Creative

Two more tips to help you freshen your design and improve sales. Photography The best B-to-B photography tells a story. You can tell a story by showing the product in use, by showing comparisons and contrasts, and by showing the drawbacks of not using your product. Just like great copy, B-to-B photography should be benefit-driven. Metalcraft, based in Mason City, Iowa, sells a line of commodity items that it manufactures: I.D. plates and barcode labels for fixed assets. Yes, creating drama with I.D. tags poses special challenges, but the catalog pulls it off nicely. On its back cover, a hand wearing a heavy-duty rubber glove uses a

Replogle Globes, a cataloger of globes and other classroom tools, encountered several problems when it came to its 24-page catalog. The book wasn’t updated frequently — the last issue was dated 2004-2005 — and the layout made it difficult for buyers to find what they were seeking. “The products went from most expensive to least expensive in the catalog,” says Maureen Kehoe, Replogle’s direct market manager. “By the time educational purchasers got to the back of the book where there were products on an entry level, they’d probably lost interest.” Replogle, a B-to-B cataloger that only sells to dealers, hired Madison, Wisc.-based Planet Propaganda, which had

“A couple of years ago,” recalled Ken Harris, CEO of Carson, Calif.-based food gifts cataloger Mrs. Beasley’s, “Mrs. Beasley’s was in the toilet.” But like a rundown West Hollywood apartment overhauled to become a posh and highly sought-after condo, the $17 million Mrs. Beasley’s has undergone a dramatic overhaul over the past couple of years and has turned an 8 percent sales decline into a 25 percent increase. In a session at last week’s ACCM conference in Boston, Harris and two consultants he worked with explained how. The 29-year-old company, which has historically served many Hollywood celebrities and studios (its first-ever customer was Barbra Streisand,

The critiques at the ACCM’s roundtables and medical center in Boston last week that I took part in had some clear themes. The biggest creative challenges that surfaced this year seem to center around common areas. 1. Brand Identity. This, I concluded from giving these critiques, is a growing concern, as more catalogers realize that strengthening brand translates into sales. Goals include communicating a distinct personality and look as it relates to a “unique” positioning. Multichannel interpretation of brand is also top of mind. 2. Organization. This continues to be an ongoing challenge, especially with smaller catalogers that often have less experienced talent that just doesn’t

During an intensive session at the ACCM Conference in Boston on May 21, a panel discussed assorted ways to maximize catalog photography budgets. Most notable among the tips fired out by Carliss Million, VP/creative director of catalog consulting firm Lorel Marketing Group; Geoff Van Sonsbeeck, cofounder/owner of pregnant women’s cataloger Isabella Oliver; and Sue Blesch, senior account executive at North American Color, a pre-press and printing company, were a 25-step plan to make your catalog shoot a success. Below is their list, a hodgepodge of necessary tools, actions and assorted quirky suggestions. 1. concepts and mood boards 2. implications on creative 3. the right team 4. copyrights and

This is my 21st go-round attending ACCM, the Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (did I get that whole thing right?), being held May 21-23 in Boston. For my first 18, I was part of the assorted parent companies that co-sponsored the event with the DMA. But for the past two, as a press attendee and not a part-host, I’ve picked up a different perspective on this event as well as on some other conferences. Actually, I take that back: This year, I’m sort of a part-host again on the other side of the partnership since I was recently named chairman/editor of the

When is it wise to write short vs. long? Depends on the merchandise you sell. Consider both approaches: Short Copy Approach When is the right time to use long copy vs. short? Let’s analyze Chico’s and two other multichannel apparel marketers, J. Jill and Talbots, and their use of short text. Chicos’ short, arty, loose approach to dressing: Fun Up Tanya Jacket $138.00 Embroidery and appliqué accent an artistic swirl pattern on this eye-catching denim jacket. Slash front pockets. Imported. 98% Cotton, 2% Spandex. Machine wash. J. Jill’s simple, loose approach to dressing: Beloved Denim Jacket Feminine and flattering with waist-shaping details. Button-front placket. Curved flap pockets and on-seam pockets. Banded hem. 231⁄2˝

Design Issues The use of a color band works as a design tool when it ties in copy and photo for a quick read for the customer. But on pg. 45, the vertical color band actually confuses the issue. It contains a headline for cocoa, cookies and coffee, but the photo is for marshmallows, which are sold on the opposite page. More confusion: The copy beneath the marshmallows is the Winter Essentials Gift (photographed in the right-hand corner). The copy beneath Winter Essentials is for a mug. Direct mail ordering is to be quick and hassle free, not a puzzle. There are numerous examples throughout

Long copy? Short copy? Clever copy? Informative copy? What turns on the 2007 catalog shopper? If you were, for instance, to look at a catalog like Chico’s, a women’s apparel marketer, you might think that the less copy, the better. But, if you look at electronics cataloger Crutchfield, you’d see plenty of long, descriptive copy. So, what’s the right copy formula that’ll make customers do what you want them to do — that is, buy your products? Copy Differentiates Along with getting your prospecting and customer catalogs regularly, your customers have access to so much on the Web. The Internet has become an odd

In the ever-improving world of coffee, the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters catalog has a clear focus, which is simply stated in the opening of the president’s letter: “Coffee is more than just something to drink; it’s a powerful connection to each other, and to the rest of the world.” In this catalog, coffee is the world’s language. You read it in the letter. You see it in the merchandise selection. Green Mountains’ mission is to support the global community. Many businesses make this their intention, but with Green Mountain, it’s a reality, evidenced on every page of its catalog. From the onset, I felt