WASHINGTON  – The U.S. Postal Service reports that there were 52 million more greeting cards sent last year than the previous year (source: 2018 Household Diary Study). With the appetite for greeting cards in the United States growing, how can publishers make sure that their lines get noticed? How can they find the best partners to help their business grow? How can they improve the way they do business, while still focusing on the creative?

The Greeting Card Association aims to help greeting card publishers answer these questions with their new workshop and retreat, to be held at the LaPlaya Beach and Golf Resort in Naples, Fla. from September 18-21. Packed with sessions from industry leaders at the cutting edge of design and production, this exciting new event affords publishers a chance to share ideas and develop solutions to common problems together.

“The greeting card industry can be competitive. But it’s also very friendly,” said Susan January of Leanin’ Tree, this year’s chairperson for the GCA event. “Any publisher is welcome to take part, and all publishers can benefit from the generosity of our members, who will share answers to real challenges in an informal peer-to-peer setting. We’re putting an emphasis on networking and problem solving that will benefit everyone, to help make running their business that much more fun and profitable.”

 Session Leaders already confirmed include:

• Amanda Ferguson, executive director, U.K. Greeting Card Association

• Lindsay Henry, founder and creative director, Inklings Paperie

• Kristy Lewis, national marketing director, Hallmark Cards

• Sadie Piller, marketing director, Paper Source

• Jim Sauber, chief of staff of the National Letter Carriers Association

• Patti Strong, executive director of Business Intelligence, American Greetings

 These valuable sessions led by industry leaders will attempt to answer questions such as: What do we really know about the greeting card consumer? How can we leverage data for more efficient results? What are independent retailers looking for? How do chain retailers see the future? What’s the best way to work with sales representatives? And many more.

 Registration is now open at https://www.greetingcard.org/2019-gca-workshop-retreat/. GCA members and non-members are welcome to attend. Reserve your spot by July 22nd to receive exclusive early bird pricing. For those interested in sponsorship, visit https://www.greetingcard.org/2019-workshop-retreat-sponsorship-opportunities/ or contact Julie Elfand, Director of Meetings, at [email protected].