Hallmark's New Brand Campaign: It's NOT What You Might Expect

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hallmark, a company known for helping people show they care about others on special days, announces a new brand campaign to inspire people to share meaningful moments any day. Life is a Special Occasion — Hallmark's new tagline and campaign theme — challenges consumers to stop and enjoy life's perfectly, imperfect, unplanned moments.

"Our consumer told us that, although she looks forward to the big milestones of her life, what really makes life rich are the little 'us' moments," said Lisa Macpherson, Hallmark's Chief Marketing Officer. "However, her life is so busy that she can't always be in the moment. Hallmark's goal is to provide the inspiration, ideas and solutions to help consumers take pause and recognize, linger and capture the moments they share with family and friends. This isn't expected to happen every day … but it can happen any day."

Consumer insight and a new business strategy inspired the Life is a Special Occasion campaign. Hallmark continues to grow its business by expanding the consumer needs it serves and offering new solutions — in addition to greeting cards and ornaments — to meet those needs. Recent product innovations include Recordable Storybooks, Personalized Greetings, Personalized Plates and Interactive Story Buddies.

"We are committed to Hallmark's brand purpose of inspiring meaningful connections that enhance relationships and enrich lives," said Macpherson. "However, as our products and services expand to meet consumer needs, we have an opportunity to expand Hallmark's brand relevance in our consumer's daily lives as well. Life is a Special Occasion was developed to help achieve that goal."

As the Life is a Special Occasion campaign unfolds in 2011, consumers will notice Hallmark is starting a new conversation and engaging with them more. During the campaign planning process, Hallmark researched how and through what medium consumers were engaging with each other and with brands. This research led Hallmark to pursue a communications strategy that includes advertising, public relations, social media, e-mail, direct mail, video, search engine marketing and more. Hallmark also will be communicating year-round — not just during holiday seasons — and will be talking with consumers about moments instead of milestones, focusing on the real rather than ideal, and inspiring moments that are spontaneous, not planned or obligatory. These types of moments can happen during a holiday or any day.

The idea behind Life is a Special Occasion came from Hallmark's target audience — moms and grandmothers.

"We spent a lot of time talking with these women and listening to their needs," said Jeanie Caggiano, Executive Vice President and Creative Director at Leo Burnett — Hallmark's advertising agency that developed the campaign theme. "They told us that the best parts of their lives are often the small, perfectly imperfect moments between the milestones — however, in the blur of life, those special moments often pass them by."

That consumer insight was the foundation for the brand campaign, as well as Hallmark and Leo Burnett's approach to advertising. On January 31, Hallmark debuted television ads featuring "not" statements, which are designed to get a person's attention by saying something unexpected. For example, a commercial featuring Hallmark Recordable Storybooks says, "Bedtime is not for sleeping … it's for being together even when you're apart."

"These 'not' statements highlight moments that are in danger of being lost in the blur of life," said Caggiano. "Our creative elements reveal how a Hallmark product can be the catalyst to capture that special moment before it's lost."

In addition to television, print and broadband advertising, Hallmark is sharing Life is a Special Occasion through social media. In late January, Hallmark attended the BlissDom Conference — an annual gathering of more than 700 influential women bloggers — and introduced the new brand campaign through online and in-person activities. At Hallmark's booth, attendees shared — via twitter or on video — what a perfectly, imperfect moment means to them. Their responses were compiled into an online mosaic, called VisibleMash (created by Fleishman-Hillard, Hallmark's public relations agency of record), allowing attendees to not only view other bloggers' responses but also to continue the conversation with their readers after the conference.

"Hallmark is doing a fabulous job of engaging bloggers and using social media to start conversations," said Kim Borchert, author of the blog Prairie Mama and a BlissDom attendee. "Their new brand campaign, Life is a Special Occasion, started many conversations at BlissDom this year. It was great to hear other moms and bloggers talking about what we consider to be our perfectly imperfect moments. Everyone is so different, and Hallmark really celebrates that through this campaign."

Hallmark's new television ads and its participation at BlissDom are the first of many elements aimed at changing the conversation around the brand. As the year progresses, Hallmark will unveil additional marketing and public relations programs to support the Life is a Special Occasion campaign. For more information, visit Hallmark.com.

About Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Hallmark makes the world a more caring place by helping people express what's in their hearts and spend time together — a privilege few other companies in the world enjoy. Hallmark greeting cards and other products are found in more than 40,000 retail outlets in the U.S., including the network of flagship Hallmark Gold Crown® stores. The brand also reaches people online at Hallmark.com and on television through Hallmark Hall of Fame original movies and cable's top-rated Hallmark Channel. Worldwide, Hallmark offers products in more than 30 languages available in 100 countries. This privately held company is based in Kansas City, Mo., and is led by the third generation of the founding Hall family. Visit http://corporate.hallmark.com for more details.

SOURCE Hallmark Cards, Inc.