Product Directory Mag Offers Direct-Response Consumers By Daniel S. Levin

SAN FRANCISCO - A hybrid product directory/consumer guide magazine, the first of its kind, will launch nationally this fall, offering adver

Catalyst, The National Consumer Guide, published by Consumer Direct Access here, will be a 300-page glossy magazine with some 12,000 listings of national manufacturers organized into ten product sections such as automobiles, home and entertainment. Editorial copy will offer advice, product information and references to help consumers gather information prior to making a purchase.
The directory, which will be published every fall and spring, will be distributed free to a controlled circulation list of 750,000 targeted households with incomes of at least $75,000 and a history of making catalog or phone purchases.
The rate card is set at $30 per 1,000, which the company said compares at about half the rate of specialty magazines. Similar comparisons are not available for direct-response marketing.
For advertisers the guide delivers potential buyers while they are contemplating a specific purchase.
‘It’s an opportunity to get to people when they are very ripe for information,’ said Dan Odishoo, senior vp of Foote, Cone & Belding/S.F, which is exploring the directory for some of its clients. ‘It’s really the first vehicle of its kind to open this kind of book to a national advertiser.’
Some who are considering recommending the guide to their clients said they would like to see more data to show that, once the book is in homes, people will refer to it as a regular resource.
‘Anything that makes it easier for customers to get in touch with us is useful,’ said David Verklin, senior vp/corporate media director at Hal Riney & Partners here. ‘Whether it is a terrific advertising environment is still be determined.’
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)