Apparently, another paper-related trade show is interested in courting the scrapbook industry. The National Stationary Show is adding scrapbook education classes. This makes as much sense to me as PMA does. It's all about introducing scrapbooking to as many businesses (and therefore new customers) as possible. If the stationary store wants to have some scrapbook classes, wonderful! I'll be waiting for their customers.
Also, the March issue of Family Fun magazine has a section about Scrapbooking and kids. It talks about how to set up a scrapbook party for kids. What was missing from the magazine? Ads for scrapbook retailers. There isn't a single one in the entire magazine. Why not? Makes sense to me. If you search the Family Fun site for scrapbooking ideas, there are actually quite a lot.
The same goes for other family friendly magazines. The industry seems to only know how to place ads in it's own magazines and people reading those are already scrappers. Yes, they might go to your store or site, but you're standing in the middle of competition in a magazine for people who already scrap. You're preaching to the choir so the speak. How can we reach out to potential new scrappers or those who really don't pay attention to the industry (yes, there are scrappers who don't hang out at message boards or get scrap magazines!) if we don't remind them we are here? I have friends who think they can find everything they need in the scrapbook section of Target. They really have no idea what's out there.
I believe one of the keys to getting our groove back is to start thinking outside the box in terms of relationships (trade shows) and marketing. We can't continue to live in our own little universe and expect to survive in the long term. Biosphere 2 proved that living in a bubble just isn't going to work. We need to go outside our industry and look for new frontiers.
Also, the March issue of Family Fun magazine has a section about Scrapbooking and kids. It talks about how to set up a scrapbook party for kids. What was missing from the magazine? Ads for scrapbook retailers. There isn't a single one in the entire magazine. Why not? Makes sense to me. If you search the Family Fun site for scrapbooking ideas, there are actually quite a lot.
The same goes for other family friendly magazines. The industry seems to only know how to place ads in it's own magazines and people reading those are already scrappers. Yes, they might go to your store or site, but you're standing in the middle of competition in a magazine for people who already scrap. You're preaching to the choir so the speak. How can we reach out to potential new scrappers or those who really don't pay attention to the industry (yes, there are scrappers who don't hang out at message boards or get scrap magazines!) if we don't remind them we are here? I have friends who think they can find everything they need in the scrapbook section of Target. They really have no idea what's out there.
I believe one of the keys to getting our groove back is to start thinking outside the box in terms of relationships (trade shows) and marketing. We can't continue to live in our own little universe and expect to survive in the long term. Biosphere 2 proved that living in a bubble just isn't going to work. We need to go outside our industry and look for new frontiers.
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