September 26, 2006
Real Men Give/Get Greeting Cards
Are American men secure enough in their own masculinity to give greeting cards to other guys?
Women in the U.S. spend a lot of time picking out just the right greeting cards for family and friends. They also spend a great deal of money in the process of buying approximately 5.6 million of the 7 million greeting cards purchased each year.
Lisa Collins, co-owner of Nutz & Boltz Card Company, which creates a line of cards for men, told RetailWire she loves the gender sales breakout of greeting cards because it points to a present market of 1.4 million cards purchased by men.
Ms. Collins and her partner, Nguyen Le, are counting on getting their share of the men’s market
and believe their approach can help make men card givers, too.
In a separate interview with the Daily Breeze, Ms. Collins said the Nutz & Boltz creative approach is “slightly above the belt, not trashy or dirty.”
One card, for example, shows a man in a doghouse with the message, “I’m Sorry.”
Another shows a baby on a changing table with a man and woman holding their noses. The message:
“Your house will never smell the same – Congratulation,” goes with the memorable graphic.
A third shows two fists coming together as a sign of solidarity with the message: “Thanks for having my back.”
Ms. Collins sees her company’s products going after a market niche that has yet to be adequately addressed.
“There really is a gap (for men’s greeting cards),” she said. “We kept hearing that.”
Erik Thoresen, an analyst with Mintel International Group, is less certain about the market need.
“It’s the chicken and the egg question,” he told the Daily Breeze. “It will be a useful experiment. It may spark interest.”
One of the benefits of the approach Nutz & Boltz is taking, said Mr. Thoresen, is that the company can come in under the radar of the large greeting card manufacturers.
Nutz & Boltz is pricing the company’s greeting cards, which are printed on recycled paper, at $2.75. According to the Greeting Card Association, the typical price range for cards falls between $2 and $4.
So far, Nutz & Boltz cards are sold at three stores in the Los Angeles area, but Ms. Collins sees it as only “the tip of the iceberg.”
The company is looking to place their cards in hardware stores, liquor stores, car washes in addition to traditional settings, such as drugstores, supermarkets, etc.
Mintel’s Thoresen, although not predicting success for Nutz & Boltz, said, “If they got distribution through Home Depot, a place where the other guys aren’t … the hardware store idea might work.”
Discussion Questions: Do you see a market opportunity for greeting cards targeted to male consumers? What are the keys for small manufacturers such as
Nutz & Boltz to gain placement in retail locations?
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There is definitely a market opportunity for these greeting cards. I do subscribe to location…location…location marketing. Many men (like my husband) do not walk into a store of any sort more than once a month. If there were cards at the car wash and he knew an occasion coming up — he’d buy! Especially if the message was in-line with his psyche.
My husband has unwittingly purchased the same greeting card 3 times. He liked the message and so did I. The card basically stated I am one in a million. It was short-sweet-non-syrupy. He likes funny cards with short messages as well. And he does not like to stand around and read cards…
I think there is a market based on my circle of male friends and relatives…If the men I know had a group of cards that were in front of their faces that were quick messages of affection…they would buy more often.
So what then are the keys for small manufacturers such as Nutz & Boltz to gain placement in retail locations?
Sending paper greeting cards is often not on men’s radar screen, so I think e-cards suited more to men’s tastes is the way to go.
Ms. Collins did not make an error. The mistake was ours. The number of cards sold, according to the Greeting Card Association, is 7 billion. The sales based on these card sales is $7.5 billion.
Lisa Collins’ quoted industry figures are suspect. The Greeting Card Association claims $7 billion annual retail sales, which translates to a lot more than 7 million cards.
It’s hard to change an ingrained culture. The greeting card business, over many generations, has tried marketing to men many times before, in all sorts of locations. It’s not profitable to service low volume greeting card locations. And why should Home Depot add a noncore category (with inferior sales per square foot, low average unit sales, and high servicing costs) at the expense of a core category?
I believe men are underserved in Greeting Cards, but not by sentiment as much as location. Men have a different perspective to shopping for sentiment, and while paper cards remain (and well should) the primary way to deliver a sentiment and feeling, a more focused approach could gain big wins with electronic cards now available. How about reminding men that an E card is easy, important, timely, and allows me to express sentiment and feeling in an alternative way that is appreciated?
It would be nice if a reminder note was displayed each Monday, reminding me to acknowledge an employee birthday, anniversary, etc. along with a few suggested and appropriate E cards to celebrate that occasion.
