A mobile culture is becoming a way of life and Hobby Builders Supply saw the opportunity to make their products available to their customers anytime and anywhere. They recently approached The Dingley Press to create Android, iOS and Kindle-compatible mobile apps to complement their existing print and online Dollhouse and Miniatures catalogs. The apps, which are available in the Android Market, the iTunes Store and on Amazon.com, are a first for Hobby Supply.  

According to Rob Nowak, Technology Strategist at Dingley, “Mobile apps are now becoming mainstream for direct mailers. In the past year, we have seen both B2B and B2C customers embracing this technology as an additional channel to reach their buyers.”  

Having created the existing interactive catalog for the miniatures dealer, Dingley was able to adapt the Dynamic Edition to a mobile app.  The mobile app features over 80 pages of Dollhouses, Furniture, Accessories and Supplies.  

Readers can flip through the mobile catalog page by page, find products by using the table of contents or use the search capability that is integrated into the application. They may also choose to use the familiar bookmark and shop features from the online version of the catalog.  Embedded links allow the user to tap on an image to reveal more details about the product and customers can also add the item to their shopping cart while they continue browsing.

Courtney Cooper, the Internet Manager at Hobby Builders Supply, stated “Our goal is to increase sales revenue and grow our customer-base by providing mobile access to our products.”

When new catalogs become available, those who have downloaded this free app will receive a notification that the latest catalog is available for download.  Mobile catalog customers can also share the catalog with others via email or tap a link to be connected to www.miniatures.com  for more product information.

The Dingley Press, a Sheridan Group company, is working with its customers to assist them in delivering content to catalog readers in a variety of formats.  Mobile Apps are just one in a series of products developed and supported though Sheridan Technology. Other products for catalogers include Sheridan Dynamic Editions and Sheridan Print-to-Mobile QR Codes.