(No, not you. Your catalog!) If you haven’t heard, the United States Postal Service has increased the piece rate weight limit for catalog mailings. As of January 22, 2017, your catalog can qualify for the Flat-Size Marketing Mail postal piece rate if it weighs 4.0 ounces or less (up from the long-reigning 3.3 ounces). With […]
Who said “yes” to what? I’ll get to that in a minute. First, let me share a story. Decades ago, we heard the following from almost every food retailer we worked with: “We want our catalog to look like Harry & David’s.” Why Harry & David? Because at one time, they set the standard for […]
Forget going to the gym more often or eating better or any other resolutions you’ll abandon by mid-February. I’ve made a list of New Year’s resolutions for 2017 … and they’re all about catalogs. Ignore any proclamations of catalogs going away. They’re still here. They’re still relevant. And they can be better than ever. Because […]
Well, the secret is out. For decades, creative types working at agencies across the country knew instinctively a few secrets they could rely on to create brand stories, campaigns and messaging that would resonate with consumers. The Don Drapers of the world knew these little secrets could help sell more products. We knew if we […]
Whew. Glad I got that off my chest. You see, it’s 2016. By now, almost every brand is aware of viral videos, and like so many other things, marketers are trying to ruin them. In short, there is no formula for creating “viral” content. Are there certain elements that a lot of viral content contains? […]
Admitting it is the first step to re-cover-y. Look at your most recent catalog cover. Really look at it. Imagine it was the first time you were ever seeing it. Would it get your attention? Would it make you want to stop and open it? Or…and be honest…does your cover suck? (It’s ok. Just admit […]
Human beings have an attention span of 8 seconds. We don’t read anymore. We scan. Brands usually say too much. Cut your copy. Make your point. Quickly. Make things more visual. Get rid of anything unnecessary. Edit again. My 8 seconds are up. You get my point. The end. Having trouble trimming your message? […]
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I’m asked to critique catalogs on a regular basis. Assessing catalog design is important, and I’m of the belief that we can “always do better.” However, many of my comments point out small deficiencies that at the end of the day do not make a big difference in overall results. Collectively they can make a […]
