GTSI Back in Catalog Biz
A large information systems marketer that exited the catalog arena about three years ago is back with a new quarterly magalog.
GTSI Corp., which sells mostly to the government, will send 200,000 copies of its ClarITy magalog in a second wave in December.
The first run, also 200,000 copies, went out this summer.
GTSI discontinued its catalog GTSI Express in 1999. The reason: The firm was changing its focus from selling products to a concentration on IT, according to vice president of marketing Jim Wilkinson.
In addition, the Chantilly, VA company had thought its Web site (www.gtsi.com) could take up some of the slack. “But it couldn’t replace the print catalog,” Wilkinson said.
The first issue of ClarITy went to IT project and program managers, chief information officers and procurement executives in various government agencies. The magalog features case studies and other helpful information, and offers networking, communications and computer security products.
Many of these products are priced at $2,500 or less, and don’t need to go through competitive bidding.
Alternate catalog pages feature GTSI’s toll-free 800 number and Web address.
“End users may use ClarITy as a catalog to buy a printer for their department,” said Wilkinson. “But they may turn around and influence a purchase of an enterprise storage system after seeing a case study or how our technology teams align to government priorities.”
The summer mailing was sent out in phases beginning in late July. The last phase went out in early September. Wilkinson said it was too early to project response rates.
Approximately 80,000 of the catalogs were polybagged with Federal Computer Week and Government Computer News magazines. Wilkinson said he hoped these government-published trade publications would give ClarITy credibility among decision-makers and purchase influencers.
Catalogs were also polybagged with the U.S. military publication Stars and Stripes. Many of these journals are hand-delivered to government offices and don’t go through the postal system. In addition, these titles “have tremendous credibility with decision-makers and hit prospects we don’t have,” Wilkinson claimed.
Another reason for the polybagging and hand delivery: Some federal agencies are actually under orders to throw out all direct mail “because they are so inundated,” said Wilkinson.
The December mailing will go out to prospects “and new leads we get from trade shows,” said Wilkinson. GTSI exhibits at 60 trade shows per year.
Wilkinson added that the firm will probably evaluate the magalog later this month to see if greater frequency is warranted.
GTSI, which generated some $784 million in revenue last year, distributes microcomputer and workstation hardware, software and networking products. It also configures, installs and maintains microcomputers in local-area networks.
