10 catalogers mailing…
9 brokers counting…
8 data managers segmenting…
7 creatives designing…
6 Webmasters programming…
5 columnists filling space!
4 media buyers pricing…
Ahh, you get the idea…and I’m too lazy to come up with the rest of the list.
It’s that time of year — yes, in real time I’m dumping the jack-o’-lantern in the trash and polishing off the leftover candy the little street beggars didn’t take. But in column time, I’m sorting through the holiday catalog pile for tricks and treats.
This year’s stash was compiled starting mid- to late summer. (I don’t know the exact date, but I do know it was the day the Rockettes high-kicked across Rockefeller Plaza on the “Today” show to announce Radio City Christmas Spectacular tickets were going on sale — as good a point to begin the holiday season as any.) Between then and the first weekend of November, my home received 66 catalogs.
Over half were either clothing (16) or housewares (19) books, with children’s (7), gifts (6), food (5), pets (3) and jewelry (3) being the other major mailers of note. No one cataloger overwhelmed this year’s count, although several books apiece were received from L.L. Bean, Hanna Andersson, J. Jill, Williams-Sonoma, Harry & David and Lands’ End.
The multiple catalogs from the latter were particularly fun because of the comparisons they allowed. Lands’ End is marketing matching sweaters for the whole family this season, up to and including the dog. (Notice that the family cat is nowhere to be found. You gotta love felines for not putting up with this dress-as-the-Osmonds nonsense.)
In the first book where I noticed the matching pullovers, the dog photographed with mom, dad and three kids is an appropriately surly looking black and white boxer. (Think Conan O’Brien’s “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s” less caustic cousin and you’ll get the picture.) For that matter, two of the brown-haired children didn’t seem too happy to be dressed like the dog either.
In the next month’s catalog, however, the grumpy pup and kids have been replaced by blonder and happier looking stand-ins. Let that be a lesson to you children: Smile pretty for the holiday pictures or mom and dad will trade you in!
The Wisconsin-based cataloger also sent a copy of Lands’ End Home my way this year. Some of the holiday sweets caught my eye as good hostess Christmas gifts and I popped online to place an order. Being early November, I didn’t want to take delivery right away, as they might go stale (or get eaten).
But as I placed my order, I was surprised to see there was no option for Christmas delivery. Do I take a chance and hope they don’t spoil? Do I call and see if deferred delivery is available? Or do I put the catalog aside and try to remember to place the order later in the month? I take option C, which will result in a lost order for Lands’ End if I find something else in the meantime. Shopping cart roulette is fun, isn’t it?
Discount offers weren’t exactly overstuffing stockings this time around. Harry & David offered its standard deferred payment option, while The Popcorn Factory proffered a $5 discount on any order. Plow & Hearth upped that to $10 off orders of $60 or more, and L.L. Bean offered free monogramming and gift boxes. For a penny, Cat’s Claws would throw in a scratching pad on orders over $50. Terry’s Village promoted free delivery on shipments over $60 (but you had to order by Oct. 16, weeks before I’d even cracked the cover of the book). The Art Film Collection shipped orders over $50 for free and Bits & Pieces noted that it would send a free puzzle with every order.
Instead of a catalog discount, J. Jill instead enticed me to come to its retail location for a special sale night — 10% off that evening, plus the 5% discount I’d receive for using my J. Jill card. Drinks and munchies also would be available. The first invitation arrived about a month in advance by postcard. Another invitation, to a different location in case that might be more convenient, arrived a week before the event. I perused the catalog for holiday fashions I’d just received, and used it to help pick out my retail purchases.
Godiva didn’t even bother to send a catalog my way this season. Instead it dropped a postcard inviting me to visit a store during a holiday sampling event at which I could receive a free copy of a new entertaining guide. Good timing, as I’ll have finished the Halloween candy by then and will need more chocolate.
Next month, buzzed on sugar and ready to go, we’ll continue our catalog romp.
BETH NEGUS VIVEIROS ([email protected]) is executive editor of Direct.
