We routinely get asked about the origins of the cat
theme that we use in our marketing; so here goes …
Before the arrival of "The Cat"
While working on a concept for the cover
of our 1981 catalogue, we supplied a local photographer with a number
of packed GC columns. He was given artistic license to photograph
them in different ways and asked to present us with a variety of options.
As he suspended and back-lit the columns,
his pet cat arrived on the scene and began batting them around. Thinking
this to be cute, the photographer snapped off a couple of shots.
"The Cat" arrives
We thought they were cute too. One
of them was used as the cover.
We were surprised at the response; we received numerous positive
comments about the cover photo. Being a customer service oriented
company, we like to give our customers what they want; we’ve
included a cat on every catalogue cover and most bulletins since.
In the more than twenty years since
that first catalogue cover, a couple of photos stand out. One
of them showed a cat peering into a fish bowl, its fur standing
on end; it won the photographer a number of local awards and drew
rave reviews from our customers.
In the mid-nineties our graphic artist
came up with a half-cat image that contained the CSI logo in its
eye. Once again response was strong and that graphic has become
a fixture of our marketing ever since; it has graced the cover
of recent bulletins, stands watch over the home page of our web
site and even occupies a prominent position on our tradeshow booth.
When we think
of cats, qualities such as agility, flexibility and intelligence
come to mind (not to mention how cute and cuddly they can be).
We hope that when you think of Chromatographic Specialties Inc.,
you think not only of these same qualities, but also of great
customer service and superior technical support.
… now you know the story; the cat’s out of the bag.