American Greetings Profile

Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Topics: Arts, Economy
Download  RSS  Short URL  Share

Greater Cleveland has seen a long line of successful companies disappear over the years. Some pull up stakes and move to more attractive locales, while others fade away as new trends and technologies make them obsolete. One local company is withstanding the march of progress, and staying loyal to its roots as it goes increasingly global. American Greetings, a fixture in Cleveland's business landscape for a hundred years, remains on the leading edge of - pardon the industry lingo - social expression products and enjoying a surge in profits. ideastream's Tasha Flournoy has this profile.

American Greetings is going through a renaissance of sorts. The Cleveland-based card seller doubled its profits this quarter after a laying off nearly 2,000 workers over the last decade.  The company—which employees 18,000 worldwide and 2,000 in Cleveland—said those cuts helped reduce supply chain costs and made way for a major restructuring that included a move into the electronic media and more emphasis on popular culture and humor.

Singing Sock:  Today is your birthday an occasion of joy and glee.

That’s one of American Greetings’ most popular e-cards, featuring a singing sock puppet.  It’s generated close to 760 on-line comments from users.

Industry analysts say American Greetings has found a way to blend together both a creative and business model while remaining competitive with its chief competitor, Hallmark.  It also has a good feel for its audience: women, who buy 80 percent of paper cards.  Jeff Weiss is the company’s president.

Jeff Weiss: She is the consumer. It means she buys most of our cards and understanding when we talk about She that there’s many different She. So if you focus in on the average She, you could actually miss what makes each person very unique.

Debbie Alaimo:  I thought long and hard about what to get you for your birthday. I finally settled on collagen implants, What do you think? Too pouty?

That’s Debbie Alaimo, who for the past thirty years has shared a keepsake tradition. Every year she exchanges multiple greeting cards with her three sisters over cocktails. Last week at an American Greetings store, her hands were overflowing with funny birthday cards for her sister Shari.  She says the tradition is a way of celebrating and making fun of getting older.

Debbie Alaimo: We love to laugh and if I don’t laugh when I open them, then I don’t get it. And this one just made me laugh.

Since Weiss and his brother Zev took over the firm’s top posts in 2003, American Greetings has kept creativity and accessibility as its focal point.  It’s redesigned its in-store card displays, beefed up its humor line, and stepped up its interactive, electronic cards.

Cleveland State Economic Development Professor Ned Hill says American Greetings has a tremendous impact on the creative community, particularly the graphic arts. Hill says the company has a big footprint in the design world and has as steady flow of talent from area institution like Kent State University and the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Ned Hill: The company has the world’s largest creative studio in Cleveland, which when we mention that outside of town as we’re working on district of design, people are shocked because they don’t associate that level of design activity with Cleveland. 

This month, American Greetings introduced kiwee.com that allows MySpace and MSN account users to post emoticons - like those little smiley faces that wink at you - and postcards. The company boasts nearly 4 million online subscribers on just one of its many partner websites where people can print out cards and send e-cards for a fee or free.

Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the Greeting Card Association, says American Greetings is leading the industry in electronic innovation.  But, she says, that doesn’t mean paper cards are becoming obsolete - in fact, they’re out-selling e-cards, 20 to 1. 

Barbara Miller: People tend to think incorrectly that somehow paper-based cards are competing against e-cards.  An e-card is casual and fun and it’s instantaneous. Whereas, paper-based cards tend to be more traditional, more emotional. But, they’re more keepsake.

American Greetings’ Funny Department found that real-life, conversational humor works for women. And the gag-style, gritty humor serves men. That researched spawned this summer’s Ellen DeGeneres card line and a new partnership with Comedy Central. The first batch of cards? A line featuring the network show, South Park.

Tasha Flournoy, 90.3.

An Asian-inspired American Greetings Get Well/Feel Better card received the LOUIE Award for “Card of the Year” at the 19th Annual International Greeting Card Awards ceremony on May 21, held in conjunction with the National Stationery Show in New York City.  A team of designers, artists and writers at the company’s Brooklyn headquarters created the winning card, which features laser-cut patterns combined with a calming ocean blue and salmon color palette.  It’s 3-D accordion-style layout shows a Bonsai tree resting on a bamboo table with a porcelain vase as seen through a transparent Shoji screen.  The card is opened by unfolding the screen, which in turn reveals a closer look at the table, tree and vase, along with the message, “Hope you have a peaceful, relaxing recovery.”