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The 50 Best Tips of 2008
November 2008 From Retail Online Integration
Tired of reading about what a tough year it’s been for so many businesses across the board? Frustrated with your own results? Scared about the economy? Whether or not you’re struggling as much as others, here’s a little tonic: our annual best-of feature, in which we’ve pulled what we believe to be the 50 best and most implementable tips of the year from Catalog Success magazine as well as our weekly e-newsletter, Tactics & Tips. There’s nothing fancy here. Each paragraph is taken from a particular story that’s referenced, so you can turn or click back to reread the full story or act on
November 2008 From Retail Online Integration
Tired of reading about what a tough year it’s been for so many businesses across the board? Frustrated with your own results? Scared about the economy? Whether or not you’re struggling as much as others, here’s a little tonic: our annual best-of feature, in which we’ve pulled what we believe to be the 50 best and most implementable tips of the year from Catalog Success magazine as well as our weekly e-newsletter, Tactics & Tips. There’s nothing fancy here. Each paragraph is taken from a particular story that’s referenced, so you can turn or click back to reread the full story or act on
‘Be There or Be Square’; Why & How Lillian Vernon Reverted to Its Old Square Format
September 2007 From Tactics & Tips
Lillian Vernon, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based cataloger and online retailer specializing in household, organizational, children’s and fashion accessory products, has gone back to its roots in search of future success. The company’s catalog has reverted to its more unique dimensions, 8 inches by 8 inches, after a four-year departure. The 56-year-old multichannel merchant first introduced the square format in 1986, but in recent years had been using the more common 8 inches by 10 inches format. “It was such a well-known format for the core book that we wanted to return to it,” says Vice President of Marketing John Buleza. “It’s kind of in
September 2007 From Tactics & Tips
Lillian Vernon, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based cataloger and online retailer specializing in household, organizational, children’s and fashion accessory products, has gone back to its roots in search of future success. The company’s catalog has reverted to its more unique dimensions, 8 inches by 8 inches, after a four-year departure. The 56-year-old multichannel merchant first introduced the square format in 1986, but in recent years had been using the more common 8 inches by 10 inches format. “It was such a well-known format for the core book that we wanted to return to it,” says Vice President of Marketing John Buleza. “It’s kind of in
Can Creative Lightning Strike Twice?
February 12, 2007 From Jim Gilbert
The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect, well, me.
Some time ago, I was hired to run, actually turn around, a consumer mail order company that sold apparel and accessories. The company sold high-quality products to a niche market, and prospecting wasn’t so easy. Sales and profits were declining despite the fact that the company’s industry was seeing a growth spurt.
We decided, as part of the overall turnaround strategy that the catalog’s image needed a makeover.
Frankly, the catalog looked horrible, so we hired a great catalog agency to fix things.
The agency re-did everything from our logo to
February 12, 2007 From Jim Gilbert
The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect, well, me.
Some time ago, I was hired to run, actually turn around, a consumer mail order company that sold apparel and accessories. The company sold high-quality products to a niche market, and prospecting wasn’t so easy. Sales and profits were declining despite the fact that the company’s industry was seeing a growth spurt.
We decided, as part of the overall turnaround strategy that the catalog’s image needed a makeover.
Frankly, the catalog looked horrible, so we hired a great catalog agency to fix things.
The agency re-did everything from our logo to
February 2007 From Retail Online Integration
When I picked up this catalog, I was immediately impressed by the clean and consistent design. It has structure without seeming stuffy, and features tons of information that’s easy to read and understand. Oh, and did I mention the gorgeous, rich products? Yes, this is a good catalog — handsome and well put together. It’s instructional without being cold. It’s full of information and products, without real clutter. I concluded rather quickly that this fine catalog could be used in design schools as an example of a hard-working catalog that doesn’t lose its beauty. Positives, Improvements Of course, there’s always room for improvement. Starting with the cover:
How to Choose the Right Design Team to Implement Your Catalog
January 29, 2007 From Jim Gilbert
When clients come to me with questions about starting a catalog, invariably the subject of creative development comes up. Should it be their internal creative department despite its limited knowledge of catalog development; their agency, which really knows the business; or someone else entirely?
My answer to those questions always is this: Choose designers who specifically know the mail order catalog market. Why? Consider the following:
A catalog used to generate sales via mail/Internet ordering is a very different animal from a branding vehicle. It may look similar, but companies that create mail order catalogs know exactly how to build a catalog that not only builds
January 29, 2007 From Jim Gilbert
When clients come to me with questions about starting a catalog, invariably the subject of creative development comes up. Should it be their internal creative department despite its limited knowledge of catalog development; their agency, which really knows the business; or someone else entirely?
