Case Study: Photography Changes Yield Picture-perfect Results at Strasburg Children

Hough says imaging is another reason Strasburg Children chose QuadPhoto. Although the catalog is printed elsewhere, it has begun using QuadPhoto for printing some in-store materials. “The best thing is when there’s a problem with the photography, color correction or printing, I don’t have separate vendors blaming each other,” she says. “It frees up time and money in the end.”

Worth 1,000 Sales

Hough, who spends one week each month at QuadPhoto in Dallas, says the photos taken by Hinkle and John Neuschwander, the studio’s second photographer, have been so good they’ve boosted catalog requests and Web sales.

Strasburg has had a 400 percent increase in catalog requests via the phone and online through its Web site. “I attribute that to our new photography,” Hough says. “There’s also been a sizable increase in our Web sales due to the ability to see the [clothing] detail online.”

Additionally, the stores are enjoying increased traffic and sales. “Cust-omers we haven’t seen in years have come back,” Hough says. “They’re bringing in people we’ve never seen before.”

Strasburg Children’s flower girl dresses also have been in bridal magazines, such as Brides and Martha Stewart Weddings, in the past year. She believes that’s also due to improved photos on the Web site attracting the eyes of magazine editors.

Time to Experiment

The improved photography has led the company to experiment with new lines, such as fall separates, and different layouts, such as a photo-dominated infants catalog targeted to new mothers. “It has an intro, photos and the price list,” Hough explains. “You get the feeling. You get the sentiment that you’re filled with desire to buy this clothing without having to read anything.”

All in all, Strasburg’s photography improvements have enabled the cataloger to branch out and take some design risks in its catalogs and store flyers. “We felt that if we take risks and it’s not exactly what we wanted, we’re not losing anything because the photography is strong enough to carry us,” Hough says. “We have numbers that show this is working.”