Reader Email

I've spent time in the past two months talking more than usual about old-school catalog marketing ... an example can be found here, for instance.

The collapse of the catalog vendor ecosystem (no paper, printer staffing shortages, USPS unable to actually deliver catalogs in a timely manner, agencies lying and saying all is good, industry lobbying groups failing to help) caused an e-commerce leader to send me the following message, paraphrased to protect the innocent.

• "Why are you still talking about catalog brands? It can't be good for your readership metrics. Based on my experience with catalog marketers, they'd rather go down with the ship than change. They don't care that their vendor support ecosystem is collapsing."

You tell me.

Is the author of the quote correct? If the author of the quote is wrong, describe why.

Let me know your thoughts (kevinh@minethatdata.com).