Since 1861, catalogues have served as a powerful tool for winning clients and growing businesses. More than 160 years later, their impact remains strong. Drawing from our decades of experience and thoughtful brainstorming, we’ve compiled a comprehensive breakdown of the reasons why catalogues continue to be a formidable format.

1. Tangibility and Engagement

Catalogues are physical items that offer a tactile and memorable experience. Unlike digital formats, they can be held, flipped through, and revisited. This tangible nature engages multiple senses, enhancing the emotional connection to a brand and its products.

  • Visual Appeal: Catalogues showcase products through high-quality images and detailed descriptions, often presented in an engaging layout that captures attention.
  • Emotional Connection: The physical interaction with a catalogue creates a deeper bond between the customer and the brand.

2. Targeted Marketing

Catalogues can be precisely tailored to specific customer segments, offering relevant products based on past purchases or interests. This personalised approach increases the effectiveness of marketing efforts and enhances the customer experience.

  • Personalisation: Highly personalised catalogues create a unique experience for each customer, leading to increased ROI.

3. Brand Reinforcement and Trust Building

A well-designed, high-quality catalogue communicates a brand’s identity, values, and quality. This not only reinforces brand recognition and loyalty but also builds trust and credibility.

  • Differentiation: In a digital world where most interactions happen on screens, a physical catalogue helps brands stand out

4. Increased Engagement and Longer Attention Span

According to Jicmail, mail-order catalogues remain in the home for an average of 6.63 days and are interacted with 4.4 times. This far exceeds the 45-54 seconds the average user spends on a website (Marketing Scoop) and you can clearly see where catalogues have the edge, allowing for a deeper engagement with the brand and products.

  • Shared Experience: Customers often share catalogues with friends and family, extending the reach of the brand and spreading awareness.

5. Direct Path to Purchase

Catalogues often include special offers, discounts, and exclusive deals to encourage immediate purchases. They also provide order forms, promotional codes, or direct links to online stores, simplifying the purchasing process.

6. Sustainability

The paper used to produce catalogues is a renewable and recyclable material, aligning with the circular economy model of make, use, recycle, and reuse. Sustainable forest management underpins the paper industry’s operations, ensuring the health of forests and contributing to climate change mitigation (Two Sides).

7. Complimentary to Digital Marketing

Catalogues and digital marketing are not mutually exclusive; they complement each other. Catalogues drive traffic to digital channels by featuring QR codes, URLs, or social media handles.

  • Data Insights: The responses and purchases resulting from catalogues provide valuable data that can refine digital marketing strategies.

 

8. Testing, Measurement, and Analysis

Direct mail campaigns are highly measurable. Detailed end-of-campaign reports provide insights into response rates, average order value, cost of acquisition, and the performance of different segments. These insights are crucial for refining future campaigns and ensuring continuous improvement.

 

Summary

Catalogues are tangible, targeted, measurable, sustainable, and brand-enhancing. They work seamlessly with other marketing channels and can yield a substantial ROI. It’s clear why direct mail catalogues continue to stand the test of time.