 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
|
Pat Sandy
|
 |
Click on the image to download
|
Cleveland, Ohio (June 2007) – As a 24-year veteran artist and writer, Pat Sandy has gotten to see first hand how the definition of “funny” has changed over the years and how it continues to evolve every day. Sandy, the Program Director of Humorous Card Planning at American Greetings, brought his extensive experience to an in-depth consumer research project recently completed at the card company to learn more about what is funny today. The results helped Sandy and his team to shape a new direction in the company’s funny cards, and it led to him working with one of the funniest ladies around, Ellen DeGeneres.
The veteran artist and writer explained how the Creative team takes great efforts to make sure it is on top of funny trends in society, however he also noted that nothing is more useful than direct feedback from consumers.
”For every occasion we are charged with creating funny cards that resonate with consumers and their different personalities and tastes,” Sandy said. “We routinely monitor everything from television shows and movies to stand up comedy routines and political cartoons to get a feel for what people are laughing at. However, getting to sit down and talk to the consumer is hugely important to us, and it gives us tremendous insight into what they want to see.”
The year-round work of the Creative team combined with the recent consumer research prompted Sandy and the humor team at American Greetings to try a new approach to creating the company’s funny cards. “We received a tremendous amount of insight from the deep dive we took into humor, and we were inspired to do something completely new with our funny cards this year,” Sandy said. “Through the research we found that a majority of card buyers like humor that is based on real-life, everyday situations, so there is a big focus on funny, everyday-life occurrences in the cards you see in stores today.”
In addition to his roles in the research and execution of this funny initiative, Sandy was also a key member on the team that developed an exclusive greeting card line with Ellen DeGeneres, called theellen collection™ . The new 32-card program features the quirky signature wit of the award-winning comedian and popular daytime talk show host. Sandy and the Creative group collaborated with DeGeneres and her creative team to work on transferring her unique comedic style to greeting cards.
“Working on the cards was a collaborative effort,” Sandy said. “The initial phase involved gathering humorous material and creative direction from Ellen’s team to ensure the final product would be an authentic reflection of her unique style, personality and trademark sense of humor that is based on finding the humor in everyday life.”
Once the Creative team had collaborated on an editorial direction for the ellen collection, the next step was to be sure to get the perfect look for the cards, Sandy noted. “We worked with a very talented in-house design team, to bring Ellen’s personality to life in greeting cards,” he said. “We developed a special color palette and overall look for the program, and worked on applying her humorous situations to a balanced mix of occasions. Ellen’s fans will find that the new cards really capture her quirky style and charm.”
