Keepsaker’s Korner

A publication of the Okie Keepsakers Collectors Club of Tulsa OK
Sponsored by Becky’s Hallmark  41st & Garnett   628-1766
September 2001
Club Officers
President:   Rita Randall       341-1696	Treasurer:   Sally Turner             838-8179
Vice Pres:   Dana Blando      628-0063	Secretary:   Teresa Pattison       250-2693

 

 

 

Next Meeting is Thursday  September 13 at 7pm

 

OKCC meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month. We meet at Becky’s Hallmark, 11109 E 41st (northwest corner of 41st & Garnett, next to Furr’s).  Next month’s meeting will be September 13th.

At the September Meeting

 

We have another contest this month!  Bring your stockings that you displayed at the Jubilee. We’ll have prizes!

And we have a holdover contest from last month.  Bring your 10^th club anniversary t-shirt designs.  We only had 2 entries last month so your chance of winning something is good!!!

 

Domestic Violence Intervention Service

 

This month we’re bringing household cleaning supplies: sponges, comet, dish soap, clothes soap, etc.

Check out your mailing label

 

Since it’s the beginning of the fiscal year again club dues are due.  Check out the mailing label.  If you’ve paid your dues your label should show the date as 7/02. If it shows anything else, you need to pay your dues or this wonderful (even if I do say so myself) newsletter will stop showing up in your mailbox!

 

We Have Chairs!

 

Thanks to Elaine Wibben’s eagle eye, the club was able to purchase chairs so that Becky doesn’t have to rent them any more. Thanks to Elaine, Marilyn Dill, Sally Turner, and BK Dreyer for taking care of this issue!

 

 

 

Happy September Birthday to ….

 

 

 

 

Okie Keepsakers Meeting Minutes   August  9, 2001

 

President Rita Randall called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone. She thanked Donna for her service as president and vice president.  She also said that the club provided food for Melita Farrell’s funeral and thanked Dana Blando for arranging that.  She also passed along the good comments that our ornament display received at Premiere. 

Vice President Dana Blando:  Remember to sign in on the attendance form.

Secretary Teresa Pattison:  Check your email.  She send out the August newsletter electronically and wants your comments.  Until a web site is built, this could be a way to save a little on postage.

Treasurer Sally Turner: Passed out copies of the proposed budget.  Earline has donated to club the Cherished Teddy in the wagon which was the St Jude’s fundraiser.  This will be used as a fundraiser for the club.  Also, the club also has a Signature Snowman that the club purchased to be used as a fundraiser.  The club approved the proposed budget.

The Treasure’s report is as follows:

$855.08+           Beginning balance

  382.50+          Dues paid

   15.00+           Ticket sales for Signature Snowman

350.00-            Gift Certificates for this new year

124.77-            M. Farrell’s funeral meal

    18.36-           August Postage

 759.45+           Ending balance

 

Sponsor news:  Earline has 10 t-shirts for the club that were given in response to our St. Judes donation.  She also clarified what she said last month.  There are no double punches on ornaments put in layaway at premiere – just single punches.  They have not gotten in the Disney 100^th celebration items in yet.  If you want the waterglobe, you can buy 3 cards tonight and they will hold the waterglobe for you.  The celebration starts 8/13 so they expect them anytime. The store got just 48 and they expect them to sell out.  There is also a contest for each time you use your gold crown card during the celebration from 8/13-9/30.  She also mentioned that all the Christmas Precious Moments are in.      

Earline also discussed bringing our own chairs instead of Becky renting them every month. We can store them at the store. BK Dreyer mentioned that their church is buying new chairs so the old ones are available but they do have a tendency to fold up when you’re sitting down.  Marilyn Dill is going to contact some retailers about getting a wholesale price.  In the end, BK, Marilyn and Sally are going to get together and come up with a chair solution.

Dessie Howard was vacationing and was not at the meeting but Teresa passed around a volunteer list to man the club table at Jubilee.

Terri Legrand read a letter from Hallmark for those who volunteered to help at Jubilee. 

Sally Turner has t-shirts and pins that can be checked out and sold at Jubilee.

DVIS – Debra Kirk said that next month we will bring household cleaning supplies: e.g. sponges, comet, dish soap, clothes soap, etc.

