering โIโm Proud to be a Farm Wifeโ T-shirts at cost to promote the publication. The shirts were so popular that Reiman executives realized the company could sell the garments for a profit. Reiman expanded the brand, adding โIโm Proud to be a Farmerโs Daughterโ and โIโm Proud to be a Country Boyโ versions, among others.
Melissa Payner is a risk-taker. The 43-year-old retail industry veteran has been president and CEO of Spiegel Catalog for only 10 months and already has turned the place on its head with new merchandising, catalog creative, advertising and promotions. It doesnโt matter that the economy remains in a slump and catalog industry sales are down: Payner is excited to be breathing new life into Spiegel Catalog by refocusing on its customers and strengthening its brand image. Thereโs no arguing that Spiegel needed a change when Payner took the reins. Looking back five or six years, one might describe the catalogโs branding as
โJust make the photos big, and people will buy.โ The cataloger had reviewed our production budget and was now on the phone. โWhatโs this big bill for copywriting?โ he asked. โThatโs the cost of writing all of your catalog copy.โ โBut we donโt need any copy,โ he said. โYou really do. Copy does for catalogs what a salesperson does in person: describes features, explains benefits, answers questions, asks for the sale.โ โWe still donโt want any. Who reads any more? Just put the photo on the page. If they like it, theyโll buy. If not, a bunch of words wonโt change their minds.โ
If youโve ever struggled with how to effectively manage relationships with your vendors, following are some tips learned from the trenches of cataloging. Complaints About the Call Center The second hand on my watch swept past 12 ... again. Iโd been on hold for 10 long minutes. Another music-on-hold tune began, and I realized Iโd heard it already. Iโd been on hold so long, the tape loop was repeating! As I listened, I imagined all the customers who had viewed my beautiful catalog, read my great copy, found a product they really loved, calledโand now were hanging up in disgust at the