Should Catalog Marketing be Part of Your Plan?

When Victoria’s Secret suggested this year that it would be pulling the plug on its iconic catalog, some proclaimed the end of an era—not just for VS, which had built its name on years of sexy mailers, but for the catalog industry itself. People shop online now, get all their news digitally, don’t need brick and mortar stores anymore, blah, blah, blah. The catalog is dead! Long live virtual shopping!

Oh really? How then to explain established brands like Anthropologie launching new catalogs and digital retailers like Bonobos and Birchbox joining the catalog universe for the first time?
While VS may be folding up its catalog angel wings, it’s important to note that other companies—apparel and non, brick-and-mortar, pop-ups and strictly online—are either growing their catalog influence or just now entering the catalog arena.

And there’s good reason why.

Today, more and more customers are multi-channel shoppers and buyers. And brands that connect with their customers in multiple ways—through TV, print and in person—build multi-channel relationships that lead to increased spending. Another statistic worth noting? That 50% of all Americans make purchases based on catalogs they receive.
And today’s catalogs, with their extremely targeted content and mailings capabilities can be a real driver of that high-value relationship. By using massive industry databases and syncing them with your company’s customer databases built from catalog and online purchases, mailing the “right people” is now more doable than ever.

While catalogs are not the right option for all brands at all times, those with a target market that likes to shop in certain ways can greatly benefit from smart catalog circulation planning.

Hansel Group Marketing helps companies put together their circulation plans and manage their mailings from start to finish. Call us for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn how strategic catalog marketing can drive success for your entire company.