Most people understand that they’re likely to outlive their furry, finned, and feathered friends. Of course, when those cherished pets pass away, the grief is real. In fact, many households elevate their pets to full-fledged family members (not to mention adding them to holiday cards). Today, those bonds are stronger than ever as more people eschew traditional family arrangements, get married less often or later in life, choose to remain childless, and consistently embrace “pet parent” status. If you’ve ever adopted a pet, you know the deep, emotional attachment that’s possible between humans and other species. Regardless, being open, vulnerable, and available can be tough to master - especially when customers lose beloved pets. It’s a vital step toward building stronger relationships between businesses and their clients and customers, particularly when they’re struggling. But some things remain…and personally, I’m glad Hallmark is one of them. The world has indeed changed, and we must change with it. But I also love holding in my hands an array of love letters that remind me I am worth the time, the search, the personal touch, and yes – the thought – a paper card requires. It’s fun and timely and entertaining, and I’ve seen it do a lot of good in the world. I can see the sentences he underlined, adding emphasis to specific messages he wanted to be sure I received. In each card, I can touch the page where he touched it.
It’s not the same as scrolling through my newsfeed. The cards tell my very favorite story, over the course of anniversaries, birthdays, Mother’s Days, and ordinary days. I keep them because they chronicle our relationship. I don’t keep them because I need proof of his love for me. In my nightstand, I keep every card my husband ever gave me. With deep belief that tangible expression is worth savoring. Not with formulas or once-reliable universal truths. The people in that room? They make it Hallmark. I walked out of the symposium moved by a declaration that time and space had somehow allowed me to shelve. What makes it Hallmark when there are so many ways to say Happy Birthday? I miss you? I need you? I support you? I accept you? I love you? I believe in you? I forgive you?
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What makes something Hallmark? Is it the words? Design? The use? The quality? The brand? Is it the institutional knowledge about who we are as relational beings, why and how we care for each other, and what tools we might use to express our caring in ways we can’t do on our own? Is it merely the inspiration for some who actually can do it on their own, but want ideas for how to do so uniquely? Which begs the question – what does matter? And the formulas…well, many don’t matter like they used to. If we’re honest, some of those truths are no longer true. When I was trained, there were universal truths we relied on to meet consumers’ emotional needs. And yet, today, we do this and more in spaces that didn’t even exist when Hallmark became a household name. If you’d asked me twenty years ago whether I would have sent the equivalent of an email to express my sympathy after a significant loss, I would have looked at you sideways. Technology has certainly changed the game. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by competitive threats when you represent a high touch product in a high tech world. Computers, mobile phones, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat…you know the drill. A lot has changed since I started as a greeting card writer all those years ago, not only for me, but also for our business. I’ve been a Hallmarker (as we affectionately call ourselves) for almost twenty years. As with any creative encounter, what you get out of an experience like this depends on your mindset going in. Threads carefully woven together to convey this theme ranged from creating a winning culture to collaborative economics. There were over 900 people present, including Hallmark’s creative team, key business partners, members of Kansas City’s local creative community, and the media.
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The wide-open spaces were flooded with sunshine, thanks to walls of windows that appear to stretch to the sky. I flew in from Dallas to attend Hallmark’s Creative Leadership Symposium – a day-long conference held in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, one of Kansas City’s most breathtaking structures and home to all manners of creative brilliance. My most recent travels took me to Hallmark’s hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, where I lived for seventeen years, bought my first home, made forever friends, gave birth to three children, and built a rewarding career that shaped me as a leader and taught me how to dream.
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