JR's Renegade Direct Marketing Tactics

I just received my new JR Cigar catalog. These guys really know how to entertain customers. Selling cigars is pretty unromantic, and most of other cigar catalogs take a somewhat "Crazy Eddy" approach with lots of hyperbole, obnoxious sales gimmicks and cluttered catalogs.

JR Cigar's new catalog is hugeJR really stands out from the crowd. First of all, the new catalog is huge. It measures 10.5" by 12". This giant, almost square catalog must have cost a fortune to mail. It's as if they are flouting the ever-increasing postage rates on flats. While other catalogers are crying in their beer and sending slim jims to keep costs down, JR is
Click to enlargedifferentiating themselves with a catalog that demands to be read. It also probably creates a handling challenge for the post office, JR's way of sticking it to the man.

JR also writes hysterical copy. It's sarcastic as heck and very entertaining. This paragraph had me busting a gut and is typical of their style.

The cigar business can't be what it was during the boom of the 90's, but JR seems to be doing just fine. They are very consistent in their message, and every now and then they surprise me with something really out of the ordinary like they did this week.