Some companies have been accepting more package inserts and blow-ins in their catalogs over the past year or so to help build incremental revenue.
Catalog consultant Jack Schmid says that in the current economy, catalogers are looking for list rental-type income and, by extension, to carry inserts and blow-ins.
“We’ve seen more growth in catalog blow-ins in the last two years than we saw in the previous 10,”; says Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president of Estee Marketing Group. “It’s good for both the inserter and cataloger because of the incremental revenue for the cataloger and as another source of names for the inserter.”
Batrouney says that the costs of blow-in cards are maybe half the cost-per-thousand of renting lists for straight mailings. But he cautions that response rates are much lower.
“The magazine industry figured this out a long time ago,” he notes, adding that catalogers have only come to realize this fairly recently.
Arlene Rosen, president of Alternate Response Associates, estimates that blow-in card programs generally bring catalogers revenue between $15 and $20 per thousand.
But Diane Caruso, vice president of alternative media at Stanton Direct Marketing, warns marketers that a catalog’s printer must let it know if a book can accommodate blow-in cards without causing problems in the production process; if a blow-in card’s weight conforms with existing postal regulations; and whether the program is being targeted only to a catalog’s house list, which isn’t always the case.
“This is one of my pet peeves,” she says.
Package inserts in catalog merchandise shipments also are apparently growing.
In the past few years, such catalogers as Norm Thompson have increased the number and types of package inserts they’re willing to use to add another source of income.
“A lot more catalogers are accepting inserts because it’s a cheaper way to make money,” says Jim Lynch, vice president at Millard Group.
Leon Henry, president of Leon Henry Inc., says the insert business overall is picking up–and not just for catalogers. He notes that new players, pharmaceutical companies among them, are using insert media for the first time now.
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