The odds are stacked against newspapers and phone books surviving the next few years, certainly the decline has been considerable as more and more people get on line for news and as on line access becomes more readily available.
Hot spots and WiFi services continue to grow, cellular technology adds functionality that was unheard of five years ago to the PDA or Blackberry device. Paper and postage costs continue to rise for the direct and catalog industry; changing the way they calculate their return on investment. Communication strategies are changing at a rapid pace as measurement tools become more sophisticated and offer improved marketing intelligence. How long will it be before the catalog itself is replaced? And what will be the nature of the vehicle that replaces it?
By many accounts the virtual catalog has been available for some time. Options have existed for a life like replacement. This replacement has been based on flash technology that has been used for web introductions and advertising on line. However, feedback on this technology has been unimpressive and many companies will not offer a virtual catalog because they haven’t seen positive results. The failure of this virtual content may be attributable to a poor message, weak offer, or the challenging nature of viewing the material. New technology cannot fix the first two items but it can affect the third.
And not just with catalogs, but with circulars, brochures, manuals and magazines. The effect can be felt with travel guides, yearbooks, text books and newspapers.
As with any application today involving the web the changes in technology drive improved customer experiences and response rates. With enhanced capabilities marketers are able to communicate better using more targeted messages with rich media and more effective performance measurement. Moving from Flash to HTML offers that kind of enhancement for virtual content. One company, Movada Media, has moved quickly to the front of this arena. MOVADA uses an HTML based solution - therefore they can provide web metrics along with all of the search engines being able to “crawl” their VIRTUAL Catalog™ for SEO optimization. It is much easier to navigate, with faster page loads, along with a larger interface or page size that improves the entire user experience. Catalogs and brochures can be quickly duplicated and added to the website creating a much more interactive method for contact. Common web features such as drop down menus and links for purchasing are integrated and seamless. Sorting through a catalog in the flash environment was a “page by page turning doldrums” unless you jumped ahead to land somewhere in the middle of the catalog. Movada offers page descriptions, word searches, and easy magnification to make reading the virtual catalog as real as possible.
With online content powering forward it’s also important to consider disk space and download times. Movada requires no downloads and the ability to email links to friends from within the application. The only storage needed is for archived marketing material and content, the stuff a customer might want to browse at a later date as well. And the only opponents to this kind of service are the print shops and publishers who will lose revenue while their customers modernize and advance their message. Staying current with technology and ahead of the competition is effective in all economic conditions. Don’t be left behind.
Justin Jackson is an Account Executive with Donnelley Marketing with over 10 years of experience in consultative sales in the multi-channel arena. Email any questions to Justin.Jackson@Donnelleymarketing.com or check out the website: http://www.workone2one.com/. Sign up for a free e-newsletter and receive a free business profile.
