Blog

By Daniel De la Rey                                                                                                     01 August 2018

The use of printed catalogues and pamphlets by businesses around the world and in particular South Africa is a long-standing tradition dating back as far as 1498. This is when Aldus Pius Manutius in Venice, Italy, produced the very first catalogue to promote all the books his printing press were producing. Since that day the success of catalogues has been consistent.

What has given this advertising medium such longevity? Is it because of its cost-effectiveness, or perhaps it is the preferred choice when making purchasing decisions? Maybe it is simply because it works.

In today’s world, there is little to no spend on any advertising campaign if there is no proof that the money is well spent. In other words, the Return on Marketing Investment is a critical factor in deciding whether to continue using any advertising medium.

In 2018, On the Dot; South Africa’s biggest distributor of free marketing materials, (such as catalogues), conducted research using shopper data to test the effectiveness of the products being advertised. From 20^th February 2018 to the 4^th March 2018 a large retail chain group ran a promotion for stores based in inland South Africa for a select number of products that were displayed on the catalogue.

Before the promotion took place, On the Dot distributed catalogues to over 1,2 Million homes in over 600 areas in inland South Africa between the 20^th and 21^st February 2018.

After the distribution took place, On the Dot looked at the sales of the products being advertised on the catalogue at the Chris Hani Vosloorus store to gauge what success the promotion had created as Vosloorus contained several areas where catalogues were distributed.

The results of the research have shown that on average, sales quantities of all the products advertised on the catalogue increased by 81% when compared to average sales quantities from between January 2017 to December 2017.

Catalogues continue to be a mainstay for South African businesses with a major factor contributing to its success is being able to get as many eyes on the catalogue as possible. On the Dot provides access to demographically targeted consumer markets offering a reliable, accurate, efficient, and cost-effective direct marketing communication platform.

 Extensive Industry Knowledge ensuring increased reach with precision target marketing to minimise wastage

• Utilising Demographic Data distributing to 15,3 million homes throughout South Africa
• Extensive Infrastructure of 35 depots and 6 over-border depots in Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland
• Utilizing 337 contract drivers, 2,822 runners and 104 quality controllers

Distribute over 1 billion pamphlets/catalogues and 85 million community newspapers per annum

On the Dot’s Multi-Channel Marketing Division offers clients a variety of advertising platforms including Taxi Rank Activations, Roadshows, In-store Activations, Moving Billboards, Vehicle Branding and Loud Halo to name but a few.

Visit our website at www.onthedot.co.za or contact us for more information;

Tel: 087 741 3137

Email: assistance@onthedot.co.za

*Research and findings were conducted by On the Dot using data from one store only and do not reflect the outcome of all promotions.