Hallmark Introduces Interactive Children’s Web Site and Easter Cards
HallmarkPark.com provides unique place for families to connect
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (March 12, 2008) — Giving a greeting card becomes child’s play this Easter season as Hallmark launches HallmarkPark.com, a new interactive web site and greeting card collection.
The nine Easter cards in the collection, available at Hallmark Gold Crown® stores, feature a web address for Hallmark’s new interactive children’s web site, www.HallmarkPark.com, and secret codes that can be used to earn bonus prizes within the virtual amusement park on the site. Although anyone can log on and play at HallmarkPark.com, their experience is enhanced with the special codes found on the cards.
“Hallmark Park offers consumers a fun way to stay connected with their family and friends,” explains Jamie Mathewson, assistant product manager. “It includes games, activities and a chat feature – all in a wholesome environment.”
HallmarkPark.com is a year-round program with new card introductions available during various seasons throughout the year. Each collection will have new codes so kids can earn new virtual prizes on the site.
The web site will change with each season, as well. “We want kids to be excited about the changes coming to the web site and the traditions of each season,” Mathewson says.
HallmarkPark.com offers the ability to create your own avatar (or character), play interactive games, and earn tickets and currency to exchange for park items and clothing for the avatar. Initially, games include Jiggly Jelly Beans and Galactic Grab, with new features added regularly. The activities will change as the seasons change.
Players may interact with friends and family members through chat options and avatar-to-avatar competitions. Currently, all Hallmark Park chat is preset. Children choose fun phrases from the Chat-o-Matic menu. No typed, personal messages are allowed.
“We've included plenty of silly and creative options to make Chat-o-Matic a fun choice for kids,” Mathewson says. “Hallmark is in the connecting business, and we know kids enjoy connecting with friends and family online. It’s our privilege to provide a friendly environment for this interaction.”
The site will continue to be enhanced and developed as time goes on. Planned features coming later in the spring will include a post office where players can send and receive mail, as well as the ability to create and send virtual cards and invitations, and to give gifts from a virtual Hallmark shop.
About Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Kansas City-based Hallmark is known throughout the world for its greeting cards, related personal expression products, and television’s most honored and enduring dramatic series, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The company’s Crayola® subsidiary provides fun and imaginative ways for children to colorfully express themselves. The company publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in more than 100 countries. In 2006, Hallmark reported consolidated net revenues of $4.1 billion.