The UK Greeting Card Association (GCA) is working with the wider industry to launch a new sending occasion, National Thinking of You Week, to take place on 22 – 28 September 2014
National Thinking of You Week is designed to highlight the emotional power of sending and receiving cards and will hopefully give the industry a mid-seasonal boost in the process. The idea for participants is to raise a smile by sending a card to a member of family, friend, neighbour, colleague or anyone else we want to make happy that week.
At the last GCA annual general meeting the emotional power of greetings was confirmed by neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw, who affirmed that receiving cards helps to stave off feelings of loneliness and isolation, increases self-esteem and even helps to ward off the early stages of depression. Members of the greetings card industry don’t need convincing of this fact, of course, but the wider public might need a happy reminder that receiving a hand written card is so much more meaningful than a text, email or Facebook ‘like’.
People are being encouraged to get involved with National Thinking of You Week by sending out seven cards, either by post or by hand, whether it be to wish them happy birthday, good luck with an important meeting, to kiss and make up or just to say ‘You’re amazing!’.
Members of the industry in particular are also being asked to organise card-sending events during this week using an online toolkit developed by the GCA especially for this very special occasion. The Association is giving prizes for the best Thinking of You Week Event and Best Retail Window Display. You can share your photos and ideas via social media using the Twitter hashtags: #ThinkingOfYou #KeepBritainHappy @GCAUK
Members can download the toolkit from the GCA website at www.greetingcardassociation.org.uk The occasion logo and toolkit has been designed by one of the country’s best calligraphers, Mike Burgin of The Great British Card Company. Many card publishers are planning to include the flyers and posters in their deliveries to customers and all card retailers are being encouraged to get behind the project by organising sending events during National Thinking Of You Week.
