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When it comes to building brand equity with marketing, catalogues and branded magazines are definitely having a moment. Real estate brands have long understood the benefits of branded magazines for generating great exposure for their listings, and retailers are increasingly embracing similar tactics build brand loyalty, increase engagement and boost their Return on Investment.

The benefits of print are well established, so it’s no surprise that more and more businesses are rethinking the role it plays in their marketing strategies.

• It’s memorable: consumers are bombarded with emails, but far fewer brands reach out via print, leaving plenty of opportunity for savvy marketers
• It’s credible: consumers distrust much of the information they read online and are irritated by disruptive online advertising. Print is more trustworthy.
• It’s engaging on a deeper level than digital communications. People read print more attentively and tend to skim when reading online.

Catalogues create credibility

In the highly competitive liquor industry, which is worth nearly $18 billion a year in Australia, catalogues are fast becoming a go-to marketing tool. The industry has long been dominated by television and outdoor media, but the major players are embracing print as a channel that builds loyalty among customers.

Dan Murphy’s informative Buyer’s Guides are filled with engaging content about different product ranges, including how various drinks are made and the region they come from. These guides aim to position Dan Murphy’s as an authoritative voice and connect customers to the brand.

Vintage Cellars has gone a step further with their own branded magazine, Cellar Press, which is filled with high quality content and distributed to the wine club members. First Choice Liquor also utilises a successful weekly catalogue. Indeed, statistics show that 34% of readers buy something featured in a liquor catalogue every week.  

Jones magazine is distributed to 120,000 of David Jones’ highest spending customers each quarter.

Retail giants embrace magazines

Myer and David Jones are fierce competitors, and one of the tools each has used recently to position their respective brands are catalogues and magazines.

Myer’s strategy is to distribute seasonal style and product guides. These luxurious publications are closely aligned with the brand’s digital channels to ensure maximum impact and exposure.

David Jones, on the other hand, has launched the quarterly Jones magazine. The publication can be purchased in-store for $9.95, and it’s also distributed a database high spenders.

At the other end of the scale is Kmart, whose frequent catalogues touting its continually updating product offering and low prices is distributed via targeted letterbox drops to great success.

Lessons for real estate agents

It’s interesting to think about how all of this applies to real estate magazines. They are fantastic tools not only for getting exposure for your listings, but also as a way to build credibility and brand loyalty via content like market reports and advice on buying and selling property. Are you using yours effectively?