Marketing and product innovations boost greeting cards

Drug Store News, June 18, 1990

Marketing and product innovations boost greeting cards

With greeting card companies at virtually full retail penetration, they are looking to grow through the introduction of new products that add incremental sales or target specific markets. They are also expending great efforts to develop better fixtures that enhance product visibility, induce impulse sales and improve productivity for retailers.

The major greeting card companies are unrolling a dazzling array of merchandising, marketing and product innovations. Here are some highlights:

Gibson is introducing a new, modular merchandising system on July 15 that the company calls the most efficient in the industry, said Pete Gaietto, manager of store environment at Gibson. "It gives us the ability to custom-mix the presentation to the rooftop [i.e., to a particular store]." he explained, so that the mix of products--cards, giftwrap, party needs, candles and endcap presentations--can be adjusted, based on sales analysis, by moving the components to different slots in the permanent display.

For example, more affluent customers tend to prefer gift bags over flat wrap, so a store with a predominantly upscale customer base might want the fixture adjusted to accommodate a larger presentation of bags in relation to flat wrap. Similarly, wrap packs (containing wrap, bow and card), seasonal and novelty items, as well as decorative plates and other party accessories, generally sell better in an affluent area, and the module can be adjusted to reflect that selling pattern.

Gaietto pointed out that the modular system addresses environmental concerns in that it significantly reduces corrugated and vacuum-molded trays for promotional products. Endcaps have pre-existing components that require no corrugates or vac-trays.

Another advantage, he said, is that system components can be changed without disrupting the store.

Also new this year, Gibson has developed several cross-merchandising vehicles, such as a small, acrylic gift bag display that can be placed on the cosmetics-fragrance counter, for example, so customers can "bag" a cosmetic gift purchase on the spot, thus generating an additional sale. Another new vehicle is a four-sided kiosk that can be used in a main traffic aisle. Gibson can pre-plan a year-long program for the retailer that can be moved to different places in the store to capitalize on seasonal opportunities. One side of the kiosk can be merchandised by the retailer with assorted gift items.

Nonoaccasion cards

In addition, Gibson has a new line of nonoccasion cards, "Because We're Family," scheduled to debut July 1, which targets three segments: cards for grownups to send one another, cards to send to kids and cards for kids to send to relatives or other grownups in their lives, such as a coach or caretaker. There are 111 cards in the line, which fills a 4-foot card display. Large signage identifies each segment.

The new line addresses what Gibson considers one of the fastest-growing card niches and covers the gamut of family situations, said Gibson's Donna Allen.

Ambassador, a division of Hallmark Cards, introduced an in-store seasonal marketing program called Season Plus to enhance the greeting card department as a destination for consumers. The program, which combines product, point-of-purchase, promotion and service, first appeared in stores for Valentine's Day and targets the five biggest card-selling seasons: Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas.

Season Plus will feature a unifying theme each year, with Peanuts characters such as Snoopy and Charlie Brown as this year's theme.

The program includes window posters, as well as danglers and freestanding signs that can be positioned around the store, to remind customers that a season is approaching, direct them to the card department and heighten the seasonal atmosphere storewide. The variety of in-store materials allows drug store operators to customize a promotion to their needs.

Within the card department, festive point-of-purchase signs and other merchandising elements complete the program. Ambassador is offering an expanded selection of products for each of the five seasons, such as yard signs (for Father's Day, for example, a yard sign featuring Snoopy says, "World's most valuable dad lives here"), gift bags, plush items and cookie cutters.

Ambassador is also rolling out eight new end-of-aisle promotions for a year-round program. Among themed endcap presentations shipped for various months are a Victorian presentation of giftwrap and accessories; a "friendship garden," including such items as gift bags, plaques and stickers; and an autumn display.

Unique redemptions

In a major summer marketing effort, Hallmark is supporting its Shoebox Greetings line with a unique redemption device. In August issues (on newsstands in late June-early July) of such consumer magazines as Good Housekeeping, Ebony, Parents and Working Woman, Hallmark will place 20 million special Shoebox Greetings envelopes. An advertisement accompanying the envelope inserts tells consumers, "At Hallmark, we've always given away free envelopes with our cards. Well, guess what... now we're giving away free cards with our envelopes." Consumers are directed to redeem the envelope for a free Shoebox card of their choice at any participating Hallmark retailer, including drug stores, before Sept. 30.