Nov 16, 2020

GCA partners with Brandwise, creates B2B marketplace

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has partnered with Brandwise to create the GCA Marketplace, a B2B marketplace exclusive to GCA’s membership of greeting card makers and publishers.

Built on Brandwise’s new 2.0 architecture, the GCA Marketplace demonstrates the strategic importance of the Brandwise Passport for associations and other groups to strengthen their independent position in the retail/wholesale landscape. The Brandwise Passport streamlines and centralizes the exchange of data between buyers, sellers, and sales representatives creating a structure for the GCA to offer their own independent, greeting card-focused marketplace.

“Our Noted event in 2019 was the GCA’s first effort to directly facilitate sales for our members and this is the logical next step. Even before the pandemic, an online B2B presence was essential for card publishers, especially for smaller makers, but there have been significant financial and technical barriers to entry,” said George White of Up With Paper and board president for GCA.“By partnering with Brandwise, GCA will be able to lower those hurdles and remove up-front costs so all of our members can participate, providing a direct link to retailers wanting to purchase cards from the world’s best makers—our members.”

The association program that Brandwise offers is a perfect fit for industry trade groups, and particularly for the GCA. In addition to its functionality and strategic positioning, the Brandwise Ecosystem already includes over 25% of GCA’s membership and is populated by the industry’s largest network of retailers.

Nora Weiser, executive director for GCA, noted that “a trade association is uniquely positioned to bring together its members for a common purpose. In this case, that purpose is to help them reach more buyers and transact B2B sales online in a simple, low-cost manner. The GCA Marketplace will offer a one-stop-shop for retailers seeking the best products in a space wholly dedicated to greeting cards. The Brandwise team has experience working with associations, and they really took the time to understand the needs of our specific association and our members. Together, we were able to create a partnership that reflects the current and evolving needs of GCA stakeholders.”

As a trusted partner to so many, Brandwise maintains an independent and agnostic position which empowers the GCA to provide its members the ability to access, utilize, and control their own data within the marketplace. This strategy is further supported by Brandwise’s extensive suite of proven services.

Todd Litzman, co-founder and CEO of Brandwise looks forward to the launch of the GCA Marketplace. “Brandwise has long been a strategic partner to many greeting card companies. Sales reps across the country sell tens of millions of greeting cards per year using our tools. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with this prestigious association and this important industry as we step forward together onto this new digital platform,” stated Litzman.