Hallmark Expands Cards With Sounds, Gives Away Music

by Sarah Mahoney, Friday, Aug 3, 2007 5:00 AM ET

THE BATTERED MUSIC INDUSTRY IS getting a boost from an unlikely source: Greeting cards. Cards with sound have evolved from a few lousy bars of "Happy Birthday" to a new level of sophistication. Hallmark recently unveiled about 100 variations, bringing its total to more than 250--covering all genres of music as well as sound clips from favorite movies and TV shows. As part of its summer promotion for the expanded line, Hallmark is giving away a free iTunes download worth 99¢ with each card it sells; most cost around $4.99. The promotion continues until Sept. 9 and is timed to coincide with Hallmark's "Use Music Summer Tour" featuring country singer Tim McGraw. (And, yes, three of his songs are included in the Hallmark collection.) "People love them," says a Hallmark spokeswoman. "It's just fun to watch how they react to the different types of music when they look through the cards. They smile; they dance a little bit." And while the artists run from Barenaked Ladies to Tina Turner, George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," "The Chicken Dance" and "Napoleon Dynamite" are among the bestsellers, she says. Marketers are finding ways to get into the act, too. Aflac recently introduced a Hallmark card--with the duck screaming his trademark phrase. The licensing fee for the birthday card, along with the sale of plush Aflac Ducks and annual Aflac Holiday Ducks, "has helped Aflac raise more than $2 million for pediatric hospitals nationwide," says an Aflac spokeswoman. Hallmark already has a track record in the music biz: Six seasonal CDs by artists such as James Taylor, Michael Buble, George Strait and Martina McBride have been certified Gold (500,000 sold) or Platinum(1,000,000 sold). The seven-city music tour also includes opportunities for concertgoers to check out the cards and enter a "Summer Sing-off" contest. Hallmark launched Cards with Sound in 2006. American Greetings, based in Cleveland, also sells musical cards. Link to MediaPost Article