Sunshine Committee – Terri Legrand send a sympathy card to Lyndia Farrell and a get well card to Trisha Roethe who’s having still having back problems.

Georgia Tunnell asked to have some rules set about money spent on funerals.  After much discussion, the club decided that when a club member dies to donate $25 to the charity of their choice or a club sponsored charity.  

Hospitality – Next month’s volunteers are Kathy Teeters, Dana Blando, and Teresa Pattison.

There was a discussion about what to do with the t-shirts and the Hallmark Snoopy Joe Cool figurine that we got from the national club.  It was decided that these would be part of the door prized that night.  And that the Cherished Teddy raffle would end in December.

Donna Lundy, program committee, said the contest for the 10^th anniversary t-shirt design had only 2 entries so we are going to extend that for another month.  Mark Dickson is going to be her assistant. In September we are going to have the stocking contest as previously announced and the also the delayed t-shirt design contest. In October will be the Swap & Sell.

Door Prizes were won by:

$25 gift certificate – BK Dreyer

Joe Cool figurine – Doris Vivian

Gift bag donated by Debra Kirk (which turned out to be some old Dreambooks!)  – Mark Dickson

T-shirts - Jeanne Draughon, Vickie Greenwade, Marilyn Dill, Alma Wilson, Marietta Seibert, Rita Randall, Sally Turner, Kathy Teeters, Kay Schwartz, Sandra Paskvan

 

Hallmark News

The new Mitford items have a ship date from Hallmark for all the new Christmas products is September 17th.  Of course --- that is if there are no delays.

There’s a new line of Keepsake Ornaments: 'Milestones and Memories".  These are Silverplate, engravable, and come in a beautiful lined gift box.  They should be available at your local store in Late October or Early November, and will be available year-round! (Thank goodness there is a new house ornament in this line because there isn’t one in the regular line!!!)

Check out the special Christmas issue of Better Homes and Gardens – the one with the stocking on the front cover.  It has an interview with Clara Johnson Scroggins.

For those KOCC members that will be turning in a Passport at Holiday Open House (November 10-11) your special, surprise gift will be a miniature rocking horse ornament! (yea!)

Look for NEW Kiddie Car Classics to debut around Thanksgiving. These cars are in addition to the 4 new cars due out next week.

Don't forget about the October Ornament Debut --- October 6 & 7. Purchase 3 or more ornaments and receive 300 Gold Crown Bonus Points!

Next year look for a brand new ornament display format in Gold Crown stores.

 

Tidbits heard at the Jubilees

 

Here’s some info I read on the internet about upcoming ornaments:

Joanne Eschrich said the Frostlight Fairies collection will be growing with different faeries. She wanted some size variation so she has sculpted smaller, younger faeries.

Robert Chad said that a Grandfather clock to go with Santa and Mrs. Claus's chair was already sculpted. In the works is a sideboard.  He said those pieces were from an entire theme he presented of the furnishings of the Claus house. It started with an armoire with Santa's suit hanging in it (he's working on that now, too!) He said Hallmark nixed the whole theme idea, but liked Santa's chair, and after it was so popular have been picking other pieces bit by bit.

Robert Chad also mentioned that he'd be doing more of the Mary's Angels similar to the lighted complimentary piece from last year with 2 angels.

Mark Amren mentioned that the new Barbie 2001 ornament is coming out later this year, much like the porcelain Barbie 2000 (the one in the red and silver that was sold on QVC). The 2001 will be in "seafoam green with a bit of tulle" and was also designed/sculpted by Patricia Andrews. It will be sold again on QVC but club members can order it from KOCC like last year.

Joanne Eschrich said next year Snowball will be holding up Tuxedo to put a star on the tree.

Nina Aube said the next Mischievous Kittens would have something to do with an insect!

 

Bob Siedler said to look for Snoopy at a typewriter next year. Could it possibly be "It was a dark and stormy night"????

In KC, Mark Amren, the new club manager, said to start saving for 2003 which is the next big event! 

Ken Crow told me while signing my Millennium Express from last year to look out for another train ornament next year that is even more detailed than this one!!!

