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Greeting guru The undisputed master of soft, sappy, perky, and cute messages, Hallmark is the standard by which all greeting cards are measured. Founded in 1910 when Joyce C. Hall first sold ready-made postcards out of a shoe box, Hallmark is among the largest privately-held companies in the U.S. In addition to greeting and gift products, Hallmark now owns Binney & Smith (the makers of Crayola products, Liquitex Paints, and Silly Putty) and several cable networks. High quality, family-oriented missives Hallmark management has long emphasized a commitment to high quality and to the American family. Hallmark introduces approximately 10,000 new designs each year in more than 20 languages to help customers in more than 100 countries express themselves. New cards venture beyond the "get well soon" confines and into the more realistic arenas. Some cards, for example, openly discuss drug addiction and terminal illness. Hallmark also produces lines for African-American, Jewish, and Latino holidays, as well as for "youth oriented" markets. Express yourself With a 42 percent market share rivaled only by American Greetings Corp.'s 35 percent, Hallmark had historically satisfied itself with sales from its brand stores, leaving American Greetings to flourish in supermarket and convenience stores. This passivity has come to an end. Hallmark has begun to distribute its products through general retail outlets, a controversial move that has infuriated many Hallmark store owners. Where computers and cards connect In response to the growing dominance of e-mail over snail-mail, Hallmark joined with Yahoo! to provide Yahoo! surfers direct access to the Hallmark web site. There, customers will be able to order specially-made electronic greeting cards to send over the Internet, including animated greeting messages. Hallmark wants its web site to contribute 10 percent of sales to its North American social expression business by 2003. But the company may be facing an uphill battle: Hallmark's web site ranks behind Bluemountain.com, Egreetings.com, 1800flowers.com, and AmericanGreetings.com in popularity. In June 2000 Hallmark sued American Greetings, alleging that the competitor's web site and two software products use Hallmark-owned technology. Hallmark the entertainer The company's Hallmark Entetainment Networks subsidiary is the parent company of two international cable TV channels - Hallmark Entertainment, which broadcasts in 60 countries, and the Kermit Channel, which airs in 12 Asian countries. Analysts speculate that the subsidiary may be going public sometime in the near future. Long praised for its sponsorship and production of plays for PBS, Hallmark now aims to expand its target audience by producing more mainstream commercial television productions. Meanwhile, after Disney's New York City success with Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, Hallmark is eyeing Broadway as the next area of expansion into the entertainment industry. It has invested in theater entertainments like The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Sound of Music, and 1776. The collective cost of opening all three shows is said to be close to $18 million. Growth spurt In recent years, Hallmark has been on an acquisition kick, gobbling up companies like Creative Publishing PLC, a leading greeting card manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Hallmark's rapid expansion into the European market has come as quite a blow to American Greetings, which had hoped to become card king of the region. The company also reorganized its marketing departments into a single group. In 1998 Hallmark Cards, Inc. bought a significant stake in the Odyssey channel, a cable-TV network that started out in religious programming and has passed through several owners. With its media partners the Kansas City, Mo. giant hopes to turn the little-known cable-TV network into a global source of family entertainment. The greeting card company currently owns 49.1 percent of Crown Media Holdings, Inc., the parent of Odyssey. In 1999 the company purchased DaySpring Cards, a creator of Christian-themed greeting cards. And in 2000 Hallmark agreed to acquire Gift Certificate Center Co., which provides gift certificates and incentives to corporate clients and individuals. Hallmark hopes to triple its 1998 revenue of $3.9 billion by 2010. Need some Fresh Ink? Promotional work has always been a priority for the card connoisseur. In 1998, Hallmark gave away more than $50,000 in prizes to randomly selected Kmart shoppers as part of its entrance into the discount store network. And in 2000 the company came out with an alternative card line targeting "young, smart, sophisticated customers." The new line, called Fresh Ink, comes in a square shape with choice of snazzy envelopes and trendy, edgy messages. The cards target the 18- to 39-year-old age group.
"You have to be on your toes" at Hallmark, because "the company wants employees who can think fast and adapt along with the company's changing demands." Marketing applicants are interviewed by "various areas from low-level management to VP's." For MBAs, "questions can get rather detailed and tend to focus on marketing issues, not technical ones." The interview process is a "mixture of incredibly laid-back and. . . incredibly busy," which also reflects Hallmark's corporate culture. Most interviews will be comprised of "16 half-hour interviews over the course of two days." These interviews will be "shallow" and are set up to see if you're "one easy to work with; two, teachable and not arrogant; and three, have social skills." After completing that process, one successful interviewee noted Hallmark interviewers never asked her "a single technical question about greeting cards in the entire two days." What Hallmark wants to know is that "you've learned stuff in your classes" and that you are "still capable of learning things about the way Hallmark works." Hallmark's employment web page, located at www.hallmark.com/ourcompany_bin/careers/careers.asp, offers descriptions of careers in the company's various departments, as well as a link to a central job database. Applicants in creative fields - writing, visual art, and design - should be prepared to relocate to the corporate headquarters in Kansas City, MO. Those applying for visual arts positions should submit slides along with resumes. Hallmark accepts resumes sent via regular mail only.
Greetings, earthling Roses are red; violets are blue; if you work at Hallmark, you'll be happy too. "One of the best places to work in the world" and a "fantastic experience" are common comments from Hallmark employees. Hallmark is broken into creative and business sections, with a cultural division between the two. "Corporate culture here is fairly conservative," while "some of the artists wear shorts." The "creative culture is a bit more flamboyant," one insider notes. Hallmark employees consider themselves to be more like "members of a family" than employees at a major corporation. The company's benefits package is "one of the best in the nation." It is an expansive plan that is "well above average, including retirement funds and free medical/dental." However, salary is simply described as "fair." A recent hire noted that "this business is not a high paying one," but longtime employees "seem to be happy." Go Jayhawks, whoo-hooo! "Great strides are taken to treat everyone as everyone else," an insider notes, but another jokes, "if you don't like the Chiefs and Jayhawks, watch your back." Not only are women in key positions within the company, but one female notes that "women abound - particularly in the creative division." Nevetheless, another insider notes that despite women's prominence at the company, "as with most other corporations, the top positions are filled with the usual white men." Quality care The "spacious" offices in Kansas City, MO are part of a "lavish" complex "not far from some of the best barbecues in the world.?" Some employees find Kansas City "a great place to raise children," and note that "the cost of living and housing is exceptional." At the same time, insiders note that "the attitude of people outside of Hallmark is Midwestern and can be frustrating for people coming from the coasts." But employees appreciate the Midwestern "pro-family" corporate policies, such as scholarships for employee children, social events, and ready-made dinners for parents to take home. Some employees even receive European vacations to keep the creative juices flowing.
Corporate Staffing Human Resources
American Greetings;CSS Industries;Gibson Greetings More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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