The Catalog Critique Toolkit

Michele Drohan EVP Account Services J.Schmid & Assoc.

THE ROLE OF CATALOG HAS CHANGED.

A catalog used to sell products.

Sell

It has a lot more work to do now.

Disrupt Delight Drive Sell

Great catalogs disrupt.

•  Stand out •  Entice / provoke •  Present the

unexpected

Great catalogs delight.

•  Connect emotionally

•  Tell your story •  Get them to like

you

Great catalogs drive.

•  Get them engaged

•  Get them to do something

•  Push to store/web/social media

PUT FACTS OVER CREATIVE OPINION.

Critical assessment tools can be used to move your critique from subjective to objective.

3 building blocks of great catalogs. §  Create brand tangibility. §  Specialize in UX, specialize in content. §  Activate browsing & shopping.

The brand tangibility toolkit.

q  Format, paper choice & production techniques

q  Brand guidelines & integration q  Signature photography q  Design language q  Voice q  Typography q  Why us? Differentiation expression

The UX & content toolkit.

At the book level q  Pagination q  Pacing & rhythm q  Catalog hot spots:

FC/BC, 2/3, center spread

q  Storytelling

At the spread level q  Eye flow principles q  Heroes, drama q  Hierarchy q  Navigation q  Density q  What, why, how?

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The shopping activation toolkit.

q  WIIFM? Benefit expression q  Strong, multichannel call-to-action •  Promotion, urgency •  Cross-sell/upsell

q  Risk relief q  Personalization q  Information access •  Bugs, slugs and violators •  Reader invitations

The catalog critique toolkit.

Brand tangibility q  Format, paper choice & production value q  Brand guidelines & integration q  Signature photography q  Design language q  Voice q  Typography q  Why us? Differentiation expression

UX & content At the book level q  Pagination q  Pacing & rhythm q  Catalog hot spots:

FC/BC, 2/3, center spread

q  Storytelling

At the spread level q  Eye flow principles q  Heroes, drama q  Hierarchy q  Navigation q  Density q  What, why, how?

Browsing & shopping q  WIIFM? Benefit expression q  Strong, multichannel call-

to-action •  Promotion, urgency •  Cross-sell/upsell

q  Risk relief q  Personalization q  Information access

•  Bugs, slugs, violators •  Reader invitations

Thank you.