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CATALOGUES BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
A renaissance for the printed catalogue
Tere has been something of a resurgence in the world of printing over the last few years which is changing the digital-ecommerce landscape and the retail mail order business and for those who are embarking on this resurgence of print, the results are clear to see.
Te strategy of the marketers since
the internet revolution has been to drive their business on to a digital portal where cost are relatively low and the audience has immediate access to order and pay all in one transaction. At the beginning of this journey print played a hand holding roll assisting the users to navigate through their product lines by the use of a catalogue or brochure, simple but effective. But as time moves on more and more businesses adopt the same strategy which then made the internet a crowded place and then the only way to gain a competitive edge was to remove the cost of print. Print was slowly eroded to a point where it was regarded as no longer the hand holding driver to a website but an expensive luxury which marketing departments find difficult to measure and even understand.
When adopting a strategy without print,
other media then needs to be used but are they really effective ? Market Reach, the research arm of the Royal Mail has conducted several very interesting research projects in to how email influences the traffic to a retail web site. Te results do not make good reading, many emails are deleted seconds after opening and many don’t even get that far. Other media have some level of success but are they really driving the customers to the website and, if so, how effective are they ? In this age of a very congested internet, how do you
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successfully target your audience, make each of them feel special and get them back for more?
..........by using the Power of Print as a complementary media. Pindar is a printing company based in
Scarborough which has focused on a retail customer base, despite the dramatic fall in catalogue and brochure editions and volume in and around 2008-2010. Tis contributed to Pindar getting into financial difficulties and eventually being sold to its current owner York Mailing in July 2011. Pindar has consistently believed in the power of print for the retail market and restructured and invested heavily with a full focus on the retail sector business during a time when other well known printing companies were closing down or moving away from print altogether. Pindar set out to become the UK’s
leading catalogue printer. It already had some very impressive high street retailers as clients and examined the wider potential demand from retail & e-commerce businesses. Tis required a solid understanding of the important issues for prospective print customers and developing solutions that could complement retailers’ existing marketing strategies and help drive customers to their websites or stores. Te statement “Print quality is a given these days”, was regularly made but in our experience, it’s not a given, we have seen samples of printed catalogues which have been well below par and been
By Norman Revill, Pindar
told to try and get as close to the quality as possible. It is always very satisfying when you show an improved print quality which exceeds the customer’s expectations yet stays within budget. Pindar’s investment over the last 2-3
years has approached £18million, most of which was spent on a state of the art 48pp shortgrain press with the very latest colour control system. In addition, new mailing lines, a high speed perfect binding line and a plate making line has been added. Tis investment has been the result of responding to the demands of customers and asking what they expect from a printer. Most identified the size and quality of printed product being most important but equally was the delivery and mailing catalogues into the homes of customers on time.
Te vast majority of our customers have
brought print back into their marketing spend. Tey want to differentiate their publications from other retail catalogues and, in the process, achieve a more ecological product which reinforces their brand and image. Tis has seen a move towards a more modern looking product. Te A4 format is losing its long term appeal, as are glossy papers. Te trend is markedly moving towards a 260 x 200 size, or similar, on a bright white Matt or Silk stock, and perfect bound. Many of our clients are achieving stand-out with these types of products and having great success
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