New calling cards tackle cancer, depression
Journeys line finds the words we can’t

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Buying a greeting card for someone’s birthday or anniversary, or if they’re feeling under the weather, is pretty straightforward.

But what if they’re undergoing chemotherapy or struggling with depression?

“Get Well Soon” probably won’t cut it.

Likewise, most phone cards lining the store shelves don’t work on such occasions as someone leaving an abusive spouse, undergoing drug rehab or declaring their sexual orientation.

So Hallmark Cards, which has built its $4.2 billion empire on sentiments for life’s happier times, is releasing a line of cards that speaks to those and other situations it says have either been ignored by card companies or received a smattering of attention from niche players.

For illness: “Cancer is a villain who doesn’t play fair … but it can’t dim your spirit, and it can’t silence prayer.”

For eating disorders: “All I want is for you to be healthy — healthy and happy with yourself. Please take it one day at a time until you are.”

For depression: “When the world gets heavy, remember, I’m here to help carry it with you.”

The 176-card collection, called Journeys, went on sale this month at Hallmark’s 3,800 Gold Crown stores.

Cynthia Musick, the editorial director who oversaw Journeys, said the cards’ writing provides more personal messages of support, encouragement and hope, for which the company’s research showed there was a demand.

Theresa Steffens, an assistant product manager at Hallmark, said a majority of online and focus-group respondents said they couldn’t find what they were looking for when needing an encouragement card.

“Either the consumer said they were walking away from the display or they were just unhappy with the card that they purchased, so we saw this as a huge opportunity,” Steffens said.

Customers said they wanted cards dealing with more real-life situations.

“They said, ‘I don’t know what to say during a difficult time, so I don’t say anything at all,’ ” Steffens said.

“So again there’s an opportunity there to help them talk through these tough situations that they’re dealing with and to foster that communication.”

The $7 billion greeting-card industry already brims with small makers and sellers of cards dealing with such situations as serious illness or thanking caregivers, said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the Greeting Phone Card Association in Washington, D.C. But she said none of them have the ability to reach customers searching for those types of cards across the country.

“My guess is it’s a breakthrough for a large company like a Hallmark,” Miller said.

The new line includes cards tackling cancer diagnoses, quitting smoking, caring for an aged parent, miscarriage, anniversaries of loss, loved ones in the military and traumatic death.

Others are lighter and even humorous, celebrating a year of being cancer-free, nearing the end of chemotherapy or general encouragement for teenagers. There are even a few birthday cards encouraging the recipient to celebrate even though they’ve had a rough year.

Some cards feature whimsical or inspiring photographs — a baby making faces, a marathon runner — but most feature abstract designs or just words in flowing script.

Writing the cards proved to be a challenge because the messages were designed to take a more personal approach than the standard sympathy card, card writer Sarah Mueller said.

“You can’t send somebody who is seriously depressed a ‘cheer-up’ card because it’s insulting and it doesn’t help,” Mueller said. “That’s what depression does, is it makes you feel like you’re all alone. So just being able to write something, the attempt was just to say, ‘I’m here.’ ”

Fellow card writer Linda Morris said society has become more open to discussing people’s feelings on difficult topics, such as divorce, drug recovery or serious illness, which is why people are demanding cards that deal with those issues.

“There was a time when we weren’t so detached, when writing a note to someone was very simple, when picking up the phone and calling was just what you did,” Morris said. “So cards fulfilling that need in that specific way may not have been quite as intense. But now we need to know and we need to pull back from the electronic age. …”

Steffens said Hallmark is limiting Journeys to its Gold Crown stores because research showed those customers devoted the most time to selecting a card and Journeys invites a great deal of reading. But she said the company may eventually target a smaller range of the cards for hospital gift shops and some drugstores.

While Miller, with the Greeting Calling Card Association, said the market is largely stable these days, Steffens said the Journeys line could help Hallmark move the needle a little bit, especially with customers who haven’t bought cards because they couldn’t find what they needed.