Seemingly unstoppable, digital marches on and bricks and mortar crumble in its path. Wait on, that's a myth!

As they say, no-one plans to fail, they fail to plan. And this is never more true than with a catalogue campaign.

Right about now, retailers around the world are planning their Xmas Catalogues. And some are planning not to have one at all. So what are the pros and cons of catalogues? Are you for them or against them? What's the risk of going all online?

Data, big or small, is generally not absolute. It requires interpretation, extrapolation (and sometimes inspiration) to create what marketing people refer to as "insights". And from there, those insights need to be tested in a real world context to see if they are indeed the answer to your marketing prayers.

One of marketing's toughest decisions these days is choosing the right channel to place content into the customers' hands, none more so than the debate between digital and traditional, "old-school" media.

I first came across Gary Vaynerchuck on wine.tv around 3 years ago when he was just "The Wine Guy", not the greatest thing that happened to social/content marketing since the invention of the internet.

It was then that I got swept up with him and his enthusiasm at a different, which isn't to say less cerebral, level. And it's hard not to be swept up. He's just that kind of guy.

If you could get your customer to spend 15-20 minutes with your marketing material I bet you'd be more than happy. That's what one UK online retailer is finding with the catalogs they are sending their customers.

In two separate recent articles, leading online retailers are reported as turning to the use of hard copy printed material, to increase sales. 

Whether in the form of product catalogues or more elaborate, editorial style "magalogues" featuring products available on their sites, these e-tailers see print as both another touchpoint and as a "bridge" to those on their customer data base who may not be regular visitors to their sites but who still enjoy the convenience of shopping at home. 

"We're meeting customers where they shop," said Wayfair's GM of merchandising for lifestyle brands.

Toronto's recent DX3 conference showed off some of the new technologies that tech savvy retailers can now apply to give their customers a better instore experience.

The nice guy of German retail, Michael Otto is under attack from Jeff Bezos' Amazon. And right now, he's losing.

Forbes Magazine takes you through a short history of the Otto company (including CEO Michael Otto's beginnings in the catalogue business - hence our initial interest in the story) and then poses the question: Can a family-owned retail giant run by a paternalistic billionaire compete with the efficiency-obsessed behemoths born of the cut-throat Internet? Do nice guys finish last?

If you want a great example of content marketing you need look no further than US online furniture and homewares retailer pure-play One Kings Lane.

In an age where there are new acronyms coined every week I don't feel compelled to disseminate all of them. Unless, of course it makes sense. And, having discussed this with a number of other marketers over the last few months or so, the ZMOT ("Zero Moment Of Truth") is a concept which has resonated increasingly.