For Catalogue Marketers, online is no replacement for press advertising

November 4, 2008

For catalogue and mail order start-ups, the age of the Internet has produced unparalleled opportunities.  Rather than needing to raise £one million of venture capital and undertake a risky print run of 100,000 prospect catalogues, anybody can now create a website and put their product online for minimal cost.

This has given rise to a boom in mail order and a huge rise in the number of start-ups coming to market with their product offerings.  Some of these companies are simple ‘mom & pop’ outfits with a single good idea whilst others are more professional concerns, significantly backed by investor capital, which have a comprehensive online product range.

Writing as the Head of a Top 50 advertising agency with a speciality in generating customers (both online and offline), it is abundantly clear that many mail order start-ups see online success as the holy grail.  Print and offline advertising is seen as risky and prehistoric whilst online customer generation is seen as the golden panacea that takes 99% of the marketing budget.

But here’s the thing:  it’s not true.  I’m speaking from experience here.  Using just online as a medium, mail order marketers hit what I term the ‘digital ceiling’ whereby more online marketing does not generate more results.  Instead, the law of diminishing returns kicks in and a ceiling is reached. This is especially true of mail order brands that have spent most of their money on Google Adwords, email campaigns and online banner advertising on a cost-per-click basis.

Having undertaken the advertising for numerous brands, both big and small, I’ve witnessed this trend at first hand.  The question that results is always, “if online has hit a ceiling, what can we do now?”  

Let me give you one mail order example - a fantastic company called ‘Brightminds’.  This company could have come straight out of the Dragon’s Den TV programme, but instead it was founded and built up on the back of one woman’s excellent idea and sheer hard work.  Founded in 2000 by Alison Quill, an ex-teacher, the company specialises in educational toys, games and software for children – all of which support the UK national curriculum.

The company has since won numerous awards including the ECMOD 2007 Award for best mail order business (in their category) as well as the Daily Telegraph Top 10 UK mail order companies (2007 ranking).  It has also built up a substantial product portfolio of 1,500 games, puzzles, flash cards, books and CD Roms.

Having built its business through a careful use of online advertising, especially Google Adwords, Brightminds reached a ceiling on its growth.  The company turned to us, being specialists in customer generation, and we told Brightminds what we have told many mail order clients.  Namely that to grow further the company would have to stick its head above the parapet and venture offline.

We proposed a careful mix of specially chosen press and daytime TV media, bought at the very best rates, alongside superbly crafted creative executions using formulas that generate response.  The results have exceeded all expectations and have contributed to Brightminds seeing a significant uplift in their sales – in the process helping propel them to the next level of their development.

That’s not to say that Brightminds have stopped using online media.  Not at all.  It’s just that in order to grow further Brightminds realised that online marketing can only take you so far.  To get to the next level of growth, there comes a time when an online mail order specialist has to venture offline.  That takes guts, commitment and an advertising supplier who specialises in offline customer generation.  The results, however, are worth it.  Just ask Brightminds!