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Tag Archives: greeting card

A Little Christmas Card History

Posté par Cynthia Fedor le December 23, 2010 – 4:16 pm

Did you know that the first ‘mass produced’ Christmas card was designed in 1842 by John Callcott Horsley, an English Academic painter of genre and historical scenes? The holiday card stirred some controversy in its time due to the image of a small child imbibing a glass of wine. Of the original one thousand cards printed, only twelve exist today.

Another interesting bit of history about Mr. Horsley is that he is recognized for creating a pre-paid envelope that was the precursor to the postage stamp.

As for Sir Henry Cole, the English civil servant and inventor who commissioned the artwork for the first commercially produced Christmas greeting card, he played a key role in the introduction of the Penny Post. Some say he was responsible for the design of the world’s first adhesive postage stamp used in a public postal system.

HBO’s Compelling Campaign & Missing Community

Posté par Luis Paez le January 28, 2009 – 2:44 pm

dans Marketing Strategy

If you haven’t seen John Adams, it’s an award-winning, 7-part mini series made by HBO Films on the life of the 2nd President of the United States. I can’t remember how I came upon this old 2008 marketing campaign reference, but it serves as a good topic to think back on how to create a successful multi-aspect campaign. When HBO started promoting this back in Feb. of 2008, they did several interesting things that made this truly an innovative stand out campaign:

“Stand out” Idea

HBO took the only written communication medium in 18th Century America – the letter – and linked it to a fairly obscure historical figure. In this “Power of the Letter” campaign, HBO focused on the letter (and strategically, the Postal Service), as being an extremely revolutionary tool of persuasion and power. Using this provocative idea, they invite us to learn more about the written word, and ultimately, John Adams.

Central Call to Action

HBO along with their mail fulfillment partner built the mini-site poweroftheletter.com as the central call to action. The site enabled people to customize any of 6 different greeting cards with John Adams’ quotes and send them to friends and family for free. The greeting cards all had designs, quotes and even fonts from the early colonial period, but were modified using an online design tool similar to QuantumDigital’s. HBO picked up the cost of this viral marketing campaign (including postage)! The result was an online experience that enabled consumers to communicate with friends and family using the theme of John Adams as a context. For the direct order marketers out there, it is true that HBO paid for all this marketing under the flag of the show launch and brand building (as there were no immediate direct sales made), but the important aspect that could be extended to direct order models is that they focused on enabling a conversation amongst their audience. Once you enable people to talk in an arena that you facilitate, it adds to brand credibility and revenue down the line. Also, post-launch, I would imagine HBO would send a follow up to contest entrants & greeting card senders – as these types of offers are some of the few ways a television studio can use direct marketing with their audience.

Use all Marketing Vehicles Possible

Another aspect that is remarkable is the myriad ways they publicized this central call to action. Among them:

Inserted John Adams quotes on USPS receipts (3.75 million daily)
Window “standees” (6 foot tall cardboard cutouts) in 4,000 post offices nationwide
Window “clings” in 12,000 locations
Worked with the USPS to stamp cancellations on relevant letters in the USPS mail stream which included a John Adams quote and the mini-site URL
Partnered with a high school educational org, to educate kids on John Adams
Presence on main HBO site and web banners
Agreement to temporarily re-brand the USPS’ own website (see image at top) with the theme of John Adams

While a smaller company may not have the resources for such a partnership with the USPS, there are a myriad avenues to publicize your central call to action with a similar energy (email, blogs, social media, direct mail, flyers, etc.)

Keep the Conversation Going

What HBO did not do well was to use this incredible marketing effort to continue a community. When you visit the www.poweroftheletter.com website today, it goes nowhere. This is really astounding considering that the campaign began less than a year ago. If you really dig on the John Adams website, you find a place for an HBO Users Discussion Forum, but it’s rather lifeless compared to the other discussion forums out there (MySpace for the high school crowds, Facebook, etc.) A better execution would have been to transform that mini-site into a functioning interaction point for history buffs, possibly by offering the same “send a greeting card” functionality that the original site offered, but with more cost paid by the end user. If a quality experience (and community) was facilitated, such a site would take very little to keep it running and generate long term DVD sales & possibly syndication interest on other cable channels. In the long run, communities & relationships are what persist.

Making Your Direct Mail More Cost-Effective in 2009

Posté par Freddie Baird le January 2, 2009 – 12:10 pm

dans Direct Mail Marketing

With no signs that the economic slow-down is nearing a bottom, most companies are under considerable pressure to trim budgets. And retailers, real-estate agents and direct marketers are no exception. However, direct marketing media expenditures are forecasted to outpace general advertising in both 2008 and 2009 and, even during our economic slowdown, are expected to capture 53% of total advertising expenditures in 2009, according to The Direct Marketing Association.

(Click table to enlarge.)

While the tendency for smaller organizations may be to consider lowering their direct mail expenditures, the larger corporations are actually doing the reverse – but they are becoming more cost effective. In fact, lenders mailed approximately 8% more mortagage offers in Q2 2008, with Chase and Capital One increasing direct mail volume 90% and 140% (respectively) between quarters, according to Mintel Comperemedia.

