Slimmer Pickings

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AeroGrow also thinks the bigger tabs may have improved delivery in that more catalogs arrived in-home. And the catalogs were delivered in better shape, no doubt thanks to the heavier tabs that kept the books shut.

AeroGrow has used a slim-jim book since September 2008. The 32-page catalog drops eight times per year with an annual circulation of around 7.5 million. Overall response rates with the slim-jim size, Wolfe says, “are fairly similar to what we had seen in our full-size book that we mailed previously.”?

Professional Cutlery Direct is another mailer that did not see a falloff in response when testing the new tabs, Alpert says. A/B split testing of the new tab requirements vs. old tab requirements showed no effect in response rates from the company's house file and core prospect universes. “But the increased cost, plus the ugliness of the tabs, has definitely made slim-jims less attractive for mailers who are already forced to reconsider how they use their catalogs as a customer acquisition vehicles due to recent postal increases,” he notes.

MAILING AS A FLAT

Slim-jim catalogers do have a way around the dreaded tabs: They can opt to mail as a flat.

Catalogs fall within the dimensions of a letter or a flat, says Don Landis, vice president of postal affairs for catalog printer Arandell Corp. Catalogers typically make the decision whether to mail their books as letters or flats based on marketing or postage, he says.

“Even though a trim size may qualify for a letter rate, each mailer can still choose to mail that piece at the flat rate without tabs,” says Miles Kimball's Updike. The cataloger is choosing this option for its sub-brand catalogs, which include Miles Kimball Christmas Cards, Miles Kimball Candy Shoppe, Serenity Falls, Walter Drake Christmas Cards and Sundial. These all mail as slim-jims.

Rather than switch them to a full size, Updike says, “the newer sub-brand mailings will maintain the slim-jim trim size, but will be mailed as flats to avoid using the non-perforated tabs.” The postage increase in going from letter rate to flat rate is about 17%, she adds.

For some of Miles Kimball's titles, Updike notes, “the postage savings for the slim-jim letter rate is not enough to offset the response rate decrease” that results from the new tab requirements.

Ross-Simons' Davis says his company plans to mail its current slim-jims as flats and pay a 30% penalty. The extra postage cost on a flat is $.05 to $.10 higher.

“We are assessing our options for 2009,” Davis says, “but yes, we will likely change much of letter-size mail to the 8" × 10-1/2" format so that we can comail.”

COMAILING IS KING

Comailing, in which the printer binds your catalog at the same time as that of another marketer and mails the two books together, has been a saving grace for catalogers looking to reduce their postal bills.

Since the comailed catalogs have to be the same trim size, a standard catalog format typically means you have more options to comail. That's part of the reason Miles Kimball is moving Walter Drake from a slim-jim, because the full-size catalog format allows for comailing, Updike says. And with the comail opportunities, the company will be able to hold Walter Drake's circulation levels “close to historic levels,” she notes.

Indeed, the ability to comail was another factor in Professional Cutlery Direct's decision to move to a full-size book, Alpert says. “With the added comail opportunities available with full size, we are able to bring our costs down to make it comparable to a slim-jim,” he notes.

Professional Cutlery also mails the gifts and collectibles catalog Uno Alla Volta, which has always been full size. Alpert says the company will now comail the two catalogs to achieve savings.

Underwear brand Jockey launched its first apparel catalog — a slim-jim — about a year ago. The company has not yet decided if it will stick with the slim-jim size after September, says Chris Smith, vice president of catalog for the merchant. But Jockey is considering switching formats so it can comail, Smith says.

“We've been talking with [its printer Arandell Corp.] all along because of the most recent postal increase,” Smith says. “If the May increase was too much for us to handle, we were going to switch to a larger format in July and then join Arandell's comail pool.”

KEEPING SLIM

Despite the postal restrictions for the booklets, several slim-jim fans have no intention of changing their trim sizes. Take cleaning supplies and home improvement products merchant QCI Direct, which mails the Home Trends, Sleep Solutions and Picket Fence catalogs. All three titles moved to the slim-jim size in 2008, which saved the cataloger about 12% in postage costs, says QCI Direct president/owner Jane Glazer.

“We love the size,” she says. “Our catalogs have always been tight on white space, and this format allows us to have fewer items per page, making it easier for the reader.”

Glazer realizes the new tabs might be a problem in September, and the company is now testing them. But she is optimistic about the tests — and the tabs.

Although there are now three tabs instead of two, she notes, “the new ones are easier to rip. Best of all, there should be fewer damaged catalogs arriving in homes. Always the optimist, I am looking at the positive attributes of the new tabbing.”

QCI Direct will mail 45 million catalogs this year. “We drop one of our titles every week,” Glazer says. “We are not a fourth-quarter gift company, so our marketing, distribution and fulfillment are consistent year round.”

The company sees no reason to change its circulation due to the new tabbing rules. As a slim-jim mailer, QCI is not in any co-op mailing pools, which Glazer says gives it greater flexibility to change circulation quantities and dates on the fly. “I realize that we are in the minority here, and most catalogs have made the switch back to full size,” she notes. “But as we know, direct mail is all about testing. So we test.”

Jim Kraft, president of exercise videos merchant Collage Video, says his company has used slim-jims for 15 years and has no intention of stopping now. “We don't plan any changes at this point. We've been mailing slim-jims since 1994, so we really don't have any history or full-size version we could test.”

Still, Collage Video is nervous that the new tabs are going to make its catalog harder to open, Kraft admits. “So when we do our first three-tab mailing (in October), we'll be watching the results and waiting for customer complaints, and keeping up with the reports from larger mailers who are doing true A/B tests.”

But until then, Kraft says: “We'll continue to pocket the postage savings.”

Next Page: Arandell opts out of oblong tabbing