The Australian Catalogue Association (ACA) is calling on all catalogue producers to submit their work for this year’s Annual Catalogue Awards, which is held in Melbourne on 9 August.
Celebrating its 22
nd year, the awards have become an institution in their own right offering a night recognising the excellence of one of the most persistently popular marketing mediums: catalogues.
Kellie Northwood (pictured), recently appointed executive director of the ACA, said the awards night is an opportunity for the industry, including many of the Australia’s best known retailers, advertisers, marketers, designers and printers to acknowledge the creativity and effectiveness of catalogues as a key element of the marketing mix.
“The awards provide a unique environment in which our industry, which includes so many professions, gathers to acknowledge the intelligence and creativity involved in producing what remains one of the most popular and effective marketing mediums,” says Northwood.
Entrants are judged across seven key areas including cover design, internal design, photography, merchandising, branding, copywriting and effectiveness (selling power).
“The judging panel has always been a prestigious cross-industry group of established leaders from both agency and client-side,” says Northwood. “This year’s panel includes: M&C Saatchi, Our Agency, Centro Retail Australia, Bay Leather Republic, Howards Storage World, Cumming Agency & Studios, Harvey Norman, Innovations, Xavier Advertising, Rhubarb & Custard, BMF, Sinnott Bros and Masters Home Improvement among other major Australian retailers.
“New categories for the 2013 Australian Catalogue Awards include
Environment and Sustainability (for volumes over 250,000 copies) and
Letterbox Miscellaneous, for catalogues promoting products across telecommunications, pharmacy, automotive parts and accessories to name a few,” she says.
According to the ACA, research from last year into the efficacy of retail catalogues by Roy Morgan revealed that over 70 per cent of Australians aged 14 and over read printed catalogues.
“Catalogues bring the shop front to the kitchen table,” says Northwood. “They encourage people to go to a store, and with the growth of digital consumers, they are driving people online either to make a purchase or do some research.
“Retailers already know the value of catalogues and are now expanding into multi-channel communication plans, leveraging from the strengths of catalogues and marrying with digital communication options,” she says.
“A new category introduced last year, Technology on Paper, was very popular and saw some great examples of multi-channel campaigns creating greater consumer uptake of in-store offers. Catalogues have become not only a driver of in-store traffic, but also a driver of online traffic to online stores,” she says. “Catalogues are an indispensable part of the marketing mix and those producing them well are delivering great value to their clients. The Annual Awards are not only recognition, but a celebration of the skills of our industry.”
Entries close on 31 May 2013 and Ms Northwood expects more than 200 submissions across 11 categories, including the ‘Catalogue of the Year’ award won by Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski, Myer and Kmart in their respective categories last year.
The awards will be held at Peninsula, Docklands in Melbourne on Friday, 9 August.
Click here to enter or for more info.
“The awards provide a unique environment in which our industry, which includes so many professions, gathers to acknowledge the intelligence and creativity involved in producing what remains one of the most popular and effective marketing mediums,” says Northwood.
Entrants are judged across seven key areas including cover design, internal design, photography, merchandising, branding, copywriting and effectiveness (selling power).
“The judging panel has always been a prestigious cross-industry group of established leaders from both agency and client-side,” says Northwood. “This year’s panel includes: M&C Saatchi, Our Agency, Centro Retail Australia, Bay Leather Republic, Howards Storage World, Cumming Agency & Studios, Harvey Norman, Innovations, Xavier Advertising, Rhubarb & Custard, BMF, Sinnott Bros and Masters Home Improvement among other major Australian retailers.
“New categories for the 2013 Australian Catalogue Awards include Environment and Sustainability (for volumes over 250,000 copies) and Letterbox Miscellaneous, for catalogues promoting products across telecommunications, pharmacy, automotive parts and accessories to name a few,” she says.
