STORYTELLING WHILE SELLING: 3 Tips for Email

It’s no secret that B2C email as a channel is largely driven by promotions. Subscribers often sign up for the welcome offer and then stay in for the deals. BUT, that doesn’t mean it isn’t also a great opportunity for brand building, relationship reinforcement, and telling brand and product stories. Let’s explore some ways that […]

The Three Questions Every Company Should be Asking Their Customer Right Now!

I recently read an article about America’s most hated companies. Every year, 24/7 Wall Street publishes a list that invariably includes companies from the pharma, communications, travel, banking and retail sectors. Companies know a good reputation is vital to a company’s health and success. And yet they often overlook one of the simplest tools to […]

In Geoff Wolf

Catalogers: Pioneers in Marketing Technology

Catalog marketers have been combining marketing with technology (MarTech) since the Internet was moving on 14.4kb modems.  Let’s explore how catalogers pioneered this movement and are still leaders today. Catalogers discovered the raw power of large amounts of transactional data, and became the early adopters of scoring models. Catalogers developed models and still lead the […]

PHANTOM RULES, SACRED COWS AND A ROASTING PAN

Once upon a time, a daughter asked her Mother why she cut the ends off the roast before putting it into the oven. “Because that’s how my Mother taught me,” she answered. Curious, the girl asked her Grandmother why this trick made a better roast. “Well I’m not sure, but my Mother taught me to […]

Enough with the “Templates” already!

Once upon a time, in the land of Catalog Design, there lived a monster named “Templates.” This beast sucked the creativity out of the village of designers and wiped out an entire generation of innovative spreads. Its goal was to make all catalog pages look the same and remove any sign of brand uniqueness or […]

What Kind of Idiot Waits 567 Days to Buy a Car?

You might not realize this, but I have a lot in common with Elon Musk. Yes, the billionaire Tesla mogul and I share several things that might surprise you, including: 1. Fascination with space, and Mars in particular. Like Musk, I want to die on the red planet. Unlike Musk, I’d be fine if it […]

In Strategy

Businesses Are People, Too.

As 2018 came to a close and I archived my work for the year, it quickly registered that more B2B catalog pages moved across my desk last year than B2C catalog pages. A lot more. Catalogs play a critical role in B2B marketing in all the same ways they work in any consumer marketing mix. […]

Consumers Need a Hug

We took a holiday hiatus here at J.Schmid. It was a chance for everyone to take stock of what’s happening outside the office and connect with family and friends. The extra time also provided the opportunity to dive deeper into news, podcasts and movies, and to generally get out more. Now, I’ve understood for a […]

NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS…SAME NEWS?

Well, it’s a new year and, according to the experts, retail in 2019 will be driven by new technologies and evolving consumer attitudes and preferences as buyer demographics continue to skew younger. It’s both new AND old news, in that we hear some version of this every year. However, that’s because it’s true. Marketers who […]