Catalyst precision marketing enters Wintersports Industry with Pez.

For 24 years, Catalyst has successfully served the needs of retailers & manufacturers with national award-winning custom publishing and database marketing.

Catalyst’s precision marketing has been a proven success for leading cycling retailers and virtually every major cycling supplier since 1986. The Outdoor industry adopted Catalyst programs in 2003 with great success. In 2008, Steve Rogers, President of the Sports Specialists Ltd (SSL) buying group, explains “We invited Catalyst to serve our members because Catalyst’s programs get results, build the store’s image, and are easy for retailers.”

The pilot Wintersports Guide was launched for 09/10 and Rogers reports, “All the feedback has been favorable and we plan to expand our business with Catalyst next season.” The Wintersports Guide will be available to all retailers for whom it is a good fit in the 10/11 season.

The “Wintersports Guide” is based on the structure of Catalyst’s Cycling Guide and Outdoor Guide. Catalyst produces an extremely customized magazine/catalog for local retailers, and then mails it to their customers and highly qualified prospects. The world-class production quality makes the merchant and its brands look great and is affordable because vendors and resorts share directly in the cost.

Leslie Bohm, Catalyst CEO, explains, “I started this business after 10 years as a manufacturer. I recognized that specialty-market products are only as successful as the retailers’ sales efforts—and most retailers admit that marketing isn’t their strength. Our job is to serve retailers and vendors as the catalyst in developing marketing that works for everyone.”
“ ‘Pez’ is an ideal fit for us because for over 21 years, he’s worked retail, wholesale with Uvex and Rossignol, and on the mountain. He understands the needs of all the players and will be effective at making the pie bigger for everyone, including the resorts. For 09/10, Vail Resorts signed up right away, and we are seeking to include more resorts of every size for 10/11.”

Blair Clark, now the Sr. V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Smith Optics, has worked with Catalyst for almost two decades starting with his bicycle industry tenure at Giro and Specialized. He observes, “Catalyst successfully taught the bicycle industry how to be effective direct marketers. Their unique campaigns give specialty retailers the appearance and marketing effectiveness of best-in-class merchants like L.L. Bean or REI.
I’m confident Catalyst can add value in the Wintersports Industry. Their formula of coordinating suppliers and retailers in high-quality marketing to a targeted audience is exactly what we need. It will work in the Wintersports Industry, because vendor/retailer relationships and marketing challenges are so similar.
Their new 2009/2010 pilot wintersports programs have added great results to the pile of bicycle and outdoor success stories they’ve established over two decades.”

Lee’s Adventure Sports in Western Michigan used the 09/10 Wintersports Guide. Owner Skip Lee finds the program affordable and experienced a net return on investment of over 400%. He reports, “I’m impressed with the quality of the Wintersports Guide, our staff’s pride in using it, and I’m particularly happy with how long customers held on to it. They were bringing coupons in over two months later. It went far beyond paying for itself.”

For Further Info:
Catalyst Communication, Inc. David PeszekLeslie Bohm, President
800.444.5548www.catacom.comPez@catacom.comleslie@catacom.com