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The catalogue as a medium for showcasing name brands
Catalogues enjoy a high-profile presence in the sectors of mail order, large-scale retail and travel. Whether items are listed in print version or available online (Web and smartphones), Stéphane Claret, CEO of PageOnDemand.com, underscores the influence and importance of the catalogue as a media support.
France Graphique: How substantial in volume terms is the catalogue market today in France?
Stéphane Claret: As for now, no official study makes it possible to definitively assess this sector. The catalogue market is not a standalone industry, and no statistics are available to quantify it separately. Granted, data exist relative to the mail order industry, but nothing can be found specific to actual B-to-B catalogue activity. Without any underlying figures and while awaiting a detailed survey on this topic, a rough estimate would place at approx. 5,000 the number of firms producing catalogues in France for a cumulative volume on the order of 1 to 1.5 million published pages a year. But again, this is just a rough guess.
F.G.: Why are quantitative data so hard to come by?
S.C.: The lack of hard data is tied to this market’s diversity, its broad array of players, the multiple sectors of activity covered and the ultimate purpose of the end product. For good insight into the catalogue sector, the overall market would have to be segmented more finely.
F.G.: Which are the major leading sectors in this field?
S.C.: In terms of business activity, the uncontested leader is obviously mail order, for which everything suggests the catalogue is placed front and center. Next would be large retailers, and this sector is far from enjoying the same relations with the catalogue production trade. After these two majors comes a group of manufacturers who use the catalogue medium to sell their products to wholesalers, along with specialized retail distribution and the travel industry. In volume terms, manufacturers are responsible for the most pages produced among this 2nd tier of users.
F.G.: What would you say are the key differences observed among the various sectors?
S.C.: In the mail order business, catalogues play the role of an authoritative reference. When placing an order by mail, the catalogue serves as the real bedrock, a definitive source to the extent that, like in a store, it contains the entire available offering. This type of product conveys a certain durability, hence issues related to its design and production have become as critical as its content. All aspects concerning its format, paper used, supervision, etc. receive extra special attention. Besides these catalogues, which are intended for the general public, mail order companies use a wide array of promotional catalogues for prospection purposes. In the retail sector, the objective of introducing catalogues is clearly promotional, with the emphasis on presenting high-end products in an effort to attract new customers. In comparison with mail order catalogues, retailer catalogues are obviously not as thick and designed for shorter life cycles. It’s not uncommon for retail chains to release a new catalogue every week as part of a campaign to feature their latest sales items. This schedule is integrated with the release of more specific, theme-based catalogues. The travel sector works somewhat differently, typically with the publication of one sizable catalogue per season, complemented by smaller promotional brochures.
F.G.: What are the main expectations expressed today in each of these sectors?
S.C.: Mail order is not making any special expectations given that this sector has already undergone industrialization and computerized its catalogue production processes a good while back. Nonetheless, it should be pointed out that mail order made its way online somewhat late in the game and is still seeking solutions that allow meshing Web versions with print versions. In this area, many companies are pursuing divergent paths by treating these two media separately and are not always forthcoming about the directions chosen. The sector would gain from taking a broader and more critical view of its underlying profession. Given that the catalogue is a key tool in the business model, and to a certain degree a vital tool, the temptation to adopt a more conservative stance is strong. Among manufacturers, the fundamental question is how to ensure that promotions are reaching the targeted population segment as quickly as possible? Saving time, shortening turnaround – the famous “time to market” – is absolutely critical here. The demand for cost optimization tools also runs high. In the travel sector, the Web has replaced the role of the ad agency, though this transition is slow to take shape. While travel purchases are very often made online, it’s still the catalogue that triggers the choice of destination and type of stay. This sector will continue to invest more heavily in Web technologies while maintaining the catalogue as the focal point for generating sales.
F.G.: And what about mass retailing?
S.C.: This sector is constantly looking for ways to cut costs. Yet, compared with other media and non-media budgets, including more recent forays into television, catalogues are not the biggest drain. To produce their catalogues, retailers have long preferred the outsourcing route by relying on the expertise of a network of partners. At the present time, a handful of players in the retailing sector are seeking to reintegrate the catalogue function into their activities and exert real influence over their catalogue production. To a certain extent, industrialization of the catalogue process, in accompaniment of this “reintegration” step, is like the advent of desktop publishing: it provides advertisers with the opportunity to alter their typical work approaches and raise the team’s level of professionalism, not to mention the substantial gains in terms of time, money and quality.
F.G.: How can and should the printed catalogue be positioned to compete with the Internet and mobile devices?
S.C.: A catalogue works like a shop window display and embodies all the direct marketing codes. Through these codes, the catalogue is supposed to tempt and showcase the product offering. But it doesn’t necessarily need to be printed. There’s no reason why the catalogue format can’t be transposed onto other supports, like the Web or mobile devices. The time has come to no longer systematically oppose paper and digital, but instead to take a distance from this debate. No one would ever think of saying, for example, that advertising is solely reserved for the regional daily press or TV. Moreover, the attraction of paper might be solely an emotional one, which by itself cannot save the paper medium.
F.G.: Are you still confident about the future of the printed catalogue?
S.C.: Consumers make their decision only after ingesting and assimilating a number of different signals, and just because orders are now placed on the Internet doesn’t mean that the catalogue has run its course. Marketing should be seen as something comprehensive and consistent that encompasses the physical store, the printed catalogue, the e-catalogue, the mobile device, etc. The catalogue needs to be reinvented. Today’s brands will require gaining consumer trust all over again, in addition to preserving their reputation and highlighting their products. And without a doubt, the catalogue, more than any other media support, provides a platform for brands.
Source : France Graphique, Special Issue, March 2011, interview conducted by Rodolphe Pailliez
