Creative Cut: The Organized Bird Gets the Customer

The Duncraft name is synonymous with amazing products for bird enthusiasts. It already does a good job but, like many catalogers, taking a step from good to great can lead to better presentation and increased sales.

Front Cover

There’s very little that can compete with a dramatic and emotionally relevant front cover. Duncraft understands this and knows its customers will be drawn in by the beautiful wildlife bird shot. The overall composition is appealing, featuring a strong and prominent masthead and a supportive tagline. In this case, the tagline is above the logo instead of below, where it would be expected. Nevertheless, it works, because the selected type size and style of the tagline allow it to be read secondary to the name of the catalog.

The other information on the front cover could be harder working. The line “Gifts of Nature for the Holidays” is redundant to the tagline: “Living with Nature.” Instead, how about saying there are 100 new products inside? Or 50 great gifts under $50? Also, instead of “line-listing” the product categories and pages they appear on, try placing small inset shots that represent the categories inside the catalog.

Opening Spread

Content — The cover gets the catalog opened, then pgs. 2 and 3 are challenged with accomplishing a few things. In addition to providing excitement and a sense of the product inside the catalog, the first spread should give the reader confidence. This is especially important for prospects, who will be better positioned to buy if they feel they’re dealing with an authoritative, professional company.

Confidence can be built by providing helpful information. While Duncraft includes its guarantee, the left-hand column also should include order and delivery information. Many catalogers use this space to emphasize online buying.

It would be nice to lead this helpful information with a friendly greeting that succinctly and warmly communicates the catalog’s positioning — its unique promise to customers. I’m an advocate of using a name and a face, if you have one. Catalog buyers often say it gives them confidence, knowing there’s someone really standing behind the catalog.

Design — Customers rely on visual cues. Duncraft makes the mistake of placing a product where it also has editorial content. The Woodland Lodge, in the far left upper corner, is placed in the editorial strip, where it loses strength as a product shot.

Another common catalog problem occurs when an editorial shot meant to
create mood draws attention away from product. The Christmas tree in the opening spread becomes the focus; it commandeers the reader’s eyes. The result is a confusing depiction with an inset shot that contains a product shot that’s virtually the same size as the product in the editorial shot. It’s an eyeflow no-no, and it’s hard to get back to product. (The product, by the way, is double exposed on pg. 40. With all this allocated space, they’d better sell a lot of it!)

Organization is missing from these pages. While it’s not a widespread problem in the catalog, it’s worth pointing out that, at a glance, it’s hard to understand what’s for sale. Product shots and copy blocks seem to be random, and they’re not connected to each other with keys (letters connecting product shots to copy blocks). The spread also is missing strong features and sub-features, which would anchor the pages.

Going from Good to Great —pgs. 6-7

This is a good spread, because it’s organized. And that’s critical for effective and easy-to-shop presentation. Other elements that could make it stronger include:

• Increase emphasis on the most important shots. Dramatizing feature and sub-feature shots throughout the catalog increases the “pacing” or interest levels. This might simply mean increasing the shot size, or increasing the size of the shot within the space.

• Dramatize the photography itself. Photograph a product with a more dramatic lighting or angle.

Give readers more information — faster! When there’s a lot of similar merchandise on a spread or in a catalog, it’s helpful to place the product name or differentiating point right in the artwork. Telling readers what’s being sold while they’re scanning the photography actually helps them shop. If it’s a value story, call out the price. People don’t like to work. If important information isn’t immediately apparent, they’ll pass up products in which they might otherwise have been interested.

Use lead-ins for better comprehension. “Elegance with a twist” is relatively meaningless. “Hang this rugged fir-tree wind chime outdoors and enjoy the beloved tone of a Maine bell buoy,” is way too long. On the other hand, “Ice-Free water for birds all winter” (see inset above) does a much better job of highlighting the differentiating point.

Develop harder-working product presentations. Position your company as an authority. One of the best ways to build authority is to provide information and advice. There are a variety of techniques to do this. Include inset shots that draw attention to product details and emphasize quality and construction, or call-outs and bullets that underscore features and benefits.

Help the reader compare. It pays off when your customers don’t have to work so hard to find what they need. Using charts and “good/better/best” presentations can get across more information faster.

The application of creative best practices and strategic, market-driven creative easily can result in stronger performing catalogs. «

Glenda Shasho Jones is a catalog consultant and an authority in catalog brand development. She can be reached at glenda@sjdirect.com.