Tower Topics ~ Fall 2003

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Bold steps: Changes at Printery House aimed at new markets, younger customers

by Dan Madden

In its first five decades, major changes were rare at the Conception Abbey Printery House. There was little competition in a niche market, and frankly, simple watercolors and crisp calligraphy were what a loyal and stable customer base wanted.

But almost overnight, change is becoming the difference between a black and a red budget. The niche is getting crowded with large corporations and those loyal customers are aging. Printery House Director Brother William Buchholz says technological advances that weren’t available until the past five years, a sagging economy, and a faster moving marketplace have required a flurry of bold steps to continue building on the work of his predecessors.

“We used to put out the same card for three years and when we stopped, people would say they wanted it back,” he says. “Now we can’t run the same card twice. Today’s customers don’t want to see that. Maybe 20 years ago they did, but not any more.”

Above, Brother Joseph Cecchetti and Brother Michael Marcotte are part of a new digitalized art department that can get a completed card to press in hours rather than days.

Compare the Printery’s recent Christmas catalog with one from 10 years ago, and one might have to look twice to be sure they are from the same place. The old standards – watercolor and calligraphy – are still there (although they’ve been revamped with brighter colors and simpler text). But they no longer dominate the catalog. Variety has become central to an aggressive effort to attract a new generation of customers. Vivid colors, modern sentiments and international flavors have become the medium.

Studies show that the market for religious cards is growing, but large corporations like Hallmark have entered the fray, posing a stiff challenge for smaller operations like the Printery House.

Changes in greeting cards produced at the Printery House include new high-end cards for special occasions, a concerted effort to feature the beauty of the abbey more, and an expanded line of Hispanic cards.

Brother William, the son of Colorado farmers who is as comfortable running an arc welder as he is a staff meeting, had never worked a day in the Printery House when in 2000, Abbot Gregory Polan appointed him director. After quickly completing a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Notre Dame, Brother William took the reins and began plowing new ground. He hired Kansas City artist Lee Coats, a former Hallmark Cards employee, for the new position of creative director. Next came a massive digital upgrade of the entire production process. And a year ago, he brought in another Hallmark veteran, Roy Haas, as sales and marketing director.

The free-spirited Coats, recognizable by the colorful bandannas adorning her auburn hair, became the first lay-person (and a Presbyterian to boot) to play a prominent role in the conceptualization and design of Printery House cards.

“It was quite a jump,” Brother William said of the hiring. “A monk has always done this, and that was fine. But we needed more than just monastic input, because it’s not only monks who buy our products.”

Coats, who saw the new position as the “chance of a lifetime,” eagerly embraced Brother William’s challenge to make “major changes” in the product line.

The contrast between her artistic flights of fancy and the low-key monks has formed a “wonderful” creative tension in the art department, she says. And her competitive desire to go head-to-head with the big boys of the card industry is continually tempered by the Printery House’s mission to “spread the Gospel through the printed word.”

“(The monks) have to rein me in sometimes,” she admits with a warm smile.

On her arrival, Coats prompted (and was later affirmed by a team of marketing consultants) the Printery House to link itself more visibly with the abbey.

“All I had to do was walk in and see the abbey for the first time and that generated a lot of ideas,” she said.

Tapping liberally into her Hallmark background, she has contracted some 70 new artists, and challenged them to give new life to age-old Christian symbols. She has emphasized the use of photography in cards, and along with art director Brother Michael Marcotte has invigorated the product line with more vibrant colors and diversity of themes.

And then there’s Brother Christopher.


Brother Christopher, the star of a popular line of cards, is loosely based on art director Brother Michael

Response to the cute little monk who stars in his own line of greeting cards (based loosely on Brother Michael) has been “cool” among the monks, Coats says. Even the man who hired her has never warmed to the idea. But customers have.

“People like cute and whimsical imagery,” she contends. “Brother Christopher is even getting a following. People want more of him.”

Brother William, she says, approves of the sales, but he still doesn’t like cute and whimsical.

Unsatisfied with the efficiency and quality of the old film-and-plates production process, and faced with losing to impending retirements the expertise of the generation of employees that operated it, Brother William stepped into the 21st century.

A Solna four-color press manned above by Donnie McCrary, and a direct-to-image plate maker, operated at right by Jerry Auffert, have improved production speed and quality.

“We digitalized everything,” he says. “We were able to go to laser imaging, and it has improved quality and production time.”

It used to take several days to get a card from design through pre-press to printing. It now takes only a few hours. And the improvement in quality is evident with one look at the new catalog.

Although the cost was steep – $50,000 a year for equipment rental – Brother William says it is more than offset by savings on chemicals, film and time.

With the creative and production elements in place, Brother William’s “no-brainer” next move was to bring in Haas, an optimist, who says he’ll be disappointed if the Printery House doesn’t turn a double-figure increase in revenue by the end of the first quarter of 2004. Although he’s more cautious, Brother William’s smile seems to say that if anyone can make it happen, Roy can.

“He’s the final piece,” the monk says.

“Greeting cards are a fashion-oriented business,” Haas notes. “It’s just like a woman walking into an apparel store. Things are always changing, and if you don’t change your designs or the way people communicate through your text, you’re out of synch. All of a sudden it goes right by you.”

The Printery House recently enjoyed a 50 percent return on a customer survey. To put that in perspective, in the card industry the average survey is a success if it can boast a two percent return.

“I think people felt obligated to return it,” Brother William says incredulously. “I had three or four letters from people saying they lost their survey and wanted another one.”

Haas says the survey results were “good news and bad news.”

“We have a very, very loyal customer base,” he says, “but that loyal base is aging.”

It’s a tightrope walk, pleasing the longtime customers while addressing long-term survival through new markets and younger customers.

In the past the Printery House has reached its customers almost exclusively through a mail catalog. But in the past year, Haas has contacted manufacture representatives that will represent the Printery House directly to retail specialty stores. These field representatives will sell new products to current dealers and establish new clients. He’s also delved into more direct marketing (a coupon mailing during the typically slow summer months brought in $80,000). And the Printery House has hired consultants to critique the catalog, address Web site and e-mail strategies, and help develop a new pricing strategy.

Cards that previously cost 90 cents were increased to 99 cents. The $1.25 cards now cost $1.39, and new high-end cards for $1.79 and $2.49 have been added.

“I still think our prices are below the market,” Haas says. At a recent trade show in Chicago, not only were retailers receptive to the increases, many said it was about time. And the consultants remain skeptical whether the prices for the high-end cards are high enough.

Among the new Printery House cards is the "Encouragement" line, aimed at a more youthful market.

Both men say a lot is riding on the current Christmas catalog. They say it will gauge the impact of a fast and furious two years of change, and hopefully push sales figures out of the holding pattern of the past six year.

"We've put a lot of energy into this," Brother William says cautiously, "and I'm not sure we can go at this pace again."

"Sure we can," Haas says with a wink.

For more information on the Printery House or to request a catalog, contact the sales department at 1-800-322-2737, or check out the Web site: www.printeryhouse.org.

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