Selling to your audience

Like most Americans, we get too many catalogs. Way too many. Before Christmas, it becomes a battle to see if we can throw them away before the next identical one comes. Oftentimes, only the cover is changed. They're just trying to fool you into thinking it's something new and opening it. We all know this game.

I don't think this holiday catalog season was any more crowded than the previous. When the mail came, I'd sort through the catalogs, tossing those immediately which held absolutely no interest and saving in a pile those which did. While we watched TV in the evenings, I'd go through them and gather ideas for gifts or for items the Library Board might make for one sale or the other. Most catalogs would be missing a page or two by the time they were thrown out. I'm a bit indiscriminate in my idea-gathering.

Then I hit a catalog which had me smiling, not at the merchandise, which was common enough, but at the models. The male models. Many catalogs simply display men's clothing sans men, while women's catalogs, such as Chico's and Neiman Marcus, will take their models somewhere and have backgrounds as interesting as the clothing. But at Cuddledown, out of Portland, Maine, they are into realism. Their target audience isn't pretty boys whose girlfriends are interested in displaying their pecs. No, their audience, is the middle-aged customer. How do I know this? The male models are balding.

I found it quite comforting. He looked as a real man would modeling his silk robe. I applaud that. And here's a sample link to see what you think about it, too.