 

Ty News

Retirements:

8/6  Trumpet and Pugsly  buddies

8/7  Bronx Bomber Bopper

8/8  Dizzy and Hornsly Beanie Babies

 

8/8  Ty also has a SOLD OUT sign across Classy on their front page. You still should be able to get them from your favorite retailer.  People who have gotten them direct from Ty as well as from a retailer report no differences between the two.

8/12 Ty has announced a new Canadian exclusive Beanie Baby – Pierre the bear.  He is red (with possible gold specks) and has the Canadian flag on his chest.

On Ty.com 8/14, “Apply for the only credit card that comes with a Beanie.  Just use your Ty MasterCard one time, one place, anywhere in the world and I’ll send you M.C. Beanie, the Beanie Baby created by me exclusively for MasterCard.”  This is a dark brown bear which has the MasterCard logo on his nose and has yellow and red neck ribbons. You can apply for the MasterCard online at Ty.com. Offer is good thru November 30,2001. Ty has updated their site to include the new low rate offer of 1.7% for six months on transfer balances or cash advances. The APR (Annual percentage rate is 12.99% ) There is NO annual fee

8/15  Ty indroduces Footie, a UK exclusive Beanie Bopper.  (It’s a soccer player!)

On ty.com, a question was asked about anything new with the club and here was there answer:   “Get ready for lots of exciting changes. There will be a brand new club kit, exciting new exclusive offers for club members and some neat surprise. October will be here real soon and I think you'll be in for a real treat!”

 

Disney Disclaimer

I will apologize in advance for all the Disney news this month. With the Walt’s 100^th celebration at Hallmark, new DVDs being released, and my vacation to Disneyland (I’ll be there as you read this!), I’m even more revved up with Disney that usual. (hard to believe isn’t it?!)

 

Disney News

You may remember a while ago I wrote that Disney was going to re-release Beauty and the Beast on Imax.  Well it’s really going to happen on January 1, 2002.  And best of all I won’t have to travel to KC to see it like I did to see Fantasia 2000.  The Disney website has a list of the theaters that is going to show it and Tulsa is on the list! (Also KC and Dallas if you are so inclined.)

 

 

 

'Mickey Mouse: The Evolution, The Legend, The Phenomenon!'

from hallmark.com

Joyce Clyde Hall and his brothers formed Hall Brothers as a postcard company in Kansas City. By the start of World War I, fold-over greeting cards with an envelope gained favor and the Hall brothers threw their hats into the ring. Hall Brothers Company was one of the very earliest licensees for Mickey Mouse. A birthday card featuring Mickey Mouse in the Hallmark Archives is dated August 14, 1931. Holiday cards featuring Mickey prove he soon became a Mouse for all seasons.

Mr. Hall's correspondence from those same archives further supports that he maintained both a business relationship and warm friendship with Walt Disney himself throughout the years. They had much in common, including Kansas City beginnings; Disney studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. Laugh-O-gram films, Inc., Disney's first independent production studio, was located in midtown Kansas City. That building, which is quite close to Hallmark headquarters, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Disney and Mickey were in good company at Hallmark. Others who had their artwork reproduced on Hallmark cards included Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, Salvador Dali, Georgia O'Keefe, Winston Churchill, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Pablo Picasso - all of these leading to the famous Hallmark slogan, "When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best."

Hallmark.com thanks author Robert Heide for sharing research from his new book, "Mickey Mouse: The Evolution, The Legend, The Phenomenon!" for the preparation of this article.

 

Hallmark Gold Crown Card Swipestakes

WIN a celebration at  the Walt Disney World®  Resort

The Walt Disney World® Resort is marking the 100th birthday of Walt Disney, the man who started it all, and we’re giving you the chance to be a part of this celebration.

Now through September 30, whenever you use your Gold Crown Card to make a purchase at a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, 1-800-HALLMARK, or Hallmark.com, you’ll automatically be entered to win a trip for you and nine guests to the Walt Disney World 100 Years of Magic Celebration. No Purchase Necessary.

           

Disney opens Treasures chest

By Scott Hettrick

AUG. 10 | Leonard Maltin will host and conduct interviews for a treasure chest full of collectible Disney TV shows and animated theatrical shorts being packaged by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in a four-volume set on Dec. 4 called Walt Disney Treasures.

