Most people think of the British Invasion as occurring in the mid-
’60s — but in the stationery realm, the British have again brought
something wonderful to America: Thinking of You Week! This upcoming
Sept. 24-30 offers a chance for every card retailer to foster meaningful
connections through sending and receiving cards via this initiative. The
challenge for everyone: Send a card a day for a week.
No matter your role in the industry — card publisher, maker, retailer or
a player in an affiliated industry such as paper or printing — the Greeting
Card Association (GCA) urges you to get involved and promote this in your
community. Taking a cue from the British Greeting Card Association, who
has promoted the week since 2013, a free toolkit with materials including
informational flyers, customizable posters and even media templates is
available for anyone who is interested at thinkingofyouweekusa.com
The GCA suggests these ways for publishers and makers to promote
Thinking of You week:
• Send flyers with all orders shipped to retailers over the summer. A
logo can also be downloaded and integrated into invoices.
• Collaborate with a local retailer and/or select retail clients by
providing cards for in-store events.
• Organize an event with a local school, senior home/hospital or other
charitable or community organization.
• Publicize the Week via local media, on your website and your
social media channels. The UK GCA promotes hashtags like
“sendacarddeliverasmile.”
• Send cards from inside your own company, and challenge your
employees to do so as well.
•Use cards that might otherwise be written off to support
your event.
The GCA proposes these additional steps for retailers:
• Organize an in-store card-writing event, or collaborate with
a local business such as a bakery or coffee or floral shop.
• Hold a card-making competition and display the winners.
• Make a Thinking of You display using posters from the
toolkit as well as appropriate product.
• Use the banner from the toolkit in social media and
email communications.
• Reach out to local media for some press coverage!
• Hold a “buy three cards, get one free” promotion.
• Sell stamps in your shop.
• Set up a card-writing station, complete with books of
quotes for inspiration.
Our British counterparts provide plenty of ideas to really
make the week memorable. Lynn Tait, a UK publisher, teamed
up with a local schoolteacher and her class of 10-year-olds,
who each wrote a card to a resident in a senior living center.
The seniors were delighted and wrote back to “their” kid, and
the effort culminated with the kids going to meet their seniors.
Meanwhile, the UK GCA set up a booth in a busy part
of London with donated cards, donated pens and flyers.
Ultimately, the week is only as successful as those promoting it
— so start planning now!
