New cards mirror trends in caring, reflection

Drug Store News, June 22, 1998 by Allene Symons

New card, gift wrap and accessory lines reflect current social trends, freshening the social expressions category. Alternative cards, so-named because they offer alternatives to conventional greeting cards, are the fastest growing part of this category. Those, along with a core offering of traditional cards, including those for occasions from birthdays and Valentine's Day to Mother's Day, and the mix of surprises plus tried-and-true, satisfies several generations.

On the leading edge are trends such as non-occasion cards, cards for friends to give to friends, from parent to child, or to someone enduring a long-term illness. Cards with a more reflective attitude offer comfort in a high-tech era and also match the aging of baby boomers and their increasing health and 'what does it all mean?' concerns.

For example, the new Thinking of You line is designed to express what general manager of Everyday Crown Cards for Hallmark, Steve Bellis, calls "little care packages of words," whether a situation calls for comfort or humor to meet an emotional need.

These include card lines with spiritual and inspirational themes, an influence even extending to a new card line from American Greetings (AG), Skitch, which shows a softer or more comforting side of humor.

Other new cards, like new or relaunched pet card lines from both AG and Hallmark, tap into the current surge in pet ownership.

Major manufacturers have mounted impressive ad campaigns of late. Hallmark kicked off the ad campaign flurry with its "Sneak-a-peek" (at the brand on the back of the card) campaign a year ago, followed by a price-conscious campaign (with the line, "Did you know most Hallmark cards cost $1.99 or less?"), and it just announced a new Shoebox ad campaign. AG launched its biggest ad campaign ever this spring.

Ongoing merchandising programs, including those with new-card feature spots-Hallmark's 'New From Hallmark' and 'Fresh Idea' from AG-also aim to stimulate card sales in chain drug stores and other retail outlets.

American Greetings' fresh product

"We're growing the category with an unprecedented amount of fresh new product in several of our categories," said Bill Parsons, vice president, corporate trade development for AG.

This initiative is supported by a national magazine advertising campaign with the theme, 'American Greetings ... says it best' to suggest more reasons for consumers to use cards. The advertising campaign, which features cards attached to the print ads, shows how celebrities like Joan Rivers and coach Bobby Knight have personalized an AG card for a friend, colleague or family member.

The ad campaign is a component of the 'All New American Way' program, which began a year ago and resulted in replacing the majority of AG's greeting cards with new designs. It is scheduled for completion late this summer. In the next stage of this ongoing effort, AG will add oversized enlargements of the celebrity-card ads in AG's card aisles.

Moving forward, the manufacturer is now growing its alternative card offering with several new lines and new merchandising to enable retailers to offer a broader variety of card programs. "This program, which we're calling 'One Great Idea After Another,' will meet more consumer needs in the same amount of space and target each individual store's shoppers," said Parsons.

This umbrella concept for alternative cards takes a high-density approach to alternative-card space management. To handle the flow of fresh designs from 17 different card lines and since few drug chains have room to carry all 17 (on top of birthday and seasonal cards), a new spinner system allows an end-of-aisle display to tailor the card mix for a chain or individual store.

Among the newest alternative card lines from AG is Skitch, a contemporary and offbeat card line ranging from soft to irreverent humor (the line is named for one of the four cute recurring characters in the line). Other new card lines launched this year include Pet Perspectives, which uses techniques such as computer manipulation, and Remembering You, with contemporary designs and long conversational copy designed to meet the baby boomers' need to stay in touch with family and friends.

This year AG also added a new version of its Hey, That's Me line of personalized cards for kids, featuring a storybook approach to the top 60 kids names and a fold-out 14-inch by 19-inch poster. AG has also added 16 new card and pocket card designs to its Positively! line. Other alternative card lines range from Love Talk and Treasured Antiques to ethnic lines like Baobab Tree, Mensages Del Corazon (feelings of the heart) and Hablando De Amor (words of love).

AG wraps it up

AG's other big news is its new Wrap Sensations program, an extension of the All New American Way card marketing program. The giftwrap line has 75 percent new designs, including high-end styles and contemporary treatment of traditional designs like florals (updated using collage effects, layering and other graphic techniques, for example). It also includes expanded accessories-bows, tissues, new colors, new product formats, new gift bags, new types of ribbons (like a starfish ribbon and a fountain bow). Among the new wrap and accessory colors are metallic silver, gold and grape.