The release, which coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Dec. 5 birth date of Walt Disney, will include the first release on DVD or laserdisc of 26 color Mickey Mouse classic cartoon shorts from the mid-'30s. Mickey Mouse in Living Color, like all of the four discs, is introduced by Maltin and features an Easter egg. It also includes a featurette hosted by Maltin, Mickey in Living Color, and pencil tests for three cartoons.

And that's just one of the discs.

Another will feature 36 Silly Symphonies animated shorts. That disc also includes an art gallery and conversations Maltin had with Richard Sherman, half of the Academy Award-winning Sherman Brothers songwriting team, and legendary Disney archivist Dave Smith.

The third disc presents all five TV episodes of the Davy Crockett miniseries that was eventually recut into a theatrical release. In addition to a featurette hosted by Maltin on the Crockett craze of the '50s, the disc includes a conversation between Maltin and Crockett star Fess Parker.

The fourth disc, Disneyland USA, will showcase a collection of episodes from the original weekly anthology TV program hosted by Walt Disney. It also includes a featurette, The Magic Kingdom and the Magic of Television, and a still art gallery.

The decision about what to include on the Mickey Mouse in Living Color disc was not simple. Lori MacPherson, VP of marketing at Buena Vista, said several factors played into the move to feature Mickey shorts from The Band Concert in 1932 to The Brave Little Tailor in 1936.

Although the four-volume collection is designed to appeal to hardcore Disney collectors, the specific Mickey cartoons included are neither the most historic nor the most notable. The earliest black-and-white Mickey cartoons, including Plane Crazy (the first) and Steamboat Willie (the first talkie), were released years ago on laserdisc. MacPherson said the studio recognized that because most of the first DVD buyers are also laserdisc owners, many already have the black-and-white cartoons and have been requesting the color cartoons.

Rather than put out a DVD version of something already available on another format, Disney decided to release the new product first. She said the intent is to eventually release every cartoon Disney ever produced.

 

Mantle, Mays and AOL Discs

By Louise Knapp  Wired News

Some people collect stamps, while others fill their homes with Beanie Babies or Pez dispensers.

Well, now there's a new gang in town -- people who collect America Online's shiny CDs.

The number of people who collect AOL's free installation discs is small but growing.

Containing software to connect to AOL's online service, the installation discs have been sent out in the millions through the mail or glued to the covers of magazines and cereal boxes.

Most people toss the free CDs in the trash. But for some, hunting down a rare limited-edition disc is a consuming passion.

"It rules my life," said Sparky Haufle, an avid collector from Bellingham, Washington. "I just had to go out and buy five boxes of Cheerios to collect the latest discs put out. I've put so much time and money and energy into it, I can't get out now."

"I don't even like AOL," said Martin Smith, another collector from Jacksonville, Florida. "AOL sucks. The fun part of it is going out and finding new discs."

Since 1993, AOL has distributed millions of the discs all over the world. How many, the company refuses to say.

Most of the discs simply say AOL, but some have unusual and colorful designs.

Over the years, AOL has released discs with every kind of product, movie and sports tie-in imaginable, from Michael Jordan and Spider Man, to Target stores and the Oscars.

"I don't know why I collect them, it's a weird hobby," said Mike Chang, a 16-year-old collector from Los Angeles. "You just want to find them all. They are only worth something to people who collect them. To the general public they are useless, not worth anything."

For years, AOL's discs were saved by only a handful of hardcore collectors. But as the discs age -- the earliest ones are now eight years old -- they increase in rarity and value.

In the last couple of years, the number of collectors has mushroomed to a few dozen worldwide.

Discussion groups like Yahoo's AOL Collectors Club and eBay are little hotbeds of trading activity.

Haufle, a 54-year-old banking executive, claims to have one of the largest collections in the world, with about 1,000 unique discs.

"Most people think I'm really stupid," he said. "They ask why I collect such a dumb thing. But just look at baseball cards -- they're just cardboard."

Haufle is so serious about his hobby, he keeps profiles on other collectors.

He also has a website for trading his trophies.

"It's like an Easter egg hunt," he said. "There's a moment of excitement as you find one. You keep hoping that you will find the granddaddy of them all."

Which disc is the granddaddy of them all, Haufle can't say.

In the absence of any records, no one knows which is the rarest AOL disc.

