Talking e-cards and the dancing Hamsters

Sounds card are great to sing along and dance to if  'Hampton and the Hamsters' are anything to go by.  I have to give thanks here to Tower Systems in Australia who publish a blog on the happenings in their greeting card store.  News of happy, sing along sound cards are big business in the USA and seem to be ripping it up in Australia too if news from Melbourne is anything to go by.

 
So there I was on a dull day in Norwich reading about Hamsters being the most popular Sound Card in The States.  Perhaps it's my English sense of humor but Sound Card to me means something that's part of my PC, and singing Hamsters seemed too good an opportunity to turn down.

So whilst my builder got on with making me more shelves to house all my craft and card stuff I tuned in, and you guessed it.  In no time I was humming along, aware that a broad smile now filled my face - and my day!  It was impossible not to 'get it'.  And, as the retailer blog's said:

"I'm told this is currently the top selling greeting card in the United States. It is kind of cute - hamsters apparently dancing on the cover. It's when you open the card that you realize why it is a top seller. This music played from within the card is infectious".

You can hear it at hamsterdance.com.

Of course we all know that cards are moving and shaking it in all sorts of ways these days.  No longer content to be static we have the interactive cards, sound cards (as mentioned here) and a growing range of gift or treasure cards.  Cards are fast becoming an 'experience' as opposed to a 'moment'. And packaging and presentation is a huge part of the deal.

Hallmark - as reported earlier have signed a  deal to produce a range of sound cards, and for many who purchase online, the talking eCard offers great versatility and dimension.  Audio cards bring in that extra sensory stimulation that's obviously missing on a static, stand-up card.  So it seems the big guys in the Industry are aware of shifts in our card buying trends and are muscle-ing in on the act.

Hamsters, whilst cute, do have a way of making us smile, and Hallmark, amongst others know that emotions play a vital part in how and why we part with our hard-earned cash. 

My thanks to Mark at Tower Systems for bringing this trend to my attention.

The talking-ecard is going places - however you want to play it!

 

sound card talking ecard
Written by Geraldine Jozefiak
Craft Expert and Demonstrator

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