Hallmark
Inducted in 1999

"When you care enough to send the very best"

The Hallmark brand phenomenon began in 1910 when company founder Joyce C. Hall started selling post cards out of a Kansas City, Missouri, YMCA room. From the company's humble beginnings through today, Hallmark Cards consistently has stood for two things: helping people show they care and quality. In 1928, Hall was intrigued by something he read: A 14th century London goldsmith used a "hall mark" to guarantee the purity of every gold and silver article made. This led Hall to change the name of his company from "Hall Brothers" to "Hallmark" to better connote quality. Hall, by consistently focusing on quality and the consumer, laid a foundation for one of the nation's most recognized and most trusted brands - the Hallmark brand.

Despite a lack of enthusiasm from advertising agencies, Hallmark was the first company to advertise a brand name of greeting cards. In 1928, Hall wrote the first Hallmark advertisement, which appeared in Ladies' Home Journal magazine. In 1938, the company turned its attention to the broadcast media and began advertising greeting cards on "Tony Wons' Radio Scrapbook," which aired on Chicago's WMAQ. The advertisements featured Wons reading sentiments from Hallmark cards and encouraging listeners to look for the Hallmark name on the card back. This successful concept followed the Wons show to network radio in 1941 and, in 1944, Hall introduced "When you care enough to send the very best," a slogan that would further promote the brand name and also emphasize quality. Today, the Hallmark slogan remains one of the nation's most recognized slogans as well as a statement of its business commitment.

In 1951, Hallmark moved to television and created the Hallmark Hall of Fame television series. It remains the longest running and most honored television series in history with more than 200 dramatic presentations to its credit at the end of 1998. The programs combine top entertainment with top quality to support the company's goal of associating the Hallmark name with quality and good taste.

Today, Hallmark remains the leader in the greeting card industry and the Hallmark name, its logo and slogan consistently rank in the upper 90 percents in brand recognition in independent surveys. By consistently communicating and delivering upon Hallmark's promise of helping people show they care through the very best quality products, the company has created a deeply embedded positive impression in the collective mind of the American consumer. Like a coat of arms passed down from generation to generation, current Hallmark personnel have inherited a valuable symbol - the Hallmark crown - and a brand that carries a clear, uniquely differentiated, and consistently positive meaning to the consumer.

This is no small legacy. If Hallmark continues to "live the brand" and execute its communications consistent with its established values and proven formula, the future success of its brand is guaranteed.