Perhaps it is a 1988 Denver Bronco's Superbowl disc, which was given only to people who attended the game.

Haufle spent $52 to get one on eBay, the most he has paid for a disc.

Another avid collector is Bustam "The Leader" Halim. Halim has 750 unique discs, which he proudly displays on shelves built specially to show off his prizes.

"The best place to find these discs is from people," Halim said. "I ask everyone I know: the guy who fixes my car, the guy I rent a video from, my chiropractor."

"The Leader has contacts all over creation," said his friend Smith, the collector from Florida.

Like Haufle, Halim admits that his collection has become an obsession. Despite this, he refuses to pay more than $2 for a disc.

"Eighty percent of my collection I got for free," he proudly boasts. "The most expensive one I bought was $10 and I regret spending that because I got another copy for free from a friend. By using all my contacts I can eventually track them down for free somewhere."

Nonetheless, Halim, a 29-year-old computer technician from Oakland, California, has spent more than $1,000 on shipping charges.

"I deal with a lot of other countries," Halim said. "I like to ship by airmail and that gets expensive."

Halim said part of the appeal is the artwork on the discs, but mainly it's the competition with other collectors.

"I don't want AOL to just send me the discs," he said. "If they just sent them to me then the collection would have no meaning anymore. The point of collecting is hunting down the new disc."

Halim started collecting three years ago.

"I used to collect comics but I kept getting the discs for free in the mail," he said. "The comics started to get really expensive and the CDs look good too, so I switched."

Halim's extensive website is full of useful tips on how to preserve and collect his "babies," as he calls them.

The practice of using the discs as coasters, common among the non-collecting public, fills him with horror.

And the growing popularity of collecting the discs has him worried.

"If it gets too popular then it will get harder to track down the CDs for free," he said.

Nicholas Graham, an AOL spokesman, said as long as people keep installing the software, the company is glad the discs are becoming collector's items.

"As long as the collecting is done in good taste and reason, with no copyright infringement, then we are happy people enjoy collecting them," he said.

Shopping: Online Cure for the Birthday Blues

By Jan Paschal

Saturday August 18 10:52 AM ET

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Too many birthdays, too little time. If you forget to send a card or gift to some folks on your list, you might as well have committed a crime.

Yeah, you've got the birthday blues, baby.

Those old blues hit hard in August, when about 21 million Americans celebrate birthdays -- more than in any other month, according to U.S. Census Bureau (news - web sites) data.

``August is the top birthday month,'' said Linda Odell, spokeswoman for Hallmark Cards, Inc., the No. 1 U.S. maker of greeting cards. ``One year, July surpassed August. But with August, it's been fairly consistent, since we've been keeping the numbers,'' for the past 10 years.

But the online arm of Hallmark, whose biggest rival is American Greetings Corp. (NYSE:AM - news), offers some clever ways to prevent ``birthday amnesia'' -- or save face right away if you realize you've suffered a memory lapse.

``Our slogan for years has been, 'When you care enough to send the very best,''' John Sullivan told Reuters.

``Our slogan online is: 'We'll help you REMEMBER to send the very best, anywhere from a free greeting card on the site to a gift product for $100 or more.''

Sullivan, senior vice president for Internet commerce at Hallmark Cards, the privately held greeting card behemoth based in Kansas City, Missouri, said the starting point is free: register at Hallmark.com (http://www.hallmark.com).

``You can upload your address book from your Palm Pilot,'' Sullivan said, citing an example of how easy it is for the time-stressed to use Hallmark's online service.

``Then you can put on as many features as you want -- a reminder service for all the key birthdays and anniversaries on your list,'' he said. ``We'll send you an e-mail reminder the week before the event. Perhaps a reminder two weeks before would be even more helpful.''

Once your memory has been nudged, your shopping choices at Hallmark.com range ``anywhere from an e-card free on the site to a gift product for $100 or more,'' Sullivan said.

Flowers delivered the next day, new collectibles featuring Mickey Mouse and other beloved characters from the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - news) to celebrate Walt's 100th birthday, and gift certificates are among the options that harried shoppers can buy quickly at Hallmark.com.

Such services would have saved the day last August for my youngest brother, a lawyer who got caught up in trying a big case. He forgot Mom's birthday -- until the end of her special day, when he called her, and presumably made amends.

