Catalogue/e-business Picks the Top Christmas Catalogue Covers

After reviewing mailboxes full of catalogues, trade magazine Catalogue/e-business (www.catalog-biz.com) selected five front covers that best capture the spirit of the holiday while maintaining the image of each particular brand:

* Bettys Christmas 2007. The purveyor of “traditional cakes & puddings, handmade chocolates and luxury gifts delivered to your door”, as the strapline says, Bettys gives one of those traditional cakes the hero treatment. “Adorned with a simple bow and placed atop an unfussy, elegantly set table, the cake—and the cover as a whole—makes it clear what Bettys does and why it should be part of your Christmas celebration,” says Sherry Chiger, Catalogue/e-business editorial director.

* Cath Kidston Christmas 2007. Two homespun ornaments, a crocheted snowman and a crocheted Santa, are the focus of this simple front cover. “Even if you’re not normally enamoured of homely decorations,” says Chiger, “you’ve got to love this cover”.

* Hawkin’s Bazaar, We Love Christmas Issue No. 3. You expect something fun from this seller of unusual toys and silly gadgets, and with this cover Hawkin’s Bazaar doesn’t disappoint. The graphics are limited to vintage-inspired illustrations and “old-timey” type fonts; it’s the cover lines that do the heavy lifting: “Racing Grannies Pulling Santa’s Sleigh”; “Chocolate Mushrooms Roasting on an Open Fire”; “Spew Balls Hanging from the Tree”.

* MacKenzie-Donaldson. “The Exquisite Tastes of Scotland” reads the strapline, and in case you were in doubt that this catalogue specialises in the elegant, you need only look at the cover: a lovely photograph of four white geese set against a pristine white background.

* Wheatley Dyson. This cataloguer of computer and desktop printing supplies regularly features cows on its covers; in fact, the company declares that the books are catalogues but rather “cowalogues”. The Christmas edition features two red-nosed bovines on a snowy field. One is wearing a Santa hat; the other is saying in a speech bubble, “Are you really going to the Christmas party dressed like that?!” Not amused? There’s a contest in which the authors of better captions can Canon digital photo printing bundles. The season of giving, indeed.

For more information contact:
Sherry Chiger, editorial director, Catalogue/e-business
Tel: 01271 866221
Email: sherry@catalog-biz.com

About Catalogue/e-business:
Catalogue/e-business is the leading publication for offline and online cataloguers and multichannel retailers in the UK. In addition to the print magazine, the Catalogue/e-business family includes several annual supplements; a website, www.catalog-biz.com; and Insight, a free fortnightly enewsletter offering tactical advice and industry research.