PPB May 2016

“Catalogs are an interesting

topic; on the one hand, so many

distributors still attend trade

shows and ask suppliers to scan

their badges and have ‘x’ number

of catalogs sent to them,” says

Mike Schenker, MAS, vice presi-

dent of promotional sales for

supplier Keyfetch (UPIC:

KEYFETCH) based in Miami,

Florida. “On the other hand,

many distributors say that we

suppliers send too many catalogs.

On the

other

other hand, more

and more distributors and sup-

pliers are eschewing the printed

version, and I truly believe that’s

the future.”

In light of the argument,

Schenker says Keyfetch execu-

tives struggled with whether to

take catalogs to The PPAI Expo

2016 in January. “The partners of

the company and I differed on

what we were bringing to the

show. They wanted to have just

some giveaway items featuring

our revolutionary service, along

with a business card which fea-

tured a

bit.ly

link to a number of

our websites. This would allow

distributors to peruse all of our

products and services when they

got back to their offices.

“While I fully agreed with

the logic,” Schenker says, “my

industry experience told me that

we had to have something of

substance to hand them, some-

thing on which we and the dis-

tributor could both scribble notes

during our on-site conversa-

tions—and something that

wouldn’t get lost in the bottom of

just one more bag collected at the

show. As such, we compromised,

and printed a one-page tri-fold

that highlighted our offerings

and still referred to our website.”

Schenker believes websites

and digital catalogs in general are

the way to go. He says by the

time the show material was

printed, one of the prices had

changed. “I’ve stuck with it, and

honored that price, even though

we clearly stated that prices are

subject to change. But going dig-

ital and online is always better

for instant and seamless updates

to be made. I always advise cus-

tomers to check the website for

the latest information.”

With plenty of demand for

print catalogs coming from dis-

tributor clients, the goal then

becomes creating and publishing

a catalog that is user-friendly

and aesthetically pleasing. Cheryl

Gallagher, director of marketing

for supplier Starline USA, Inc.

(UPIC: STAR0009) in Grand

Island, New York, explains her

company’s process, from design

run-downs to press runs, and

who the key decision makers are.

“Decisions about the key ele-

ments of our catalog are made as

an executive decision. The design

is created by the graphics man-

ager working with the graphic

artists to ensure the vision is

being presented accordingly,”

says Gallagher. “Each year these

elements can change. For the

2016 catalog, some of the key

elements were a unique cover,

TruColor ads [promoting the

supplier’s digital imprint

method], and presenting images

as big as possible with white

space around them.”

Starline’s marketing depart-

ment spearheads the production

process, working with company

executives and the graphic house.

“Once the product line has been

finalized, a mock-up layout is

prepared and approved. Graphics

will start working on the layout,

while photography and informa-

24 •

PPB

• MAY 2016

INNOVATE

S MORE AND MORE OF OUR transactional experience

moves away from paper, pen and phone orders to online fulfillment, the question

of printed catalogs as an industry staple continues to pop up among suppliers

and distributors alike. The mere existence of print isn’t the only conversation;

rather, the content and its usefulness are equally responsible for many of the

conversations that suppliers are having among themselves.