GCA’s successful Christmas campaign is all set for 2024 outing
Christmas may be five months away, but retailers and publishers are already gearing up ready to build on the success of the #Cardmitment campaign.
Back by extremely popular demand, even more festive toolkit packs are being printed, thanks to the generosity of Graphite Creative, and will be distributed to retail customers by 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 buying group Cardgains, and retailer Cardzone.
“The GCA’s #Cardmitment campaign gave us a real boost as a retailer last Christmas,” explained Heidi Early, of Earlybird in Stoke Newington, who also helps organise The Cardmitments What’s App support group for fellow indies.
“We bought in second-class stamps to resale for the first time and promoted Christmas card sending early. We used the posters, created a window display around it and pushed it in our social media and email newsletters. And it worked!
“Our charity card pack sales increased by just over 16% and our non-charity pack sales were up by over 8%! Working with other independent retailers, the GCA and PG to boost early card sending not only helped social media traction but also gave us all a sense of being in it together which is priceless.
“I’m excited about embracing the campaign again this year and thinking of new ways to promote it. If any other retailers want to join The Cardmitments please do get in touch.”
The mission behind the GCA’s national #Cardmitment campaign is to remind UK consumers of the powerful and positive impact the simple act of sending a card can have on individuals, communities and society, particularly at Christmas.
It came about after independent retailer Kaye Thurgood, of Sincerely Yours in Shenfield and Hornchurch, was so incensed by a BBC presenter’s comments about his decision not to send Christmas cards amid the 2022 festive postal strikes that she contacted Progressive Greetings’ Jakki Brown about the issue and urged for a campaign, which was taken up by the GCA council, contributing to the full-blown #Cardmitment initiative to get people sending more festive greetings and to post them early.
In addition to the publishers distributing the toolkits to retail customers with their orders, it is also being available to download free.
“It’s back by popular demand,” GCA membership and marketing manager Adriana Lovesy told PG Buzz, “it was actually Paperlink who contacted us back in May to request packs for this year.
“Last year we printed 3,500 packs and ran out so this year we’re printing 5,000 packs – Graphite has kindly agreed to print them again.”
The format is the same with a flyer explaining the campaign and how retailers can join in, posters reminder people to spread some joy by sending Christmas cards, and a handy tent card showing the last postal dates – and the toolkit has been updated by Stormy Knight’s Sarah Jackson, who created the original designs, changing the Second Class stamp price to 85p.
The packs will be ready by the end of the month and retailers can request them direct from the GCA by emailing adriana@gca.cards.
Paper Tiger was another retailer which fully embraced #Cardmitment, and owner Michael Apter will be doing so again at his three shops – soon to be four – in Edinburgh: “Christmas cards mean so much to so many people, and are a simple and proven way to help build and maintain relationships with family, friends and neighbours.”
