Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

How American Greetings Learned to Embrace Tumultuous Change

American Greetings, like its chief competitor Hallmark, is fighting back in an era when social media has given everyone an instant platform for communicating sentiments—one that would seem to have eliminated the old-fashioned, hand-held greeting card. How does a traditional media company stay relevant and keep its business profitable?

optimized-istock-507846478“It’s a moving target,” John Beeder, president and chief operating officer of the company told Chief Executive. “There aren’t many industries that aren’t changing in some way faster than in the past, and everyone is dealing with certain disruptors.”

To start with, “We stepped back and asked a good cross-section of our associates to tell us what our values were, and that led us to articulating in a more contemporary manner the mission and vision of our company,” Beeder explained.

For example, when the company moved into a new 5-story, 660,000-square-foot headquarters in Cleveland, “our employees created a mural that greets everyone, which is striking in terms of helping understand what happens every day at our company—our innovation, and how we collaborate, and how we help organize our people so they can work every day in an environment where there’s respect for those values.

“We stepped back and asked a good cross-section of our associates to tell us what our values were, and that led us to articulating in a more contemporary manner the mission and vision of our company.

“The building also shows how we value creativity,” he said. “Employees told us they wanted sunlight to unlock their creative energy, so we built the building with the vast majority of the floor space open to the sunlight in some way, and a courtyard in the middle that has turned into a central gathering place” for collaborative thinking.

“We’ve realized that our products are being used differently by different people based on their communications networks,” Beeder said. “For instance, a lot of our customers are using greeting cards in the context of very close friendships to supplement social media networks, whereas others use greeting cards more traditionally.”

To capitalize on that change in behavior, American Greetings recently created a line called Just Wink that was written specifically for the smartphone generation and simultaneously launched the card line along with an app so a customer can deliver the card digitally if preferred.

“We also are putting more technology in cards such as sound chips,” Beeder said, “while others create more of a fashion statement, such as our Papyrus card line. Each of these appeals to a bit different group.”

Looking to disrupt too, American Greetings is tapping what it calls moments of “cultural tension” with its #ThankList social-media campaign, enabling personalized videos and messages for people to reach out and thank others. The benefit of this online product is that it cuts across the company’s entire audience. And because it’s a digital-only effort, it’s not expensive or time-consuming for the company to scale up.


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.