Paper cards are important but time challenged to shop for. Building male primary shopping distribution will help, but a bigger opportunity may center on a more robust and easier E card offering.
To try and address the actual question while simultaneously expressing my strong dislike for e-cards – the key could be telling people (all those big strong hunky he-men types who are too time challenged to let people know they care) that there is a benefit in showing that you care or are thinking of someone. Show them that it isn’t all that tough to get their priorities right – sending a real, honest to goodness printed card, even if it is a sample of masculine humour, will bring positive long term returns.
I think e-cards are the way to go with men and one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a while is from CardInTheBox.com. Online retailers with this service, such as Hickory Farms, have the greeting card option at checkout.
The customer can browse a library of greeting card designs and/or upload digital photos and customize. Card-In-The-Box places on-site printers in the distribution center and the card is printed and included with the order. Cool.
Ms. Collins may think there’s a market of 1.4 million greeting cards that she can tap with her business. But with thousands of stores all across the country, Hallmark does a better-than-adequate job of reaching male consumers. Hallmark Gold crown Stores are primarily merchandised for women consumers but the company also offers plenty of product for their male customers.
There is certainly room in the category for a company with innovative products. And there may very well be a niche in the marketplace for Ms. Collins’ greeting cards if she doesn’t attempt to compete with Hallmark.
I’ve used Blue Mountain’s superb e-card service several times a year over the past decade to let relatives and friends know I’m thinking of them. But, in the past several months, I’ve leaned more heavily on Jacqui Lawson (www.jacquielawson.com) to express my sentiments. See if you can resist her.
Like many, I send and receive “heads-up-booger-notes” several times weekly. Just keeping in touch with my posse, teammates, and homeys. The wife and kidlets think that’s weird, but what’s new? (“Homeys” from an aging white dude whose spellcheck accepted it?! Should it be “homies,” or “home boys” instead?) Don’t deny that you send and receive your own booger-notes.
Nutz & Boltz desperately needs a graphic makeover. While their ideas are cute and projectible, their execution sucks. Totally. Get an accomplished illustrator and move forward.
My recommendation is to reconsider the name of the service and irritate more female commentators like Bern. That’ll make it work.
eCards rarely make it to their recipient. Why? Most people have become accustomed to deleting them due to the fact so many spam artists have used eCards as their method of delivery. What is the solution? There is a company out there that allows you to to chose a greeting card online, enter a personal message, upload photos in the card, even have your handwriting turned into a font option. The company then prints the card, places a stamp on the envelope and mails it out on your behalf. All this done from the comfort of your computer whether at the office or at home in the evening in your PJ’s.
What if this system also provided a personal data management system which allowed you to enter birthdays, anniversaries, etc. and reminded you by email when these dates are coming up so you can jump online and send a card?
I believe a system such as this would make it easier for not only men but everyone to send more cards. This company does exist and this system is a reality.
I own and operate a chain of gift and greeting card stores in Boston. Our target greeting card customer has always been overwhelmingly female (80% plus). Our smaller male contingent has however always been very loyal. For years our savvy male customers have understood the value of greeting cards as a form of “personal touch” correspondence. Given how inundated people are with e-mail and voicemail, greeting cards have surfaced as the best “new’ way to make a connection with people. I have made my the case with numerous businessmen over the last couple of years that if they want to be more successful in business they must send their clients birthday and holiday cards. Many of my male customers have sung the praises of this strategy. They realize that when you send a card to a client that person is highly likely to open it, read it, display it, save it and act upon it either through a return call, e-mail or a card of their own.
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There is definitely a market opportunity for these greeting cards. I do subscribe to location…location…location marketing. Many men (like my husband) do not walk into a store of any sort more than once a month. If there were cards at the car wash and he knew an occasion coming up — he’d buy! Especially if the message was in-line with his psyche.
My husband has unwittingly purchased the same greeting card 3 times. He liked the message and so did I. The card basically stated I am one in a million. It was short-sweet-non-syrupy. He likes funny cards with short messages as well. And he does not like to stand around and read cards…
I think there is a market based on my circle of male friends and relatives…If the men I know had a group of cards that were in front of their faces that were quick messages of affection…they would buy more often.
So what then are the keys for small manufacturers such as Nutz & Boltz to gain placement in retail locations?
Sending paper greeting cards is often not on men’s radar screen, so I think e-cards suited more to men’s tastes is the way to go.
Ms. Collins did not make an error. The mistake was ours. The number of cards sold, according to the Greeting Card Association, is 7 billion. The sales based on these card sales is $7.5 billion.