So if you’re under pressure to cut your budget while being pressured to reach qualified prospects, the answer is – as Chase and Capital One undoubtedly know – as Eric Cosway stated last month, “… marketing budgets are dwindling so [marketers] have to be as efficient as possible with what they have.” While it’s certainly not a new strategy to plan a “low-cost-high-response” direct mail marketing campaign, it may behoove us to review the strategy and include some new tips you may not be privvy to.

Plan carefully. No more ”spray and pray…” You need to know exactly how to reach your target audience in a less expensive way. To review, according to the DMA for 2008, an investment of $1 in direct marketing advertising expenditures is predicted to return, on average, $11.63 in incremental revenue across all industries. This exceeds the $11.56 achieved in 2007 and is expected to improve further to $11.74 in 2009.
Unless you can meet face-to-face with your prospective clients, direct mail provides the next best form of personal communication- if you execute properly. Everyone knows that hand-written greeting cards mean more to your clients than mass-produced typed messages. Similarly instead of mailing “wall of word” letters, consider mailing a short, personal, picture-bearing, friendly, postcard with a personal recommendation on a local service, product or time-saving solution.
Use the latest technology …and save on your design and production costs. While we likely wouldn’t suggest that you spread your mailings out over an entire year, you might want to focus in on drops every 4 weeks to a highly targeted group of customers. You control your volume by specialized targeting, perhaps beginning by marketing to ‘new customers’ within your audience.

If you are one of us being asked to tighten our budgets, and you likely are, then what I am saying will make perfect sense to you. The idea now is to do your research, present some innovative ideas and help your leadership regain some confidence — at least until the consumers do.

The Greeting Card Project

Posté par Jamie Matusek le December 30, 2008 – 1:13 pm

dans Production & Printing

So I thought I would close the loop on my greeting card post from a few weeks ago. I got around to ordering my greeting cards. Well, actually I gave my photo to a colleague, and he designed and ordered them for me.

Once my little one was fed, bathed and in bed, I followed Lydia Ramsey’s advice and took the time to personally make each card out — by hand! You know, it honestly felt good writing a personal message to friends and colleagues that I normally email or catch quickly on the phone. It gave me the opportunity to put personality and sincere feeling into each card.

Yes it took me a few hours to get them all completed, but at the end of the “greeting card project,” I truly had a warm feeling knowing that I had taken time on something I knew others would appreciate.

Plus I got to share an adorable photo of my son in the greeting card. You be the judge.

So next year, I plan to get started soon after Thanksgiving. Thanks to the tips from Lydia Ramsey, I have a new outlook on personalizing greeting cards.

To Handwrite or Not to Handwrite?

Posté par Jamie Matusek le December 11, 2008 – 1:28 pm

dans Marketing Strategy

This time of the year people start jumping on sending their Christmas cards or other holiday celebrations as they see fit. The dilemma that I keep hearing is, “Should I buy my cards and write an individual message for each one, or is it acceptable to mass print my greeting cards?” My opinion is of course: on-demand printing, baby! Hey I am a working mom that is lucky if I have an opportunity to eat every night, much less sit down and make out 100 greeting cards.

I count you lucky just receiving a greeting card from me in the first place. I jest.

But I decided that my opinion may not match the rest of the greeting card aficionados out there and took the liberty to research the politically correct answers for all of you facing the last minute greeting card rush.

The first entry I came across on my Google quest was by Lydia Ramsey. Her entry titled, “Greeting Card Etiquette,” actually changed my point of view, well just a bit.

…Sign each card personally. Even if you have preprinted information on the card such as your name – which is an impressive detail – you need to add your handwritten signature. The most elegant cards should still have your personal signature and a short handwritten message or greeting. Sound like a lot of trouble? If the business or the relationship is worth it, so is the extra effort. This is your chance to connect on a personal level with your clients and colleagues.

Take the time to hand write the address as well. If you are ready to throw up your hands at this point and forget the whole project, then have someone else address the envelopes for you. Whatever you do, don’t use computer-generated labels. They are impersonal and make your holiday wishes look like a mass mailing. You may save time and even money, but lose a client or a business associate in the process…

I have to agree that signing each card is a nice touch and writing a personal message to business colleagues is also a great gesture. It does show that you truly care about the business relationship. She also points out to make sure your greeting card is a high-quality piece, thus also showing you took the time to create a lasting impression.

Ramsey was also featured on About.com in an article, “The 8 Rules of Business Greeting Card Etiquette.” She makes an excellent point of being sensitive to traditions.

Be Sensitive to Traditions: Find out whether your business greeting card recipients observe Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. Make sure your message is appropriate for each individual. If you decide to go with one card, choose a generic one that will not offend. “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” are safe bets.

So maybe we can get by with a little automation like ordering a printed greeting card with a personalized photo and typed message, but need to spend the time on personalizing each piece to make more of a lasting impression.

Ok, so I stand corrected.

So for all of you busy professionals like me that STILL have not ordered your greeting cards? Feel free to check out our options. I’ve developed a greeting card offer that may help you get moving.

Happy greeting card creating!