This Valentine’s Day, The San Francisco Music Box Co. made a point of not offering discounts or other sales promotions. And that wasn’t a one-time tactic for the gifts cataloger/retailer.
“This year, we’re getting back to our heritage of having quality goods, rather than being promotionally driven,” says senior vice president of marketing and merchandising Linda Angelacci. “Last year we had many off-price pages. We don’t want to do that anymore.” The company’s upcoming Mother’s Day catalog, scheduled to drop in April, will be “100% full price,” she says.
The catalog creative will accentuate the quality of the company’s music boxes and collectibles by emphasizing their uniqueness and the craftsmanship involved. The catalog will also promote the music played by the music boxes. “In our past catalogs, the tunes were usually in small type, one of the last things mentioned before the price, and they look unimportant,” Angelacci says. “But we realized that they are one of the key points of differentiation, so we will play up the songs more in the catalog graphics.”
In addition, upcoming San Francisco Music Box catalogs will focus more intently on gift-giving occasions. In the spring book, for instance, spreads are dedicated to such occasions as Mother’s Day, weddings, bridesmaids, First Communions, Father’s Day, and graduations. “This way,” Angelacci says, “we’re not leaving it up to customers to think about gifts for every occasion. We’ll be bolder and let them know right up front.”