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Increase Your Catalog Profits by Decreasing Your Selling Space

Posted on July 28, 2009

What was then…

As consumers we all know what a catalog is. Personally, I was introduced to catalogs starting at a young age. My older sister and I often got into battles over who could view the American Girl doll catalog first. As we were both avid fans and collectors (my sister owned “Molly” and I myself had “Samantha”) of the new trinkets and clothing items that had come out for our little dolls. I remember vividly carefully earmarking the glossy pages of the catalogs filled with items that I positively NEEDED for Samantha.

What I have now…

Today, though I don’t receive the American Girl catalog any longer; my mail box is full of catalogs…well, what some would consider a catalog. Just yesterday I received a Patagonia “catalog.” Beautifully printed (kudos to Arandell!) the book was filled with images of waterproof shells, down jackets and other outdoor gear and apparel. There was, however, MORE than just merchandise. As each cover indicates, the catalog is filled with amazing images from around the world. Captions denote the location and credit the photographer and in some books, provide inspiring narrative for browsers. In fact, about 45% of the catalog consists of non-selling space. The photos, captions and tales not only reiterate Patagonia’s commitment to restoring the disappearing wild world they love so much, but they also inspire the readers to keep the catalog a bit longer. Angela Weidmann, Catalog Print Production Manager at Patagonia stated,

“Customers report that the captions for the image photos are the most-read copy in our catalogs…The editorial content does prompt customers to contact us regularly. They let us know they keep our catalog around the house for months or longer; some have collections dating back decades, and many have told us they savor reading our catalogs.”

Not sold on the customization theory? Read on…

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How LDC’s Could Affect Your Holiday Catalogs

Posted on July 27, 2009

Blake Hutchison, Vice President, ProcurementIt’s that time of year again …

For the average American the holiday season begins with a kick in November…and maybe October for the early planners. But for us in the printing and catalog/retail industries, the holiday season is well under way. At Arandell, we are deep in the midst of receiving files packed full of fur-lined boots, scarves and mittens, and delicious holiday hams and turkeys.

With the start of the “busy” holiday season, there are a few things that every cataloger must remember to ensure their books are produced to spec and delivered on time. One key factor of importance is meeting your LDC, or Last Date to Change.

LDC’s are creeping out.

According to Pulp & Paper Products Council, June shipments of printing and writing papers showed a 5.1% INCREASE over May shipments. Amazing!  This affects catalogers because we are also seeing LDC dates creeping out. In the past we have seen three- to four-week LDC dates; now they are moving out to four- to six-weeks in some cases. Why the movement? A couple reasons:

   • We are entering the typical “busy season” for paper mills, where their backlogs of orders and runs are filling up. This happens every year.

   • The mills have taken a lot of downtime throughout the slow spring season. Many of the machines are still down. Because of this, specific combinations of basis weight and grade (i.e. 80#, #3 COVER) that might have been manufactured twice per month in the past, are now only manufactured once, and thereby increasing lead times and LDC’s.

In the past six- to eight months paper has been readily available; last-second spot orders have been able to be filled. Given the above two factors, however, things will continue getting tighter, and much more quickly than anticipated. 

With paper prices falling to levels last seen over a year ago, there have been cases where LDC orders have INCREASED because end users have more money to spend than the last time. Multiply situations like this all over the country, and ready dates and LDC’s could continue to move out further and further.

How to ensure you have your paper when you need it.

It is important to keep in close communication with your printer and watch your LDC dates. Make sure you and your team are ready when it comes time to finalize everything. Missing your LDC could drastically affect your holiday selling season.

American Catalog Mailers Association, ACMA

Posted on July 10, 2009

Don Landis, Vice President, Postal and Government AffairsAs a co-founder of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) I have to give a shameless plug for the organization. Since its founding in 2007, ACMA has served as a microphone for the catalog industry. This microphone has been pointed directly at the USPS, and I must brag, we have been heard.

Here are some of our accomplishments:

  • ACMA members have generated a 6x return on their investment in two years
  • The USPS has modified a variety of regulations or programs to better accommodate catalogs, including:
  • Address placement location
  • Intelligent Mail Barcode
  • Summer Sale parameters
  • Without ACMA’s advocacy, catalogers would have had higher postal rate hikes in 2008 and 2009
  • Greater visibility for catalog issues in Washington and productive dialog around how to “fix” cataloging
  • Significantly reduced public relations pressure on catalog brands in the media from “Do Not Mail”

The ACMA was founded in response to the surprise Postal Rate Commissions (PRC) R2006 Standard Flat postage increase. This single event resulted in double digit postage increases for catalogers! When the change was announced, all of the catalog industry scratched their heads and wondered what just happened to them.  It didn’t take long before catalogers, and others in the catalog industry, realized they must get involved in postal matters. We heard the catalogers’ complaints, and we as a catalog printer felt their pain. To ensure that our industry was not caught off guard again, and the USPS had a clear understanding of our needs and wants, the ACMA organization was born.

Today, the brilliant and energetic Hamilton Davison is acting as the Executive Director. As the face of the organization, he is charged with membership growth and retention, catalog education and event organization.

If you would like to learn more about the POWER of the ACMA, email Hamilton at hdavison@catalogmailers.org or visit www.catalogmailers.org.

Thanks for letting me shamelessly plug this organization! I’ll try not to let it happen too often.

How Database Marketing is your Catalog Program Solution

Posted on July 08, 2009

Gary Sierzchulski, Vice President, Arandell Marketing SolutionsIn 2009 there is an unbelievably large amount of ways a CMO can spend his/her budget. Aside from the traditional direct mail pieces, tradeshows, T.V. and radio ads… we now have e-commerce websites, blogs, forums, Facebook, Twitter, etc. At the end of the day, just like we had to do when I started in this business,  CMOs are required to investigate their ROI in each effort. Listen to the podcast below or continue reading to learn the latest trends in database marketing and how you can apply new techniques to your marketing program.

 

 

Click on the link below to listen to the podcast.

[download id="3"]

 

Q: In the past, we have always stressed to our customers that the database is the most critical marketing component for direct mailers. Is this still the case?

 

 

 

A: Absolutely. In the last six to 12 months, our customers have been looking to their database for solutions about how to reach their customers more effectively. What we are seeing is that the current make-up of their databases is not working for them as they try to move forward. Our role is to work with the customers to try to develop their database to a point that makes it more relevant and more efficient to perform cross-channel marketing.

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