The Stepford Catalogs

In the September installment of this Be Bold, Be Different, Be Memorable blog series, we talked about thinking outside and ON TOP OF the box in our efforts to be innovative, to bend the rules, to grab the attention of our client and create a sense of awe and mystery when weaving the story of WHY they should work with us. The case history involved my building a paper-mache volcano on top of a Bankers box of promo ideas for our movie studio customer to cause them to open our magic box of solutions FIRST and capture the bulk of their advertising budget. And it worked beautifully!

But we don’t always have the opportunity to break away from the pack when the rigid requirements to house our ideas in a same ol’/same ol’ Bankers box caused a brainstorm that led to our winning the day. However, we very much DO have the opportunity to tell our branded merch story in thrilling and unique ways each and every day in the way we craft our websites or produce our customer printed catalogs/brag books/case history presentations.

Return with me now, to those thrilling days of yesteryear…

Back in the Olden Tymes of the Advertising Specialty Industry, the thought of a distributor developing their own custom catalog was pretty prohibitive. These were the days long before desktop publishing when everything was done with cameras and glossy photographs and paste up lines with stat logos and ruby-lith cutouts. Paste up was done by hand (imagine that!) with copy on long typeset chemically printed rolls that were mocked-up using rulers and rubber cement and non-repro blue line cue marks. You hired a photography studio with models and seamless backgrounds and professional lighting and a writer to compose the copy so there was something to typeset and a project director to present the finished package to the print house and… you get the idea. A dozen people, all getting paid, worked to craft the custom catalog that our suppliers were required to supply to us but distributors, especially the smaller or mid-size organizations, not only couldn’t afford to but didn’t even know how to pull a fully custom company catalog together.

This led to most everyone using a common industry tool called The Impact Catalog. Impact was a business that produced a quarterly digest-sized catalog with full color photos, full pricing with extra charges and the distributor’s name and logo and contact info printed on the front in BLACK only. For years, many distributors purchased the Impact catalog to use when customers asked, “Do you have a catalog?” The answer, happily, was ‘Yes!’ and we sent off or dropped off a copy of our Impact catalog.

Then the ‘UGH!’ moment happened. We brought your catalog to the client and noticed ANOTHER catalog on their desk. The EXACT same catalog as our catalog with the same cover, just a different company logo. In BLACK only. This happened all too often. There were MANY times when we were embarrassed by clients asking why our catalog was the same catalog that they had received from one or two or three of our competitors? And when they figured out we were all using the same catalog, and we all sold the same stuff… then it quickly became about price and not service and creativity. Not great.

However, for those like the unique Costa Mesa company Clean Fun Promotional Marketing, who DID spend a small fortune creating thick fully custom brag-book catalogs and used these to fully differentiate themselves from everyone else… well, they won a lot of jobs because of those. It told their story and they stood apart from the pack. Big time.

Are you using a cookie cutter website today that is the 21st Century version of the Impact Catalog? Why are you doing that? Why, when you can build a fully custom website that celebrates your creative promotional successes – one that will convert prospects to clients – one that reflects your own personal brand with bright, crisp colorful photography telling your story? One that is NOT a Stepford Catalog… or a Stepford Website.

You don’t need to know HOW to do this, when companies such as SAGE offer services to create professional fully-customized websites to your specifications for about $100 bucks and change per month. This comes in handy when you’re building a client site and you’ll bill back this expense, but YOU can be the client and they can help tell YOUR story. This is critical in an age when a few thousand distributors all have the same website with the same specials on the same landing page but with a green background instead of a blue background. Invest in what makes you unique and let the web know this in a website that positions you and your story in the best possible light.

Your ‘brand’ is your most important asset. Spotlight it. Carve out your corner of the internet. Create and build your online presence that highlights your expertise and the VALUE you bring to your clients. Make sure your LinkedIn and Facebook pages and profiles all gel together and reflect this story that your primary site tells.

Your audience will grow and new sales opportunities will follow. You still have to do the work – manage the relationships, reach out and talk about and drive people to your site. The projects WILL follow, even if you have to ask for them. And I ALWAYS ask, “What is on your desk that I can help you with RIGHT NOW?”

Don’t settle for a Stepford Site or a Stepford Catalog. Tell your story in unique and compelling ways that set you apart from EVERYONE. Celebrate your brand. Enthusiasm is contagious and excellence is rewarded.

Rick Greene, MAS, is the Western Regional Vice President for Halo Branded Solutions, a Past President of SAAC, and the author of two fantasy novels entitled “Boofalo!” and “Shroom!” available at www.amazon.com.  His third book is a non-fiction biography of character actor Henry Brandon called “Henry Brandon King Of The Bogeymen” published by BearManor Media and is now available everywhere fine books are sold.