A male colleague's reaction? In his view, my brother is lucky he didn't wind up in jail -- for contempt of motherhood!

And just so my brother won't persuade a judge to throw the book at me: Three out of 10 women have forgotten birthdays -- yes, sometimes even their mom's or dad's birthday -- according to a recent national survey by Hallmark.com.

ON THE GIFT WISH EXPRESS

With Gift Wish, a new service, Hallmark.com lets you select a gift certificate redeemable for shopping, dinner, hotel and other travel services, videos and books at a place chosen by the gift recipient, Sullivan explained.

``There's a PIN number attached to the e-card,'' he said. ``Go to the site and type in the PIN number. Within three days, the gift certificate will be mailed'' to the recipient's address.

Participants include about 400 U.S. merchants, ranging from Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's to Target, The Sharper Image, Chili's, Marriott Hotels, Galyan's sporting goods, Borders Books and Music -- and Hallmark Gold Crown stores, of course.

To use the Gift Wish service, go to Hallmark.com and click on the ``Free E-Cards'' section, which includes this low-key note below the picture: ``New! Attach a gift certificate.''

So far, these gift certificates can be redeemed only in a brick-and-mortar store, restaurant or business, Sullivan said.

``We're going to be introducing some limited online redemption ability between now and year end, in time for the holidays,'' he said. ``It will be limited to a couple hundred vendors.''

Another gift certificate option from Hallmark.com: The giver can select the store where the gift certificate is redeemed by going to the top of Web site's home page and clicking on ``Gift Certificates.'' The gift certificate will be sealed in a Hallmark card; same-day shipping available for orders placed before 2 p.m. central time.

One option for birthdays that Sullivan predicted also will be popular for the holidays: If you want to send a paper card (or a big batch of them) and you don't have time to do it yourself, upload your address book to Hallmark.Com and let their elves take care of the rest.

A RETAIL GOLD MINE ONLINE

The convenience of sending online greeting cards and buying gifts online to stay in touch with a far-flung network of family, friends and business contacts obviously has caught on with American consumers.

AmericanGreetings.com ranked No. 1 in July among the top 10 retail-flowers/gifts/greetings Web sites, with 7.098 million unique visitors, and Hallmark.com ranked No. 2, with 2.271 million visitors, according to Jupiter Media Metrix Inc., a leading Internet research firm.

``On average, we have over 100,000 people a day coming in and sending electronic cards,'' Sullivan said.

In comparison, the entire U.S. greeting card industry, in which Hallmark has a 55 percent market share, is so big that close to 7 billion paper greeting cards are sent each year.

 

Campaign to launch Hallmark Channel is marked by humor

By JENNIFER MANN - The Kansas City Star
Date: 08/21/01

The launch of the Hallmark Channel, a television network owned by Crown Media Inc. and with ties to Hallmark Cards Inc., has been a departure from Hallmark's usual warm and fuzzy advertising approach.

Instead, the campaign incorporates a good dose of humor, primarily in its television and radio spots.

The one most widely run is a spot titled "Surgeon."

It opens with a shot of a hospital operating room with the requisite wide-eyed, edgy patient cowering on a gurney. The heart surgeon asks him, "Nervous, son?" To which the patient whimpers, "Yeah."

The surgeon smiles and soothingly launches into a little speech.

"You probably feel the same way Glenn Close's character did when she first set eyes on Kansas in `Sarah, Plain and Tall.' Helpless. Friendless. But then she met the lonely widower Jacob, as played by Christopher Walken.

"In time," he continues, "she opened up his heart" -- and then snapping back to the present -- "much like I'm going to do to you today!"

With that, he pats the patient on the cheek and snaps down his surgical visor.

The commercial then goes into a montage of shots from programs that will air on the Hallmark Channel, with the voice-over: "The best stories stay with you long after the TV is turned off."

But we're not yet done with our hapless patient, who asks the nurse whether he's competent -- meaning the surgeon. Her reply: "Christopher Walken? He was excellent in that role!"

Chris Moseley, executive vice president of worldwide marketing for the Hallmark Channel, said the challenge in the campaign was educating the consumer.

