American Greetings Offers New Card Programs Designed Specifically for Hispanic Population

CLEVELAND, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- American Greetings is introducing fresh, exciting new card programs specific to the Hispanic population -- the fastest growing minority in the United States.

Spanish Soft Touch,(TM) Momentos de Inspiracion,(TM) intuiciones,(TM) Karlitos Koala,(TM) and Design Studio ... En Espanol(TM) programs are making a big impact on the Hispanic consumer by using trendy themes, Spanish text and contemporary photographic and "cute look" images.

The cards marketed under the Company's Carlton brand include birthday, birthday love, friendship and romantic messages. For example, one Karlitos Koala romantic birthday card translated in English reads, "Know what I love the most about you? Everything! Happy Birthday."

American Greetings also offers Spanish greeting cards for virtually every holiday and occasion including Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Graduation, Three Kings Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Secretaries Day, Quinceanera (a girl's 15th birthday), Dia del Santo (Saints Day, a day celebrating a person's name-sake saint), and Comadres and Compadres, which acknowledges the close relationship between a child's parents and godparents. The cards also reflect other cultural-specific references
including the importance of religious events and the matriarchal role in the Hispanic family.

Reflecting a commitment to addressing Hispanic-specific customs and values as well as the varied dialects and cultures of a diverse Hispanic population, the Spanish card team at American Greetings consists of editors from Chile, Peru and Puerto Rico. American Greetings ethnic product management representative Michele Chapuis notes, "The anticipated success of these programs is exciting. Our research shows that having a variety of Spanish cards to choose from is imperative to the Hispanic consumer, who prefers to
communicate sentiments through greeting cards."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population has grown by 60 percent since 1986, and now totals 35.3 million. The U.S. is the fifth- largest Spanish speaking country in the world. The Hispanic Market Study conducted by the Strategic Research Corporation, states that one in every five U.S. residents will be of Hispanic origin by the year 2020.