Hallmark Has a Hit With Sound Card Collection

Hallmark Has a Hit With Sound Card Collection

Expanded Offering Includes New Musical Gift Bags and Gift-Card Boxes

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Saying 'I love you' the first time can be nerve-wracking -- but what if you had Willie Nelson or the Rolling Stones helping you out? Or what if you could cheer someone up by sending them the sounds of James Brown inside a card? Now, with a little help from Hallmark, you can.

This month, Hallmark Gold Crown(R) stores will offer an expanded collection of 223 sound cards featuring more than 100 original music artists as well as dialogue and theme songs from popular movies and TV shows. The collection also includes musical gift bags and gift-card boxes, as well as gift bags designed with pockets to hold a sound card.

Unlike any other cards in the market today, Hallmark sound cards feature CD-quality recordings of original music and sound clips. Each clip plays 15-45 seconds when the card is opened, and stops when the card is closed.

Tap into the emotional power of sound

The addition of sound evokes more passion than a traditional card, according to Tim Bodendistel, art director for the line. "Music and favorite movie and TV shows evoke incredibly strong emotions," Tim says. "They recall memories, moments, times and feelings -- so many tangible connections that the sender and recipient share. They allow you to share secret jokes from movies, relate to someone over an old TV show or evoke an emotion with a song. Adding sound to a greeting card is a perfect way to help the card's sender express more meaning and to prompt that extra 'wow' from the recipient."

Hallmark sound cards are printed on high-quality card stock and feature a mix of special processes to make them sparkle, shimmer or stand out. The extraordinary sound quality from the cards' internal speaker is designed to be played again and again. The cards, priced at $4.99 each, are available exclusively in about 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown(R) stores nationwide.

Appeal across the generations

The cards cover a range of sending situations including birthday, thinking of you, friendship, love, anniversary, encouragement, support, new baby, congratulations and cope. Clips featured in the cards have multigenerational appeal. The cards include classics songs such as "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers and "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, as well as trendy tunes such as "All Star" by Smash Mouth, and "Wild Thing" by The Troggs.

Hollywood-themed cards feature sound clips and photos from popular movies, such as "Star Wars" and "Napoleon Dynamite." TV greetings showcase clips from shows such as "I Love Lucy" and "Law & Order." The clips include theme songs and well-known quotes from the TV show or movie.

The Hits Keep Coming

"When we introduced our original 24 sound cards last October, we approached two record labels and received licensing agreements for stock songs," says Tom Esselman, Hallmark greetings innovation director. "As word got out about the quality of our cards and their popularity with consumers, more record labels became interested in working with us. Today, we have much greater collaboration with everyone from major record labels to small publishing houses, and we're thrilled to introduce more than 180 new cards."

With this next generation of sound cards, "Hallmark has just taken the time and cared enough to make them meaningful -- to get licensing rights to the original songs from the original artists and to put it together into a quality card that consumers love," Esselman says.

About Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Kansas City-based Hallmark is known throughout the world for its greeting cards, related personal expression products, and television's most honored and enduring dramatic series, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The company's Binney & Smith subsidiary, maker of Crayola(R) crayons and markers, is the leading producer of art materials for children and students. Through licensing leadership and joint ventures, Hallmark continues to expand its product formats and distribution avenues. The company publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in more than 100 countries through a multi- national strategy. In 2005, Hallmark reported consolidated net revenues of $4.2 billion.

Source: Hallmark Cards, Inc.

CONTACT: Deidre Parkes of Hallmark Cards, +1-816-274-5768,
dparke1@hallmark.com

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