22nd ANNUAL MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT AWARDS

Office Supplies, Furniture, and Stationery

GOLD: PRINT CHANNEL

Raymond Geddes & Co. | 2006-2007 Master Catalog, August 2006
The August 2006-July 2007 issue of school supplier's Raymond Geddes is jam-packed with merchandise and great ideas for back to school. Beginning with the front cover, clearly, with its colorful presentation of pens, grips, tools and art supplies, “the product is the hero,” says one judge. “Colors work because of the product.”

Why it won a Gold Award
Judges raved about the merchandise selection and overall look. “This catalog is a real grabber. It begs to be flipped through,” said one judge And the bright product presentation helps give the catalog a lot of pizzazz.” From a merchandising standpoint, judges also gave the Geddes catalog props for the first 11 pages of exclusive items, “which cements their authority.”

Raymond Geddes realizes the value of customer service. As one judge remarked, “This is great customer service, right down to the note about no minimum purchase required.” In particular, the marketer's ordering devices were well done, according to judges. “They're located in the right place in the book. The company's “Easy at Geddes” tagline certainly practices what it preaches.

Although Geddes uses copy sparingly, it's effective. ‘This is the most minimal copy I've ever seen, but it works,” said one judge. The book does a good job explaining why customers should buy Geddes products. A copy block explains that the catalogers' erasers “remain pliant over time, leaving minimal crumbs and doesn't cause excessive wear.”

Geddes produced a Gold Award winner by going to school on the details and anticipating their customers' needs. This catalog solves more problems than a math student.

Idea to steal
Start a membership club. By taking a page from Geddes “Get More” loyalty program, you'll get your customers involved and derive additional sales from it as well. Here's how it works: Geddes club members spending $350 a quarter receive $25 off their next order. “This is interesting,” remarked one judge. “Customers get to track how much they're spending — and how many ‘free' dollars they're accruing.”
— MDF

Director/marketing director/merchandiser: Laura Bruck
Designer/photographer/illustrator: Becky Ashway
Creative director/print and production director: Dawn Prater
Copywriter: Shauna Kelly, Scott Melshenker
Printer/prepress: Banta
List manager/broker: MCH
Cover paper: 65 lb., Orion web gloss cover stock
Text paper: 50 lb., BPG, #5 web gloss
Trim size: 7-1/2" × 10-1/2"
Number of pages: 124

SILVER: PRINT CHANNEL

Office Depot | The Green Book, September 2006-July 2007
It's not easy being green if you listen to Kermit the Frog. But Office Depot makes it look easy. The office products marketer deftly demonstrates its ability to be a good corporate citizen by unveiling a stellar edition of its Green Book selling earth-friendly products such as biodegradable packing peanuts and energy efficient light bulbs. “This book does a great job at presenting a total green picture,” says one judge.

Why it won a Silver Award
Office Depot recognizes that the demand for green business solutions is increasing. Businesses want broader assortments of earth-friendly office products and recycling services. And “Office Depot has done a great job at tying in green products to the green marketing concept,” said a judge.

With Office Depot's more than 1,000 environmentally safe products, judges remarked that its merchandise selection was “outstanding.” One panelist said that, “there's good depth and selection, especially for a catalog of 124 pages.”

The company's editorial treatment of green educational material and information helps it stay true to the mission. There are tips on how-to to make your operations more efficient and cost-effective; how to reduce the impact of your operations on the environment; and how to help reduce the demand for virgin materials used in the production of office supplies.

The fact that the catalog's paper choice was driven by the green concept was an appropriate touch, said one panelist. Remarked another judge, “Nice production values for a book on recycled matte paper.”

The book's creative drew high marks as well: Judges agreed that it is well organized and color coded. Much of the copy is designed to show customers how committed the company is to the environment. Another judge praised the catalog's “highly distinctive positioning as being environmentally friendly.” That message relates to the company and the products. Judges especially liked the spreads addressing green products and solutions.

Why it didn't win a Gold Award
The judges had several customer service quibbles with this catalog. For starters, the company's shipping and handling policies were not clear. “The company seems to miss an opportunity because the multichannel store locator is missing. There's not even a Website to find them.” Another judge added that “There's not a single place to find a satisfactory guarantee in the catalog.” And while free next-day business delivery (in local delivery areas) is a strong motivator, “what are the local delivery areas?” asked one judge. It would also help if Office Depot had some sort of an index in the book.
— MDF

Vice president, creative: Steve Gniadecki
Designer: Sandra Strasser, David Doan
Creative director: Suzy Campbell
Marketing directors: Dean Jackson, Lynne Hopkins
Print/production director: Peggy Regan
Merchandiser: Mitch Salley
Copywriter: Ben Lippel
Environmental advisor: Yalmaz Siddiqui
Photographer/illustrator: KSC Studios
Printer: R.R. Donnelley
Cover paper: 80 lb., text environment, Neenah
Text paper: 24 lb., text environment, Neenah & Enviro 100, Cascades
Trim size: 7-15/16" × 10-1/2"
Number of pages: 124

SILVER: WEB CHANNEL

Levenger | www.levenger.com
Levenger's tagline “tools for serious readers,” combined with the product shots on its home page “make it no guess as to what they sell,” said one judge. From pens to pads, briefcases to bookends, and lighting to lap desks, Levenger carries anything a serious reader could think of. And the site does a great job of selling such items. “Promotions are shown very large on the home page, and the site makes use of upselling nicely,” a judge said.

Why it won a Silver Award
“Very nice navigation, with user-friendly upselling and personalization options make this site a pleasure to navigate,” a panelist commented. “Product pages contain images, zoom capabilities of images, customer reviews — a plethora of tools for the customer to use.”

Said another judge: “Merchandising is completely consistent with the category, tagline, and the implicit promise of the home page.”

Technically speaking, “the home page is fast-loading and visually pleasing,” a panelist noted. Along with the HTML text-based primary navigation, “it's a good example of what can be accomplished with CSS-based design.” The search function performs well with results broken down by category, product, and price, said a judge. “Cross-selling is very appropriate and carried through all levels of product selection.” What's more, said another panelist, the search function never yields a null result and provided related links on occasion. “Reasonable misspellings were handled well,” the judge said, “and error messages were clear and friendly.”

And by promoting its guarantee constantly, “Levenger's commitment is seen on every product page in a way that is not overbearing on the Website's overall design and navigation,” a judge said.

Why it didn't win a Gold Award
The use of graphical text in the featured products text is “a deviation from best practices,” said one judge. “It limits accessibility as well as visibility in natural search. The same effect could easily be achieved with appropriately styled HTML text.” — MD

Marketing director: Lynnette Montgomery
Webmasters: Paul Picard, Yan Gu
Website designer: Alex Sender
Merchandiser: Jim Murphy
Photographer/illustrators: Howard Gale, Judy Gale
Consultant: Fry