Jun 9, 2015

Paper Pop Cards honored with GCA’s Consumers’ Choice Award

The Greeting Card Association (GCA) announced Friday, June 5, that Paper Pop Cards is the winner of the GCA’s third annual Consumers’ Choice Award. Paper Pop Cards’ winning entry, “Get Well Tissue Box,” is a 3-D pop-up card that when opened, reveals a tissue box and pop-up tissue. The company’s patent-pending PopLock system allows the consumer to detach the 3D pop-up and use it as a decorative ornament or a permanent keepsake. The card was a LOUIE winner in the “Get Well, Feel Better” category.

The GCA launched the Consumers’ Choice Award to give consumers across the country an opportunity to vote for their favorite among the best-of-the-best in the annual LOUIE Awards, the definitive awards competition for the greeting card and social expression industry. More than 200 companies throughout the world submitted 1,100 entries for the LOUIE Awards; all entries were marketed and sold in the U.S. in 2014. Consumers voted for their favorite card among the 58 LOUIE Award winners by “liking” the card on the GCA’s LOUIE Awards Facebook page during a two-week period following the LOUIE Awards gala held in conjunction with the National Stationery Show. Additionally, one consumer is selected randomly from all voters to receive a selection of the winning cards.

“This is the first year we submitted cards for the LOUIE Awards and we’re excited we won two and along with this Consumers’ Choice Award, it certainly gives us validation of what we’re doing” said Lawrence Yeh, president, Paper Pop Cards. “These awards and being one of the sponsors of the National Stationery Show have translated into immediate sales and an incredible amount of exposure for us,” said Yeh. “In addition to increasing sales, this recognition motivates our designers to create even more new and innovative designs and products,” he said.

Launched in 1988 as the International Greeting Card Awards, the LOUIEs are named after Louis Prang, the Germanborn Boston lithographer and publisher often referred to as the “Father of the American Christmas Card.” A Blue Ribbon Panel of six judges selected two “Cards of the Year” from among all categories. A panel of industry experts judged all entries against five criteria: originality, impact, design excellence, “sendability,” and value; all identifying information about the submitting company was withdrawn from the entries.

“We saw an increase of about 15 percent in the number of entries for this year’s LOUIE Awards compared with last year,” said Steve Doyal, president, GCA. “Publishers and suppliers for the greeting card industry are celebrating a great year in creativity and diversity in the work — along with trends that represent social expression in a whole new way,” he said. “Americans buy 6.5 billion greeting cards each year and the GCA’s Consumers’ Choice Award gives consumers a voice in selecting their favorite,” said Doyal.

Sponsors of this year’s LOUIE Awards include: American Greetings, Designer Greetings, Hallmark, NSS, Universal Presentation Concepts, Avanti, Neenah, Bobst and Madison Park Group. Several companies provided in-kind donations such as materials for the LOIUIE Awards call for entries, invitations, gala décor and other items. Thanks to in-kind supporters including the following companies: American Greetings, Appleton Coated, BrightMARKS, Exclusive Bordering, Fine Impressions, Infinity Foils, J.S. McCarthy Printers, Leader Paper Products, Neenah Paper, Universal Engraving, Inc., and Universal Presentation Concepts. The Greeting Card Association is the U.S. trade association serving the greeting card and social expression industry. Founded in 1941, the GCA represents nearly 200 American and international publishers from businesses ranging from startups to established companies of all sizes, scopes and industry tenure — as well as suppliers that provide production services and wholesale product distribution.

For more information, visit www.greetingcard.org.