Generally, Christmas cards are designed to be delivered for a particular occasion. From the beginning, Christmas cards have been avidly collected. In December 2005, one of Horsley's original cards sold for nearly £9000. The Christmas card that holds the world record as the most expensive ever sold was a card produced in 1843 by JC Horsley and commissioned by Bath businessman Sir Henry Cole.
In the 1840s, with Queen Victoria Christmas cards began its journey officially. Many businesses, from small local businesses to multi-national enterprises send Christmas cards to the people on their customer lists, as a way to develop general goodwill, retain brand awareness and reinforce social networks. Many organizations produce special Christmas cards as a fundraising tool. The production of Christmas cards was, throughout the 20th century, a profitable business for many stationery manufacturers, with the design of Christmas cards continually evolving with changing tastes and printing. In recent decades changes in technology may be responsible for the decline of the Christmas cards. The estimated number of cards received by American households dropped from 29 in 1987 to 20 in 2004. Email and telephones allow for more frequent contact and are easier for generations raised without handwritten letters - especially given the availability of websites offering free email Christmas cards. Despite the decline, 1.9 billion cards were sent in the U.S. in 2005 alone. Some card manufacturers now provide ecards.
To provide a good Christmas ecards service to its card senders and card recipients it must be ensured that people do not try to send ecards from false addresses by taking detailed information on the ecards sender. The marketers make money offering the users free Christmas ecards service in exchange for viewing adverts which is a fair trade off. The revenue is then used to improve the site and make new ecards. Many companies are wrapping up ecards, which are cheaper, greener and more versatile than traditional cards and often look more sophisticated. Now that people have grown more agile with online video, point-and-click Christmas cards and holiday greetings online or ecards have become a new palette for creativity, while static paper cards may induce a wince rather than a joyful noise.
When the time comes to design traditional Christmas cards, “usually I go, ‘Oh, God, not the Christmas card again.’ It either oversteps the bounds of good taste or is boring,” said Brad Brinegar, the chairman and chief executive of McKinney, an advertising agency based in Durham, N.C. Even among friends and family members, ecards are gaining popularity as people send less postal mail and grow more accustomed to living their lives online.
Ecards are being widely accepted now-a-days, especially in the corporate world. Sending ecards is “a form of social networking — you want to send ecards to your colleagues,” said Ann Marie Sabath, who runs a company that gives lessons in business etiquette. Ecards are more elusive. Hallmark estimates that about 300 million ecards are sent every year; while American Greetings, one of the largest ecard makers, saw a 10 percent increase in traffic to sites recently. According to ComScore Media Metrix, 39.7 million people visited ecard sites in November 2008. Indisputably, the current traffic regarding online Christmas cards and ecards will boost up soon offering new businesses.
Author Resource:-
Sam Allcock is a specialist in providing Christmas cards for all of us. Sam Allcock has been providing ecards.
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