With its huge readership, of 400,000, the latest edition of Waitrose Weekend fanfared not only the supermarket’s brand new greeting card collection, but also highlighted Thinking of You Week (which takes place next week, 25 Sept – 1 October). This GCA initiative encourages people to send extra cards to ‘create a wave of love, joy and happiness’.
The timing of ToYW could not have been better for Waitrose. To drive traffic to the long awaited introduction of the totally revamped greeting card displays which is now going into all stores, a whole page of this popular Waitrose ‘newspaper’ was dedicated to showing off some of the new card designs as well as highlighting the card sending Week.
The cards featured form part of the selection that has been developed by Hallmark under Waitrose’s ‘unique and different’ banner.
The editorial highlights the cards’ environmental credentials (FSC certified or from recycled materials) as well as how some of the cards include handmade elements.
The page incorporates a box all about Thinking of You Week, making the point that there is scientific proof as to how ‘sending cards generates positive feelings and a sense of wellbeing’.
While Waitrose is raising awareness of Thinking of You Week among the general public in its stores, Sai Pathmanathan, founder of greeting card publisher, The Taste Buds, is aiming her ToYW activity at the younger consumer.
As well as being a greeting card publisher, Sai is a neuro-scientist who also works with schools.
A strong advocate of the merits of Thinking of You Week, and sending cards in general, Sai is to go into several schools over the course of Thinking of You Week to run some fun activities in class.
“With all the curriculum changes and extra things they have to do, the teachers are a little stressed out this term, but hopefully they’ll have fun with these ToYW activities,” says Sai, who points out that children really enjoy sending cards and often pick up on people who would benefit from receiving one.
“Children are a lot more able to read people’s emotions and feelings than adults… I mean adults are good at it through years of experience, we just tend to be more distracted by grown-up issues and may not pick up on things as quickly as children do,” says Sai.
In addition to her work in schools, Sai has also written an inspiring blog on The Taste Buds’ website: www.the-taste-buds.co.uk/blog/we-all-love-a-bit-of-mail-attention
