American Greetings Makes Digital Cards Personal with LIVE Greetings™

CLEVELAND, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For over five years American Greetings Corporation has been bringing greeting cards to life as digital experiences and putting them at consumer's fingertips through proprietary mobile apps. This year, we've brought some of our best-selling paper greeting cards to life in a fun and interactive way with the first digital card app that offers the option of sending an interactive card with a personalized voice message—LIVE Greetings™.

This is the first major card app to offer the customized voice message option and is the first animated, interactive digital greeting that can be experienced across all platforms -- desktop, mobile web, in app, etc. It is also a demonstration of American Greetings continuing commitment to innovate with immersive experiences with its products.

The FREE LIVE Greetings app features the music and tech-driven birthday and holiday cards consumers love in paper cards, and allows users to personalize with a photo and signature, send their digital greeting, and add a voice message, with their iPhone or Android mobile phone. The app features a store locator so consumers can also shop the card aisle at their favorite retailer where the LIVE Greetings all-new merchandising is taking center stage.

American Greetings is launching LIVE Greetings with a collection of easily sendable cards from its successful inventions: Yakety Yaks, Locomotions, Music and Sound and Recordables. Valentine's Day cards are also currently available on the app!

"The convenience of an app that allows users to send both a card and a personalized voice message, through the ease of their phone, is ideal," said Eliza Wing, director of digital brands at American Greetings. "Recognizing that smart phones are integral to our consumer's lives and knowing the power of receiving a personalized voice message on ones' special occasion, LIVE Greetings brings it all together and takes making meaningful connection to a whole new level."

As an industry leader in greeting card inventions, American Greetings has introduced more than 100 new greeting card formats under the Inventions brand, offering the ultimate selection of exciting, new-to-the-world ways to celebrate birthdays and other happy occasions. Incorporating brand-new twists on technology in cards with carefully written copy and celebratory artwork, the combined effect is the perfect selection of greeting cards that are sure to surprise and delight any recipient.

Consumers can find LIVE Greetings™, in addition to a great selection of fresh and inspiring cards from American Greetings, in the app stores on their mobile device at participating drug chains, grocery stores and mass retailers nationwide, as well as in American Greetings and Carlton Cards retail stores. For more information on American Greetings, please visit www.corporate.americangreetings.com. You can also follow American Greetings on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.

About American Greetings Corporation

For more than 100 years, American Greetings Corporation has been a creator and manufacturer of innovative social expression products that assist consumers in enhancing their relationships to create happiness, laughter and love.  The Company's major greeting card lines are American Greetings, Carlton Cards, Gibson, Recycled Paper Greetings and Papyrus, and other paper product offerings include DesignWare party goods and American Greetings and Plus Mark gift-wrap and boxed cards.  American Greetings also has one of the largest collections of greetings on the Web, including greeting cards available at Cardstore.com and electronic greeting cards available at AmericanGreetings.com.  In addition to its product lines, American Greetings also creates and licenses popular character brands through the AG Properties group.  Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings generates annual revenue of approximately $1.9 billion, and its products can be found in retail outlets worldwide.  For more information on the Company, visit http://corporate.americangreetings.com.

Video with caption: "Download the free LIVE Greetings app from American Greetings to send extraordinary, interactive digital cards with personalized voice messages. As American Greetings continuously surprises and delights customers with innovative forms of social expression, this is the first major card app to offer the customized voice message option." Video available at:  http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-CL49357-20140121-1a.mp4

Image with caption: "Download the LIVE Greetings App from American Greetings!"  Image available at: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140121/CL49357

SOURCE American Greetings Corporation