My answer to those questions always is this: Choose designers who specifically know the mail order catalog market. Why? Consider the following:
A catalog used to generate sales via mail/Internet ordering is a very different animal from a branding vehicle. It may look similar, but companies that create mail order catalogs know exactly how to build a catalog that not only builds
Creative: Keep Catalog Design Fresh and Engaging
March 2006 From Tactics & Tips
The twin tasks of laying out endless pages of product photographs and writing tight, yet compelling, copy can prove both monotonous and exhausting. That is, unless graphic designers and copywriters stay creatively stimulated and fresh, writes Susan Jones, author of “Creative Strategy in Direct& Interactive Marketing” (Racom Communications). To keep your catalog creative team in top form, she offers the following tips. ¥ Keep an eye on the competition. Regularly request and view large numbers of catalogs in different product categories, and encourage your creative staff to do the same, writes Jones. While most catalogs should be filed for future reference in case you
March 2006 From Tactics & Tips
The twin tasks of laying out endless pages of product photographs and writing tight, yet compelling, copy can prove both monotonous and exhausting. That is, unless graphic designers and copywriters stay creatively stimulated and fresh, writes Susan Jones, author of “Creative Strategy in Direct& Interactive Marketing” (Racom Communications). To keep your catalog creative team in top form, she offers the following tips. ¥ Keep an eye on the competition. Regularly request and view large numbers of catalogs in different product categories, and encourage your creative staff to do the same, writes Jones. While most catalogs should be filed for future reference in case you
Cut-rate Layouts
February 2004 From Retail Online Integration
It really is possible for catalog design costs to occasionally approach zero, without sacrificing sales. And doing so can be a stimulating challenge. All in the Family We’d been going over the catalog budget estimate for hours, line by line. I was familiar with how tight-fisted this client was, and I’d already cut his estimate to the bone. But he kept probing for tricks to cut even more. “Why is design so high? It’s just putting photos and copy on a page. My nephew who knows Quark can do that,” the client said. “Well, there’s more to it than that. It takes
February 2004 From Retail Online Integration
It really is possible for catalog design costs to occasionally approach zero, without sacrificing sales. And doing so can be a stimulating challenge. All in the Family We’d been going over the catalog budget estimate for hours, line by line. I was familiar with how tight-fisted this client was, and I’d already cut his estimate to the bone. But he kept probing for tricks to cut even more. “Why is design so high? It’s just putting photos and copy on a page. My nephew who knows Quark can do that,” the client said. “Well, there’s more to it than that. It takes
Connect With Your Audience
September 2002 From Retail Online Integration
The Five Basics of Great Catalog Creative The Harry and David catalog tempts with tantalizing treats. Magellan’s speaks like a fellow traveler with an arm around your shoulders. Pottery Barn invites you into a warm home you want to make your own. For today’s catalogers, being special in the minds of their customers is the competitive difference. And with 14,000-plus catalogs out there, that’s an important realization. Following are the five basic components that can help your book stand out from the crowd. Branding and Emotion “There’s a soul in a catalog, where the voice speaks to you on a personal level and
September 2002 From Retail Online Integration
The Five Basics of Great Catalog Creative The Harry and David catalog tempts with tantalizing treats. Magellan’s speaks like a fellow traveler with an arm around your shoulders. Pottery Barn invites you into a warm home you want to make your own. For today’s catalogers, being special in the minds of their customers is the competitive difference. And with 14,000-plus catalogs out there, that’s an important realization. Following are the five basic components that can help your book stand out from the crowd. Branding and Emotion “There’s a soul in a catalog, where the voice speaks to you on a personal level and
IKEA, Sweden’s Jewel
August 2002 From Retail Online Integration
Focus On: Merchandising & Creative The year was 1943. World War II was raging across Europe. Norway was occupied by Germany. The Nazis needed access to open ocean and the deep-water fjords to shelter their great ships. Next door, Sweden remained neutral and relatively untouched by the conflict. In the town of Elmtaryd, Sweden, in the parish of Agunnaryd, an ambitious 17-year-old boy named Ingvar Kamprad traveled from farm to farm selling seeds from a box on the back of his bicycle. He had other items to sell—fountain pens, pencils and matches—but couldn’t inventory them all on a bicycle. So he hit on
August 2002 From Retail Online Integration
Focus On: Merchandising & Creative The year was 1943. World War II was raging across Europe. Norway was occupied by Germany. The Nazis needed access to open ocean and the deep-water fjords to shelter their great ships. Next door, Sweden remained neutral and relatively untouched by the conflict. In the town of Elmtaryd, Sweden, in the parish of Agunnaryd, an ambitious 17-year-old boy named Ingvar Kamprad traveled from farm to farm selling seeds from a box on the back of his bicycle. He had other items to sell—fountain pens, pencils and matches—but couldn’t inventory them all on a bicycle. So he hit on
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