Coursing through One Up Golf

It is always difficult to produce a critique on a catalogue when you do not know the history and budget of the company, so I have had to make a few assumptions based upon the catalogue I have in front of me and what I already know about the business.

One Up Golf is a family-run business selling classic golfing and leisurewear together with a range of golfing accessories such as scorecard wallets, tees, and balls. Its customers are affluent ABC1 females aged 55 and older, who as the name suggests, have an interest in golf. The oversized A5, 44-page catalogue targets women who want to make a fashion statement on the golf course and in the club house. After all, they now have the time and expendable income to enjoy their passion for the sport. The company told me it prides itself on its small in-house customer service team and although there are calls to action to remind customers of the full range online, most customers call in to place their orders. I believe this reflects the general attitude of the over 55s to internet shopping.
As far as I am aware, there are no clothes exclusive to this catalogue—if there are, they should be flagged “exclusive”. On that thought, let’s get started with the critique.

Teeing off
One Up Golf provides a collection of clothes for each season, carefully selected to provide the “complete look” for the keen woman golfer and puts a strong emphasis on comfort and quality. The front cover, therefore, needs to convey the image and philosophy of the company in the best possible way. It needs to have appeal and should encourage potential customers to look inside. As it is often the best-selling page in the catalogue, the front cover should emphasise potential best sellers. In this case, the cover image lacks appeal, partly because of the reproduction and printing. Compared to the same image on the website, the front cover of the catalogue is slightly dark and dingy.

Also, it’s not clear from the cover where you can find out more about the product featured, nor is it obvious from the first spread. In this instance, the selling copy for the cover is on page 11, which features a slightly different shot to the front cover. A more lifestyle shot, or perhaps a close-up mood shot on the cover may be more effective in encouraging the potential customer to look inside.

The One Up Golf logo is lost on the page, possibly due to its low-key design. Further, the strapline “Golf and leisurewear for the stylish lady” is inconsistent with the website’s tagline, which is “Bringing style to the golf course”. In the interest of brand values and clarity, it is imperative that the message on the catalogue and website are aligned.

Fortunately, the all-important orderline number features prominently at the bottom of the cover, and One Up Golf also uses the space to promote its free delivery option.

On the fairway
Pages 2 and 3 are One Up Golf’s opportunity to make more of the “family business” aspect. The letter on page 2 is signed off by the Spicer family, and features a photo of the Kent Ladies County Team, which is sponsored by One Up Golf. Although this is a very nice touch, I would have liked to see a photo of the person writing the intro to make it even more personal.

The special offer on page 2 for £5 off fleece headbands is well positioned in an attention-grabbing spot and the shot on page 3 is potentially a good image, though it is let down by the printing being too dark. What’s more, the black copy printed on the dark background is not easy to read. Considering the catalogue targets the over-55 age group, who may be reading the catalogue in their living rooms with, perhaps, slightly subdued lighting, this is a big problem. And it occurs on a number of occasions throughout the catalogue. The best legibility for copy is black text on a white background. Customers will not bother to struggle reading copy—they will just move on.

The One Up Golf catalogue has quite a low density of product, averaging around three items per page. It peppers spreads with mix-and-match suggestions—such as ways to wear the Shannon Gilet on page 28—and “complete the look” features, which are great tactics to generate increased sales.

Copy is not too long and conveys the essential information, for example, the description for the Berwick Trousers reads, “Checks are always fashionable and these trousers are no exception. Wonderfully comfortable and so smart, these trousers are front zipped, have two side pockets, side waist elastication and a really useful back buttoned card pocket.”

On the whole, the catalogue conveys the feeling of an enjoyable day’s golf. The pace and composition of the photography works well, with a combination of full, half and three-quarter and close-up shots, with occasionally two models featured. I particularly like the accessory spreads at the back of the catalogue, especially the golf hats, which I think work very well. Though perhaps the hats could have been shown more within the main photography with copy referrals.

One Up Golf uses attractive shots grouped together to show the different colourways of a product. The spread on pages 18 and 19 of the lambswool jumpers is a great example of showing the product in-situ and close up. However, I don’t feel the same about the introduction of trouser swatch samples. I find them slightly distracting and feel they complicate the page layout. Better photography and printing could solve the problem of not being able to see the texture and pattern of the trousers properly.

The size of the descriptive body text is about right, considering the page size and the target market. However, the intro headings on the spreads vary in type size throughout the catalogue, and some work better than others. This is especially evident on some spreads that have two headings, which is a bit excessive. For example, on page 10, “Winter flat front trousers”, is in a typeface and sizes that conflicts aesthetically. On the opposite page, “Mix and match in style” simply does not read very well—the cursive Style clashing with the capital letters of the preceding words. Overall, there are too many headings, which all work to clutter the spreads. Headings are best used to inform customers of important information, rather than putting them in for their own sake. Take, for example, the headings “Your favourite polo shirt” on page eight and “Truly feminine” on page 27, they do not inform the customer of any specific fabrics or features of the garment being sold.

The catalogue uses an “editor’s choice” technique to call out specific garments. However, the “OUG loves” logo is not a device that enhances the spread. The abbreviation OUG, which stands for One Up Golf, is unattractive and, coupled with a large dotted heart, does not particularly suit the style and format of the spread. The heart looks a little downmarket and complicates the spread. Better to say, “We love this pro wool gilet” and use a simpler, more classical shape to emphasise the quote.

Now, how’s this for oversight: the logo and One Up Golf company name only features on the front cover and on page 2. The only other mention of the name is in the website URL at the bottom of six of the pages. The name does not even feature prominently on the order form. With this in mind, it is easy to forget whose catalogue you are reading—the last thing a catalogue wants to be is forgettable.

Tallying the scores
The catalogue does quite a few things very well. The selection of clothes and accessories, tailored to women aged 55 and older, is appropriate and tasteful. The models look attractive, friendly and approachable, and are younger than the customer profile to enhance the style and quality of the classic clothes and be aspirational to the potential customer.

A few simple tweaks could make a huge improvement, taking the design more upmarket would better reflect the clothes being sold and the profile of the customer. In addition, more attention to the quality of printing and reprographics could help bring the catalogue to life and possibly increase sales.

Phil Stockton is account director specialising in mail order catalogues at Ontrac Agency.