"Obviously, there's tremendous equity in the Hallmark name, so we didn't have that hurdle to deal with, but we wanted to let the consumer know that this is more broad-ranging program content than what they might be familiar with through the `Hallmark Hall of Fame' series," Moseley said.

There's always the cutting-through-the-clutter challenge, which is part of the reason that the campaign incorporated humor, Moseley said.

A toll-free number in some of the campaign's ads, including print ads in consumer magazines, allows people to call to find out where they can find the Hallmark Channel in their area.

Moseley said response to the campaign had been strong, with more than 50,000 calls to the toll-free number.

"We're getting a lot of awareness from the campaign," Moseley said. "I don't have any data yet, but anecdotally we seem to be breaking through."

The toll-free number to find out where to find the Hallmark Channel in your area is 1-866-4HALLMARK.

 

DirecTV will carry Hallmark Channel

By JENNIFER MANN - The Kansas City Star
Date: 08/21/01

The number of television viewers who will be able to tune to Crown Media Holdings Inc.'s Hallmark Channel got a boost Tuesday when the owner of DirecTV agreed to carry the channel in return for a 4.7 percent stake in the network.

The agreement will widen the reach of the Hallmark Channel by about 10 million households to 40 million, or a little less than half of the homes in the United States that have pay television. Access to the Hallmark Channel for DirecTV customers is expected by the end of September.

With Tuesday's deal, Hughes Electronics Corp., the owner of DirecTV, will receive 5.4 million shares of the cable television network operator. As of Tuesday, when Crown Media's stock closed at $15.45, up 50 cents, that stake was worth more than $83 million.

The Hallmark Channel, formerly called the Odyssey Network, was launched Aug. 5. Hallmark Cards Inc. is a large shareholder in Crown Media, which is based in Greenwood, Colo.

Crown Media completed a deal last month to buy about 700 films from a division of Hallmark Entertainment for $820 million in stock and assumption of debt. Hallmark Entertainment is a division of Hallmark Cards.

"Our customers have come to expect compelling programming," said Roxanne Austin, president and chief operating officer of DirecTV. "Customers will benefit from the added value and enhancements that the Hallmark Channel delivers to its network."

As a part of the agreement, DirecTV and the Hallmark Channel will initiate projects, including exploring the feasibility of pay-per-view for what the Hallmark Channel calls long-form movies, or anything longer than a one-hour drama.

The two entities are also working on a "V greeting" that would allow people to customize and incorporate video into interactive greetings.

They also plan to bring officials from Hallmark subsidiary Binney & Smith into discussions about opportunities involving the Crayola brand.

 

Hallmark teams with American Girls for new product line

By JENNIFER MANN - The Kansas City Star
Date: 08/21/01

Hallmark Cards Inc. has gained exclusive rights to produce a range of products inspired by the popular American Girls Collection.

The product line will feature greeting cards, gift wrap, partyware, stationery, ornaments, gifts and more. The products will be available starting in September 2002.

The American Girls line of historical dolls is owned and developed by Pleasant Co., a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. More than 7 million of the dolls have been sold since being introduced in 1986.

The company has also sold more than 74 million American Girls books since 1986, making Pleasant Co. Publications one of the top children's publishers.

Both the books and dolls are meant to "educate and entertain girls with high-quality products and experiences that build self-esteem and reinforce positive social and moral values," according to the company's mission statement.

The primary line of dolls are for girls age 7 to 12.

The company's American Girl Place, a 35,000-square-foot retail outlet that opened in downtown Chicago in 1998, had more than 750,000 visitors its first year. The store, which has become a tourist destination, has elaborate doll displays with historical context, a tea room, clothing and accessories.

To further the reach of the American Girls brand, the 5,000 Hallmark Gold Crown stores will have in-store boutiques that will feature the products developed by Hallmark incorporating the dolls' identity. The Gold Crown stores will also carry an assortment of books from The American Girls Collection.

The products developed by Hallmark will also be available through Pleasant Co.'s catalog, Web site and the American Girl Place outlet in Chicago. The dolls, however, will still only be sold through Pleasant Co.'s distribution channels.

"Fans of the beloved American Girls ... will find Hallmark has stayed true to the characters in the book series," said Peggy Bruce, a product manager with Hallmark's licensing unit.