Charity Christmas cards popular among Finns
|
|
|
Increasing numbers of Finns are favouring charitable organisations when buying Christmas cards.
About half of the cards manufactured by Karto, the largest printer of Christmas cards, and just over a third of cards printed by Paletti, benefit a worthy cause of some kind.
There is great variation in how much of the price of a card ends up with the charitable organisation itself.
Between 40 and 70% of the sales price of cards that are bought directly from the charity, or on the Internet, or by mail order, go to benefit the cause.
For cards sold in supermarkets or book stores, the figure is much lower - usually just 10%.
Nevertheless, charitable organisations feel that retail sales at ordinary shops are important. Other means of distribution depend largely on volunteers.
"Shops have a longer season, and through them we get much visibility", says Tuula Vikman, head of sales at UNICEF Finland.
This year is the first in which the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) sells its Christmas cards in ordinary shops. The move has led to considerable growth in sales.
"In addition to our own sales, we wanted to find easy sales outlets where even a busy passer-by can find a card", says MLL communications director Juha Aromaa.
When cards are sold directly by MLL and the Finnish Red Cross, 75% of the sales price goes to benefit aid work. With UNICEF, the proportion is 40%.
When Red Cross and UNICEF cards are sold in shops, only 10% of the retail price goes to the organisations. MLL does not want to reveal the exact figure, but it is in the same neighbourhood as the others.
UNICEF is the only organisation which reveals the percentage of the sales price that goes to the organisation on the card itself.
Helping children often appeals to buyers of Christmas cards. According to market research, a typical buyer of a card is a woman between the ages of 34 and 45.
The most important consideration for choosing a Christmas card is the picture. Then comes the text, and then the organisation benefiting from the sale.
Some companies have opted for electronic Christmas cards, which allow the recipient to click and choose which charitable organisation he or she wants to support. However, ordinary Christmas cards have not lost their popularity.
"E-mails and SMS messages are easily deleted. Many people save their Christmas cards for years", notes Pauliina Silvennoinen of Karto.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 16.12.2004 - TODAY |
 Charity Christmas cards popular among Finns |
|