Lisa Collins’ quoted industry figures are suspect. The Greeting Card Association claims $7 billion annual retail sales, which translates to a lot more than 7 million cards.
It’s hard to change an ingrained culture. The greeting card business, over many generations, has tried marketing to men many times before, in all sorts of locations. It’s not profitable to service low volume greeting card locations. And why should Home Depot add a noncore category (with inferior sales per square foot, low average unit sales, and high servicing costs) at the expense of a core category?
I believe men are underserved in Greeting Cards, but not by sentiment as much as location. Men have a different perspective to shopping for sentiment, and while paper cards remain (and well should) the primary way to deliver a sentiment and feeling, a more focused approach could gain big wins with electronic cards now available. How about reminding men that an E card is easy, important, timely, and allows me to express sentiment and feeling in an alternative way that is appreciated?
It would be nice if a reminder note was displayed each Monday, reminding me to acknowledge an employee birthday, anniversary, etc. along with a few suggested and appropriate E cards to celebrate that occasion.
Paper cards are important but time challenged to shop for. Building male primary shopping distribution will help, but a bigger opportunity may center on a more robust and easier E card offering.
To try and address the actual question while simultaneously expressing my strong dislike for e-cards – the key could be telling people (all those big strong hunky he-men types who are too time challenged to let people know they care) that there is a benefit in showing that you care or are thinking of someone. Show them that it isn’t all that tough to get their priorities right – sending a real, honest to goodness printed card, even if it is a sample of masculine humour, will bring positive long term returns.
I think e-cards are the way to go with men and one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a while is from CardInTheBox.com. Online retailers with this service, such as Hickory Farms, have the greeting card option at checkout.
The customer can browse a library of greeting card designs and/or upload digital photos and customize. Card-In-The-Box places on-site printers in the distribution center and the card is printed and included with the order. Cool.
Ms. Collins may think there’s a market of 1.4 million greeting cards that she can tap with her business. But with thousands of stores all across the country, Hallmark does a better-than-adequate job of reaching male consumers. Hallmark Gold crown Stores are primarily merchandised for women consumers but the company also offers plenty of product for their male customers.
There is certainly room in the category for a company with innovative products. And there may very well be a niche in the marketplace for Ms. Collins’ greeting cards if she doesn’t attempt to compete with Hallmark.
I’ve used Blue Mountain’s superb e-card service several times a year over the past decade to let relatives and friends know I’m thinking of them. But, in the past several months, I’ve leaned more heavily on Jacqui Lawson (www.jacquielawson.com) to express my sentiments. See if you can resist her.
Like many, I send and receive “heads-up-booger-notes” several times weekly. Just keeping in touch with my posse, teammates, and homeys. The wife and kidlets think that’s weird, but what’s new? (“Homeys” from an aging white dude whose spellcheck accepted it?! Should it be “homies,” or “home boys” instead?) Don’t deny that you send and receive your own booger-notes.
Nutz & Boltz desperately needs a graphic makeover. While their ideas are cute and projectible, their execution sucks. Totally. Get an accomplished illustrator and move forward.
My recommendation is to reconsider the name of the service and irritate more female commentators like Bern. That’ll make it work.
eCards rarely make it to their recipient. Why? Most people have become accustomed to deleting them due to the fact so many spam artists have used eCards as their method of delivery. What is the solution? There is a company out there that allows you to to chose a greeting card online, enter a personal message, upload photos in the card, even have your handwriting turned into a font option. The company then prints the card, places a stamp on the envelope and mails it out on your behalf. All this done from the comfort of your computer whether at the office or at home in the evening in your PJ’s.
What if this system also provided a personal data management system which allowed you to enter birthdays, anniversaries, etc. and reminded you by email when these dates are coming up so you can jump online and send a card?
I believe a system such as this would make it easier for not only men but everyone to send more cards. This company does exist and this system is a reality.
I own and operate a chain of gift and greeting card stores in Boston. Our target greeting card customer has always been overwhelmingly female (80% plus). Our smaller male contingent has however always been very loyal. For years our savvy male customers have understood the value of greeting cards as a form of “personal touch” correspondence. Given how inundated people are with e-mail and voicemail, greeting cards have surfaced as the best “new’ way to make a connection with people. I have made my the case with numerous businessmen over the last couple of years that if they want to be more successful in business they must send their clients birthday and holiday cards. Many of my male customers have sung the praises of this strategy. They realize that when you send a card to a client that person is highly likely to open it, read it, display it, save it and act upon it either through a return call, e-mail or a card of their own.