Hallmark

My role: design, strategy, speaker

Problem

Since technology was introduced to the world, traditional store-bought greeting cards fell out of style thanks to increased competition with online services like Shutterfly and Snapfish. If Hallmark does not generate sufficient revenue by the end of 2017, the company is considering closing numerous stores across the United States. In order to increase market share and generate brand awareness, my team needed to come up with a test market for advertising media weight, creative approaches, brand recognition, and attitude.

Key Insight

According to surveys, younger consumers traditionally see store- bought greeting cards as old fashioned and out-of-date. Younger consumers, the survey continues, feel as though personal online greeting cards and Facebook offer quicker and cheaper opportunities. However, traditional greeting cards are seen as a top choice for older consumers. Since Hallmark is more focused on family values and creating long lasting memories instead of solely being fast, Hallmark should consider a target market primarily of women and mothers above the age of 45.

Solution

In order to gain an additional 5% of the market share and generate 80% of the brand awareness by the end of 2017 for Hallmark, my team's proposal focused on a new specific target demographic as well as a fresh competitive positioning and creative strategy. We determined this would be achieved by using cognitive, attitude, and behavioral advertising objectives. A tagline, “Every Moment is Remarkable,” would be implemented throughout various messages. Primarily, traditional advertisements would consist of TV spots and print advertisements to remind consumers to celebrate their remarkable moments with Hallmark. Secondly, a social media contest would allow the target audience interaction with the brand and offer the chance to win a trip to visit their adult child as well as create more remarkable moments. Finally, guerilla-marketing tactics would consist of pop up photo booths that allow consumers to interact with the brand on a personal level by creating their own remarkable moments. For budget allocation, we recommended 45% of the budget to television, 25% to social media, and 15% each to print and radio. Specifically, consumers in this target audience watch mainly local news channels, use Facebook and Instagram the heaviest as well as read local newspapers and magazines.