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As Tim pointed out, it wasn’t always this way, in both the industry as a whole and at NEMOA conferences. In the ’80s, for instance, catalog founders became less involved with NEMOA; conference volunteers became less motivated; generational transitions weren’t always smooth. But it picked up again in the ’90s and ’00s. And that cooperative atmosphere was certainly evident here this week.
Outdated Name
Even though the business has changed and many of its constituents have moved on, that same spirit is alive. Tim noted how four of the five words from the original name of the group (New England Mail Order Association) are outdated. With most catalogers now getting well over 50 percent of their orders on the Web, this is no longer the mail order business. Of course, toll-free numbers all but killed the mail order business years ago. What’s more, the conference has been drawing catalogers from across the country for several years now, so it’s hardly confined to New England anymore. In fact, the NEMOA board recently scrapped the five words in favor of the acronym.
In true NEMOA spirit, the NEMOA board put together a last-minute session at the end of the day Thursday, the 22d, for a free-flowing idea exchange on ways to survive the postage increase. Led by Garnet Hill president/CEO Russ Gaitskill, the session lasted about 45 minutes and the ideas were flying left and right. Although few were revolutionary, all of them were, nevertheless, worth serious consideration.
Among the ideas were adjusting trim-size, reducing catalog paper weight, add-a-name, co-mailing, reducing the number of contacts and improving address hygiene — but not cutting circulation. We’ll have more on these ideas in next Tuesday’s edition of Catalog Success Idea Factory.
But for now, as we approach postal doomsday, I ask you: Are you a NEMOA person or type? Are you in touch with the catalog/multichannel business? Do you keep in touch with your peers, your competitors (your suppliers, at least)? I recommend you do, as NEMOA people are the types who’ve helped this business thrive and will foster its growth going forward.
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