Christmas cards have been in the media spotlight this week and no mistake, with the interest in our sector providing further proof of how engrained greeting card sending is in the UK psyche.
PG Buzz scoured the press and harvested some of the stories that have made the headlines in the last week.
Seen in: The Daily Telegraph
PG’s Jakki Brown was waving the flag for the greeting card industry in her role as joint general secretary of the GCA when she was quoted in an article online on Tuesday about the rise of DontSendMeACard.com – a website that combines sending e-cards and charity donations. The founder of the website, Alex Furness reported a 600% spike in users giving to the 160 charities signed up to the platform in the first two weeks of December this year, compared to 2016. Jakki Brown was quick to defend the greeting card industry, saying that sending Christmas cards is a “wonderful British tradition” that already benefits charities immensely. A spokesman from the The Royal Mail also commented, saying almost 80% of people would rather receive a traditional Christmas card than an e-card, according to research.
Seen on TV: Henri Davies
Having made her debut on The Apprentice judging panel last year, Henri Davies, head of buying and merchandising at Scribbler, and chairman of The Giftware Association, was invited back as a judge on finals week to hear presentations by finalists IT recruitment consultant James White and Sarah Lynn, owner of a sweets gifting business. “They were very strong but from two very different industries, so the comparison this year was very different from last year,” Henri told PG Buzz. Unable to decide between the two finalists, Lord Sugar decided to invest £250,000 in both businesses, with James and Sarah becoming his new business partners – a double first for The Apprentice.
Seen on Facebook: Boofle
UKG’s loveable pup Boofle continues to grow in popularity with new fans and friends joining his social pages and visiting his website, on a weekly basis. On the run up to Christmas there’s a whole host of competitions on Boofle’s social pages, an advent calendar over on www.boofle.co.uk and a brand new animation. Boofle’s fans seem to agree as the video has had 8500 views, 125 shares and 269 likes since launching 10 days ago.
Seen in: The Mirror
The Mirror ran a story last week about a sick child in Bolton, Rhys Williams (12) who has a potentially fatal skin condition epidermolysis bullosa which causes painful blistering and open sores, meaning he can not even be cuddled. His mother, Tanya told The Mirror: “He has had a bad year and been down in the dumps. I came up with the idea to cheer him up by asking people to send Christmas cards because every time he receives one it puts a big smile on his face.”
Seen in: The Daily Telegraph
On Tuesday The Daily Telegraph ran the story about the world’s tiniest Christmas card – 200 million times smaller than a stamp – being created by British scientists. The card, which is 15 microns by 20 microns, includes an intricate image of a snowman and a seasonal message despite being invisible to the naked eye. It was made at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, south-west London, and its creators say it is 10 times smaller than the previous record holder. Dr David Cox, a research fellow who created it with Dr Ken Mingard, told the newspaper: “While the card is a fun way to mark the festive season, it also showcases the progress being made in materials research on this scale.”
Heard on: Radio 4
On Monday the panel on BBC Radio 4’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue were tasked with guessing the endings of lines taken from genuine greeting cards. Chair, Jack Dee asked Barry Cryer to come up with an ending for: “Today’s your 99th birthday, happy birthday will be sung and before you know it….” And Barry completed with: “…and funeral bells will be rung.” (the real ending was ‘you’ll be 100 years young). Tim Brooke-Taylor was given this from a Valentine’s card: “I see you every morning on my way to work and sometimes in the evening, that’s an extra perk. I’d love to get to know you but you never look my way, so…” And Tim completed with: “…that’s it then.” (the real ending was ‘I thought I’d send you this card on Valentine’s Day’).
