Stationery companies have struggled to stay relevant as personal communications have moved away from paper, first to e-mail, e-cards, and e-vites and now to social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instragram. As a result, marketers of cards and other paper products are taking steps to lure consumers back to traditional greetings and notes.
One strategy observed at the National Stationery Show early last week was to make the art of personal messages and memories as easy as possible. UR So Special, for example, markets a line of lunch notes and greeting cards that simplify the process by including opening thoughts such as “I just want you to know that…,” “You’re so special to me because…,” or “When you’re away from me, I miss….” The idea is reminiscent of a prompted journal, which is designed to help tween girls learn how to keep a diary by guiding them with similar phrases on each page.
Milestone Cards, meanwhile, is addressing the need for a new way to record special memories, now that smartphone photos are so ubiquitous that they have become almost meaningless. It offers packs of baby, pregnancy, and toddler cards—including versions under a new Miffy license—that capture important milestones in words and pictures. Parents choose the appropriate card, such as “Today I smiled for the first time” or “Today I am 9 months old,” write the date on it, and snap a photo of the child with the card. The special moment can then be recalled later when the parents are scrolling through their digital photo archives.
Another strategy is to make a card so special that it becomes a keepsake as well as a way to convey a message. Paper Pop and Cards2Life were among the companies touting laser-cut pop-up greeting cards (combining the laser-cutting and pop-up trends that were notable all over the show floor). Highly intricate, hand-detailed mini-sculptures depicting vases of flowers, hot air balloons, churches, or ferris wheels emerge upon opening the card.
Time will tell whether steps such as these will entice consumers back to the hand-written word, at least when the occasion calls for a special sentiment or personal touch.
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