News

 A new workshop & retreat for industry professionals

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) aims to help greeting card publishers answer questions with Oceans of Opportunity, their new workshop and retreat, to be held at the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort in Naples, Florida, from September 18 through September 21, 2019. This event is packed with sessions from industry leaders of design and production, and affords publishers a chance to share ideas and develop solutions to common problems together. 

The US Postal Service reports that there were 52 million more greeting cards sent last year than the previous year (source: 2018 Household Diary Study). With the appetite for greeting cards in the United States growing, how can publishers make sure that their lines get noticed? How can they find the best partners to help their business grow? How can they improve the way they do business, while still focusing on the creative?

“The greeting card industry can be competitive. But it’s also very friendly,” said Susan January of Leanin’ Tree, this year’s chairperson for the GCA event. “Any publisher is welcome to take part, and all publishers can benefit from the generosity of our members, who will share answers to real challenges in an informal peer-to-peer setting. We’re putting an emphasis on networking and problem solving that will benefit everyone, to help make running their business that much more fun and profitable.”

The educational sessions, led by industry leaders, will attempt to answer questions such as: What do we really know about the greeting card consumer? How can we leverage data for more efficient results? What are independent retailers looking for? How do chain retailers see the future? What’s the best way to work with sales representatives? And many more.

Confirmed Session Leaders

• Amanda Ferguson      Executive Director, UK Greeting Card Association
• Lindsay Henry             Founder and Creative Director, Inklings Paperie
• Kristy Lewis                  National Marketing Director, Hallmark Cards
• Sadie Piller                 Marketing Director, Paper Source
• Jim Sauber                 Chief of Staff of the National Letter Carriers Association
• Patti Strong                Executive Director of Business Intelligence, American Greetings

Registration is now open and GCA members and non-members are welcome to attend. For more information, visit www.greetingcard.org.