Shared Catalog

Now that your favorite agencies and printers are encouraging brands to align and send out "shared catalog" (catalogs where 10-20 brands all contribute pages and contribute customers, sharing the expense of a mailing), you are probably wondering "Should We Do That Too"?

Quite honestly, you could have been doing this for the past two decades. This isn't an innovative idea. But it should catch your attention that traditional catalogers aren't doing this (click here). I know, I know, traditional catalogers will bark at me ... "that idea is stupid, it won't work".

Traditional catalogers are right to assume that the idea won't work under the definition of what works for a traditional cataloger.

But times are changing ... and the future is being split into three big pieces.

1. Amazon.
2. Commodity Commerce (Walmart / Target / Big Boxes / Department Stores).
3. Performance Commerce.

There's a reason that Sears and JCP and Macy's and so many traditional brands are slowly being starved. The "boring" purchases are being gobbled up by Amazon and Commodity Commerce, leaving Performance Commerce as the only option. Almost none of us are good at Performance Commerce.

We're going to have to become good at Performance Commerce.

And that means our definition of "what works" changes.

So is a "shared catalog" the answer? Probably not. But it is "something" that you could do to generate awareness. And you'll generate awareness the way you like to generate it (if you are a traditional cataloger) ... by mailing a catalog.

Tomorrow I'll share with you what Performance Commerce is.