Marketing Doris enjoys nothing better than looking through a fabulous catalogue.

In a world where many of these are now only available in digital format, its always good when we can get out hands on an actual printed version.

Clearly online versions are cheaper to produce and distribute, so therefore those who are creating physical copies typically have larger marketing budgets, and will schedule these to be available at key seasonal times.

Last week we received in the post a copy of the Christmas 2021 Graham & Green catalogue, it might be our love of marketing and retail that made this a special event for us (yes we accept that might seem a bit sad.. but really we don't care!!) but here's why we think so.

1. It stands out - the cover image of the Rocket Dog's and the moon are eye catching and you are drawn to them before you then even notice the rest
2. It has personality - the Rocket Dog's are not just confined to the front page, but there is a beautiful introduction / poem in the form of a Christmas Wish on the inside cover, along with graphics to tie it all together that are dotted throughout the catalogue
3. It has good quality images - an important element, but one that is often forgotten!  Professional lifestyle photographs that actually show the products clearly are key.  We were recently made aware of a leading clothing brand (we won't mention them), who's lifestyle images only showed a small part of their products (and we mean tiny!!), how that affects the sales and then subsequent returns would be very interesting to understand!!
4. It has clear descriptions - another important part of a good catalogue is to have details of the products, event with a 50+ page brochure as this is, there is a limit as to what you can include but they have done a good job (even if the font size is quite small in places) and where they need to have more information included there are references to go to to the website.
5. Call to actions - there are plenty of references to the website and their phone number, and then a dedicated inside back cover page detailing stores, customer services, delivery information (including last delivery dates), terms and conditions and social media channels.  All as you would expect, though not always that easy to find.
6. Recycling / Sustainable - the catalogue has been printed on materials that can be easily recycled.  They include this information in at least two places along with the recycling logo, and with a lovely note to suggest that you pass it on to a friend after you have finished... a lovely touch on many levels!

Head over to Graham & Green .. and do let us know if you see other examples of #goodmarketing .. and if you need a discussion about marketing or how to use a printed / digital brochure for your business (even if you are not in retail) then give us a call.