Crowd Control

WE DIRECT MARKETERS HAVE LONG BEEN CONCERNED about the ever-increasing crowd of offers competing for consumers' dollars. And not without reason.

In mid-December the U.S. Postal Service had this statement on its Web site: “The postal service will deliver 20 billion letters, packages and cards between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The busiest mailing day is expected to be Monday, Dec. 19, with more than 280 million cards and letters being cancelled — more than twice that of an average day. Total mail volume on Dec. 19 is expected to rise to 900 million pieces, up from 670 million pieces on an average day.”

The interesting thing is that there's both more volume and greater diversity in those millions of pieces. Almost a year ago, and for the first time, standard mail's volume surpassed first class's…and the percentage growth of standard over first class continues to climb. Just to keep up with the volume this past holiday season, our residential postal delivery went to two times per day. As far as I can remember, that was a first.

More than ever, catalogers need to make statements that set them apart. So here are some attention-getting strategies that may well have made the difference between capturing orders or not during the 2005 holidays.

• Timely offer. Home Trends promoted silver cleaner in time for holiday polishing on its November cover.

• A serious call to attention. In my book, Veer — which offers “visual elements for creatives” — is one of the only truly creative catalogs out there. Veer has crafted a funky positioning that sets it apart perfectly and reinforces what it's all about. My favorite — the fall/holiday cover — featured a slightly weird '50s-style photo. Above the image and in very large letters on a white banner were the words “Please Respond.” Not stopping there, Veer reinforced the message with a red corner tag that stressed “Read Carefully — Do Not Discard.”

• Adapting your positioning for the holidays but still maintaining who you are. Frontgate generally has pretty flawless covers, but the holiday catalog outdid even its best. As usual, it was visually elegant, but it also tastefully alerted customers that Frontgate was about more than furnishings and decorative goodies with the dot-whack message “Gift insert inside — unique holiday gifts for the most exceptional people.” It didn't hurt that the message flattered gift recipients. Magazine-style mini-heads led buyers to three key products and used the perfect size type — large enough to see, but small enough not to detract from the “hero” cover product. And the ideal number of product page references (three) was noted on the cover.

• Absolute best tag line. HearthSong's “Toys You'll Feel Good About Giving” said it all. And the lovely illustration of a child in the snow (see above) was a shopper-stopper that worked to get the catalog opened.

• Three-dimensional savings. Bloomingdale's and Bailey Banks & Biddle were two retailer/catalogers that sent books containing traffic-generating, credit card-like savings cards. Bloomies wisely touted this advantage on the cover while Bailey Banks & Biddle just hoped you would discover its $100 gift card on page 2, as no info was given up front.

• Real value. Many catalogs stressed the number of new products and items under a certain dollar amount that were featured in its pages. In my mail, only Gardener's offered “158 items under $20,” a magical price break that fills a need for stocking stuffers, gifts for hostesses, teachers, service people, etc. A check of the selection made clear that these gifts looked a lot better than their cost indicated, delivering a legitimate value statement.

Almost but not quite there:

• Tease/delivery. Plow & Hearth's holiday cover had a grabber of a promotion: “Buy a Moose, Get a Bear Free.” The dot-whack and the inside copy explained that this offer — which included a complimentary bear ornament from the cataloger — supported the National Parks by allowing customers to purchase a moose ornament, of which “a portion of the proceeds…goes directly to the National Parks Foundation.” The problem? It's unclear how much would go to charity. Consumers are getting very wise to the fact that “proceeds” can very greatly. So if you as a cataloger are donating a substantial portion and not just using the charity for marketing purposes (shame, shame!), say so.

• Cover call to action. The Best of Horchow had the right idea with a message that could have been more visible if it wasn't trailing off the bottom of the page. Worse still, even though the cover message read “Call or log on for rush delivery,” no phone number or Web site address were given.

• Playing to your strengths. RedEnvelope's major draw is its red packaging — sort of a common man's turquoise Tiffany box. So showing different versions of its red boxes on the cover was grand, but once inside the catalog the nice but generic creative could have belonged to anybody. Don't just lead with a strong perception; follow up throughout with it.

And here are two ideas that can get in the way of an order:

• Cover disconnect. J.C. Penney featured a traditional wreath cake made from a bundt pan on the cover, then killed that warm and fuzzy image by following up with page after page of starkly contemporary appliances.

• Lack of freshness. Though I've long admired The Sharper Image for its original, trendsetting creative and ability to bounce back from tough times, this past holiday's gift catalog looked and felt a lot like those of the 1980s. Image consistency is good; redundancy is not. If Sharper Image wants to convey that it offers the latest technology, it ought to look the part.

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KATIE MULDOON (kmuldoon@muldoonandbaer.com) is president of DM/catalog consulting firm Muldoon & Baer Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, FL.