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26 •
PPB
• MAY 2016
INNOVATE
Shelbyville, Indiana-based
NEXT, says his company’s 2016
catalog is designed to be a cen-
terpiece of the supplier’s modest
rebranding. “We wanted a new
look and feel,” says Batson.
“Initially, we wanted to make it
more lifestyle-centered, similar to
a retail apparel catalog, and use
people shots with the products in
use while trying to avoid the
stock photo look.” That idea, says
Batson, evolved into adding a
quirky, fun element with the use
of a spokesmodel and an aug-
mented reality video with the
same spokesmodel.
In the earliest stages of plan-
ning, the team at NEXT looked
at the catalog as more than a
marketing piece. “From product
pricing to product presentation,
it became the central element for
the year’s strategy,” Batson says.
“We knew we wanted video ele-
ments delivered via an augment-
ed reality platform, so those
videos dictated many of the
components of the catalog. The
size of the catalog changed a few
times as we added and eliminat-
ed products for inclusion.”
NEXT only produces one
catalog a year, primarily due to
costs. New products are intro-
duced throughout the year
through electronic media includ-
ing electronic catalogs that are
formatted like print books. And,
electronic formats allow the sup-
plier to provide additional infor-
mation and images to clients.
Since much of the print produc-
tion process has moved in-
house—graphic design and pho-
tography are done by NEXT
staff—the team has been able to
go to press later than in years
past, says Batson.
Batson adds that the aug-
mented reality addition has
received a tremendous reaction,
though the bulk of the feedback
NEXT receives from customers
is related to the presentation of
information, rather than look or
feel. “A number of us keep a cat-
alog near us to record customer
feedback, including information
corrections for the next year.”
Given the near-limitless
opportunities that digital cata-
logs and online-only product
sales can bring alongside a
much-reduced cost of produc-
tion, Batson says NEXT consid-
ered eliminating print last year
in favor of mobile apps that
paired with the supplier’s exist-
ing website. “We often hear
from customers that they don’t
want a catalog. Also, we always
want to position NEXT as a
progressive company—the
elimination of a print catalog
makes a bold statement to that
positioning.”
But NEXT, like so many
others, has chosen to continue
with print catalog distribution.
“We decided to keep it because
there is too much of a demand
for a printed version now. When
we tell this story of last year’s
debate to have a print catalog,
95 percent of the feedback is
that we made the correct deci-
sion,” says Batson. “Also, new
data strongly suggests that print
marketing media, including cat-
alogs, is actually becoming more
relevant.”
MAKE
DIGITAL
CATALOGS
WORK
FOR YOU
AND YOUR
DISTRIBUTOR
CLIENTS
ALRIGHT, SUPPLIERS. LET’S SAY YOU’RE READY
to
make the leap to publishing a digital catalog. Perhaps
you want to supplement your print version or replace it
altogether; either way, online publishing comes with its
own set of rules.
Bryony Zasman, director of marketing for business
services provider ZOOMcatalog (UPIC: Zoom-cat) in
Lafayette, Colorado, shares her expertise on producing
and hosting online catalogs that are manageable and
marketable.
One of the biggest differences between a print and
digital catalog, says Zasman, is the ability to instantly
share a line of products with a client, as opposed to
sending them to a website. “It is much easier for
someone unfamiliar with a brand to view and under-
stand a supplier’s line of products by paging through a
catalog rather than clicking around on a website,” she
says. “Digital catalogs are searchable so you can
quickly and easily find what you are looking for.”
Among the benefits of digital catalogs is the ability
to update product information in a timely manner,
without adding to the cost of production. “When you
print catalogs, you cannot make changes to the con-
tent,” says Zasman. Additionally, digital catalogs can
be customized multiple times for multiple end users.
“If you spend time and money designing your catalog,
there is no reason not to get it out there as much as
possible, through as many channels as possible.”
Additionally, suppliers with limited in-house tech-
nology resources can rely instead on a technology
provider such as ZOOMCatalog to host and maintain