When do I get your catalogue?
By Jim Bannister
Canadian FundRaiser:
April, 2001
This column is supposed to be about using direct mail for fundraising, right?
Well, what better way to raise funds than by selling something? And
what better way to sell something by mail than with a catalogue?
As a direct mail format, the catalogue offers unique benefits: no opening
problems, virtually unlimited reading time, retention value, continued selling,
and the ability to create a perceived need.
We usually think of a catalogue as a booklet that offers a number of tangible
products. Some fundraisers agonize over what types of products to offer.
The best bets are items that relate to the nature of the fundraising organization,
the seasonality of the catalogue, and, above all, the needs and interest of
the target audience. Some examples:
- An American public broadcaster puts out an excellent quarterly catalogue,
Wireless, offering video- and audio tapes, as well as an amazing
array of gift items: wall plaques, wearables, nostalgia items, you name
it.
- The alumni associations of many universities sell merchandise such as
jewelry, stationery, pen sets, beer mugs, etc., bearing the university’s
coat-of-arms/logo. Such a catalogue works well for any club-like organization.
Sales pitch: "Show your pride in [organization] by showing the colours."
(A hidden benefit is a sense of belonging and exclusivity!)
- The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum sells art, aviator sunglasses, sweatshirts
and T-shirts, and of course model airplanes. Pitch: "Our retail sales
support our facility and collection."
- The Christian Living Resource Center, in Good News for Families,
offers "resources to nurture the family" primarily books, but
also videos, CDs, audio cassettes, and seasonal items like Advent wreaths
and Christmas ornaments.
- Unicef’s Corporate Card Collection, mailed in August, offers
holiday greeting cards for businesses. Sales pitch: "With Unicef, you
know you are buying high quality greeting cards, but you also know that
all our profits are used to support the cause of children."
That’s the point of a merchandise catalogue, in a nutshell. Buyers get
the satisfaction of supporting a worthy cause, but they also get the tangible
benefit of something for themselves.
You can also do a catalogue of intangibles: services the donor can buy
or projects they can support. I have helped church groups raising funds for
community development, famine relief etc. create catalogues of projects. Sales
pitch: "Here’s what we’re doing in Guatemala, in the Philippines,
and in Sri Lanka. Earmark your gift for whichever project you want to support...or
where it’s needed most."
The Canadian Opera Company has had good results with a catalogue of operas,
used to pitch subscriptions. Added benefit: even if recipients don’t subscribe,
the catalogue reminds them of upcoming productions, and they can still buy tickets
to individual operas from the box office...at full price.
Even if they don’t have to pay for services, a "Directory of Services"
helps your members or subscribers to access and use the organization’s
services. Example: an automobile association. Remember, if they don’t realize
the benefits of belonging, they won’t renew.
Although this is more true of the USA than Canada, catalogues have been a staple
of direct mail marketing for decades. Make a resolution, now, to do a catalogue
next year. If you’re already doing one, do it bigger and better ... or
try another!
James Bannister is a consultant in direct response marketing and communications,
based in Toronto. Readers may contact him through Canadian FundRaiser.
