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NEWS TOP STORY
A Boofle Decade Cute as a button 10th anniversary for UKG’s biggest brand Every 10 year old deserves to have their birthday marked, and Boofle is no exception, especially as the cute knitted dog is UK Greetings’ biggest brand. More than £150 million has been spent on Boofle products since he launched a decade ago, and a whopping 10 million Boofle cards are sold every year. UKG is treating Boofle to a trio of different greeting card looks (each targeting a different type of consumer taste), which go into store in June, as well as a birthday party, new commemorative logo and full programme of social media activity. The party, held at UKG’s Dewsbury HQ, provided a great opportunity for the new Boofle collection to be seen in its entirety on an 8’ everyday plan. As Susan Jones, brand development manager of UKG commented: “Everyone
at the party was invited to select a card or two to take home and it was brilliant to hear lots of “aah that one’s sooo cute” type comments as people browsed the display. It was a celebration of 10 years, but the buzz at the event felt more akin to a major new product launch with everyone falling even more in love with Boofle than before!” In addition, a specially designed limited edition card has been created, incorporating a ‘Boofle button’, which appears on all the new products. Boofle has built-up an impressive consumer following over the years, as reflected in his social media rankings. The cute character has 20,495 likes on Facebook, 11,100 followers on Twitter; there were 102,027 page views on the dedicated website last year alone; the Boofle VR experience was downloaded over 9,000 times; the Boofle Christmas campaign alone reached almost 10 million people, while the various animations frequently top a reach of over 300,000 people. (See page 117 for more). Above: Boofle of course had a birthday cake! Left: Boofle waiting for the guests at his 10th birthday party.
Cardies make the Rich List Greeting card legend Andrew Brownsword (of Forever Friends fame), Card Factory co-founders Dean and Janet Hoyle, IG Design Group’s founder Anders Hedlund and Jellycat co-founders William and Thomas Gateacre ensured that greeting card and gift entrepreneurialism was represented in the recently published annual Sunday Times’ Rich List. This was the 30th anniversary edition of the Rich List, which claims to track the UK’s wealthiest individuals, couples or families. Andrew and Christina Brownsword, who topped the Above: Christina and Andrew Brownsword (centre) with William McCracken, former ‘greeting card list’, were cited as the 423rd most wealthy UK md of Ling Design. inhabitants, with their interests valued at a very conservative £295 million. The couple sold their successful card publishing interests to Hallmark for an estimated £165 million in 1994 and have since turned their attentions to developing their hotel concerns. Dean and Janet Hoyle, who founded Card Factory, come in ranked as 427th, against another conservative estimate of £290 million. Although no longer involved in Card Factory, Dean Hoyle is now a major shareholder and chairman of The Works as well as owner of Huddersfield Town FC. The Gatacre brothers William and Thomas, co-founders of Jellycat, receive their just deserts for their winning take with their plush and gift company, appearing in 723rd position, valued at £155 million. Although his business interests are now a lot broader than the own brand cards, wrap, crackers and stationery that IG Design supplies to retailers, Anders Hedlund retains a stake in the company he co-founded back in 1979 with his (and his family’s) wealth put at £153 million, 761st in the top 1,000 Rich List.
Furry friends post New research from Royal Mail to mark National Pet Month revealed that over a third of dog and/or cat owners have sent a card or a letter to their pet at least once. In fact, over half of those who have sent them a card or letter say they send their canine or feline companion a Christmas and/or birthday card on a yearly basis. 1 in 10 pet owners claim to have sent their pet a Mother’s, Father’s or National Pet Day card at least once; and as many as 585,000 say they sent their furry friend a little note to celebrate the birth of a litter, to welcome them into the family, or even to celebrate their pet’s wedding! Above: Is Nessa from Austin & Co, Malvern waiting for a greeting card?!
Publishers donate designs for charity Hannah Dale, founder of Wrendale Designs, is continuing Lynn Tait’s legacy in raising funds for Action Medical Research (AMR) charity through coordinating the production of Christmas card packs featuring designs donated by those who have been involved with The Ladder Club and generously produced by suppliers free of charge. Continuing Lynn’s (who sadly died last June) dream, a full 100% of the proceeds will go to the charity. This is only possible thanks to the generosity of trade suppliers Loxleys, G.F Smith, Enveco and Fulcrum Films who are covering the cost of the cards’ production. “We were completely inundated with so many wonderful designs from the talented Ladder Club members and it was really hard to decide which designs to take forward into the final collection,” says Hannah. “I worked alongside the charity to come up with a selection that they felt would work best for their demographic. We hope that we can raise a lot of money and do Lynn proud!” Among the publishers who have donated artwork for the initiative include: Jessica Hogarth, Just a Little Note, Megan Claire, Nicki Sclater, Pippi & Me Trumper’s World, Val Goldfinch Designs and Wendy Jones-Blackett (pictured above).
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