May 10
4
Catalogs…A Photographic Medium
The environment of the mailbox (the catalog’s distribution channel) is a highly competitive one. More often than not, several catalogs will arrive at the same time, with each catalog demanding the consumer’s attention.The presentation of the catalog has to establish positioning and credibility with the prospective customers.
It is the “voice” that speaks to the readers and invites them to browse through the pages and to consider this catalog over another. The creative combination of all of the visual elements of the medium results in the look and communicated personality of an individual catalog. The visual elements consist of design, typography, photography, use of color, and quality reproduction (separations and printing.)
A consumer looks at a catalog briefly before deciding on further interest. The perception of the catalog is determined, to a large degree, on the presentation of these marketing elements. Of all of the visual elements of presentation, photography is the most crucial, because it must clearly depict the products as well as serve to excite the senses of the reader.
The dress could have been shot on a simple studio set. But Kip Meyer chose a sweeping landscape to give it---and the entire catalog--- a unique personality
Catalogs (also referred to in the industry as “paper stores”) are essentially a photographic medium of presenting merchandise for direct sales responses from customers.
Descriptive copy is important, because it must function to inform the reader about the products and to close the sale. Design format serves as the cohesive element that holds the other diverse elements of presentation together, resulting in a unified “spread” (or two facing pages) concept. The use of color in a catalog can create a positive receptivity in the consumer’s mind. Good quality reproduction helps to establish credibility; it helps establish trust-worthiness and believability about the catalog company and their merchandise offerings.
All of the elements of catalog marketing are important, but photography lends contributions to each of the others, and presents a potential that is unique and necessary for success.
Photography can elicit an emotional response from the consumer. It can provide
A shift in the weather has to be expected when you’re on location. This ambitious photographer turns a dreary morning rain into an opportunity to shoot an unusual setting.
the reaction or “hot button” that triggers the motivation to make a purchase. Achieving the best catalog photography is not as simple as it might appear. One of the first considerations is to accept that catalog photography differs in objectives and usage from general advertising photography. Editorial and advertising photos are executed to create an impression and an image, for later recognition and subsequent sales. Catalog photography must also create the image, but is primarily charged with fully explaining the products at a glance, and with generating an immediate sales response. In order to accomplish these objectives, catalog photography must be planned and executed with many considerations and marketing judgment calls. Intended use of the merchandise should be portrayed, or at least inferred.
