84-85_Inustry Issue.qxp_Grid 18/08/2024 16:44 Page 1
Industry Issue
A CARDMITMENT FULL HAND It’s full steam ahead for #Cardmitment, Caring At Christmas, Festive Friday and Thinking Of You Week as leading retailers and members of the GCA Council brainstormed ideas for this year’s events, all conceived to promote greeting card sending. PG joined the roundtable discussion, which took place straight after The Henries judging, frantically scribbling down the wealth of ideas which further proves the true worth of a meeting of minds.
Having spent the morning feasting their eyes and considering the relative merits of hundreds of different greeting cards ranges to arrive at the finalists of The Henries, many of the 40+ retailers on the judging panel stayed on for an invaluable roundtable session in the afternoon. Instigated by the GCA in association with Progressive Greetings, they joined several of the association’s publisher council members, imparting their retailing experience and inventive ways for the collective good of the industry. With a mission to further engage the British public into sending cards, an animated few
hours sparked a flurry of ideas from the assembled group that are all set to build on the successes of the previous Cardmitment, Thinking of You, Festive Friday, Caring at Christmas campaigns. Tweaks were suggested, easy wins were highlighted and some blue sky thinking potential initiatives were shared. Introducing the afternoon session GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson said: “We're all here to share the joy of cards and make sure that our industry thrives – and we do that by being a team together.” Rebecca Green, co-founder of Raspberry
Top: GCA ceo Amanda Fergusson (top left) kicked off the brainstorming at the recent retailer roundtable. Above: Raspberry Blossom’s Rebecca Green showed the toolkits available for each event. They can be requested from Abacus Cards, Belly Button Designs, Caroline Gardner, Emotional Rescue, GBCC/Ling Design, Hallmark, Ohh Deer, Paperlink, Paper Salad, Raspberry Blossom, Ricicle Cards, Second Nature, Stormy Knight, and UK Greetings, as well as from buying group Cardgains, plus downloaded from the GCA website.
Blossom, who heads up the GCA PR subcommittee, shared the collateral assets of the various campaigns, plus gave a sneak peek of Card Club, an initiative that will be aimed at galvanising the younger generations as well as other groups into the joys of card sending. The main focus of the meeting however was the #Cardmitment 2024 campaign, instigated last year to counter the worrying reduction in Christmas card sending resulting from the 2022 postal strikes, and exacerbated by the recent significant rises in stamp prices. Following on from last year’s popular standpoint, this year’s messaging will again a focus on the relatively low cost of a secondclass stamp – 85p this year – which means anyone can send a festive missive anywhere in the UK and spread the seasonal joy. Left: Sarah Laker (front left) at her Write Before Christmas event last November, with work underway for the initiative to be shared with all for this year.
84 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE