There he sits among dozens, seemingly lost in the crowd. He is just one of many now, no real identity. His metallic ink and snowflake design stood out so prominently once, but somehow in the throng of corporate greeting cards sitting on table his sheen seems dulled, his luster lacking. In a week, maybe two, he will be tossed in the trash. Never to be remembered. Never to be missed. He will be gone. Forever.
This is the life of a corporate greeting card and this sad scenario takes place quite frequently in the U.S. According to the Greeting Card Association, two billion holiday cards are mailed out every year, each with the same fate: the trash can. This translates into more than 250 million pounds of post-holiday greeting card trash. That’s a lot of garbage just to say “happy holidays.”
How can you stand out when you say happy holidays, reduce greeting card garbage and keep your holiday message (and brand) ringing long after the New Year?
Viral e-greetings.
Think about the holiday greetings you received last year. Do you remember any of them specifically—and no, that holiday tin of the three different types of popcorn doesn’t count. Any cards ring a bell? No?
Now watch this clip. What are the chances you will remember that next year? Better still, what are the chances you will want to share that with someone you know? If you chuckled, the chances are pretty good. How good?In 2006 VOLLMER released its second holiday e-card Holiday Brainstorm to the tune of over 200,000 views that year, this coming from an initial distribution list of fewer than 2,500. Through viral distribution it landed on over 30 different Web sites and blogs, winning awards and bringing in new business along the way. Last holiday season—a full year after its release—Holiday Brainstorm was viewed almost 5,000 times in December and January alone. Compare the viewership and staying power with a traditional holiday card and e-card wins in a landslide.
If those numbers don’t whet your appetite, consider the “green” angle. With a focus on environmentally friendly practices, viral e-cards are the way to go this holiday season. It’s pretty simple—no traditional card means no paper, no trash and no waste—so your company is doing their part to reduce holiday waste.
Creating a holiday e-card is easier than you may think. VOLLMER has produced dozens of animations which have cumulative views in the millions. The creative process is completely customized to every client and everything from script writing to voice acting to animation to Web hosting is done in house.
Our process is tried and true, and the client is along for the ride every step of the way. It starts with the script. We write something that is sure to get a laugh. Then we illustrate the characters and scene to ensure you love their look. Next we apply lip synching to all the characters and make sure you not only like what they say, but how it looks when they say it. We follow that with secondary movements like blinking and gestures making sure you give us the thumbs up. After that, we host it and pass on the URL for you to send to your list. We’ll even help create an image to embed in the email and upload it to some of the best viral animation sites around.
Hopefully you will consider this information when you make your holiday greeting decision this year. Remember: greater impressions, less waste and more fun. ‘Tis the season to go viral indeed.
To view more animations by VOLLMER, try visiting these sites:
http://www.vollmerpr.com/holiday.asp
http://www.eco-bunnies.com/
http://www.pinemountainbrands.com/ILogYou/default.php
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