Hallmark unveils mobile strategy

Mobile love

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, Hallmark has beefed up its mobile offerings as an executive reveals in this exclusive interview with Mobile Marketer. The hoops&yoyo application, Fun @ Work, features games and videos, joins Hallmark’s other mobile initiatives, mobile greeting cards fromhttp://www.mobile.hallmark.com. Mobile Marketer’s Chris Harnick spoke with Mike Adams, Kansas City, MO-based manager of mobile at Hallmark, and Jodi Schade, vice president of licensing at Hallmark, about the greeting card giant’s mobile strategies.

What is Hallmark’s mobile strategy?
Mr. Adams: Hallmark is a company that helps people connect whenever and wherever they are, whether it's through the mail, through the computer or through a cell phone.

A Hallmark mobile card

What challenges does mobile address for Hallmark?
Mr. Adams: Hallmark Mobile Greetings were developed because we recognize that oftentimes people want to connect with one another right in the moment, wherever they are.

There was a gap of "in the moment" communications that this product can address.

The hoops&yoyo app

Hallmark launched Mobile Greetings in June 2009. There is also a steady rise in attention given to this property online through Facebook – over 76,000 hoops&yoyo fans on the official Fan Page – and a steady flow of traffic on the characters official blog. An iPhone app was the next logical step in expanding the awareness of the characters and their brand of humor.

Today’s generation and especially a growing mobile-friendly population expects the ability to access their favorite characters on all platforms and we wanted to make sure that happened quickly in the first quarter of 2010.

How are the offerings monetized, does the app feature ads?
Mr. Adams: Hallmark Mobile Greetings are $0.99.

The sender is only charged if the recipient opens the mobile greeting. The fees are billed as part of your monthly service-provider charges. The Hallmark Mobile Greetings application itself is available free of charge, though standard data rates may apply to download.

Ms. Schade: The hoops&yoyo iPhone app is free and was launched to build awareness of the hoops&yoyo brand.