In Jamaica, 2009 was the year of the e-card

This year apparently everyone in business circles discovered digital holiday greeting cards, more commonly known as e-cards. They came in all sizes and shapes, some with music, some with animation. Many were template issues, but all had some unique feature that distinguished the sender. A few came from people who are tree friendly, but mostly, we are told, it was a way of saving printing costs.

The e-cards came not only from corporate Jamaica and public sector agencies, but many individuals Panmedia do business with sent their greetings electronically. Of course, one unintended consequence was that these e-cards clogged up our mailbox, and some showed up as corrupt files.

Panmedia has sent digital designs of some sort to our clients for the past three years. These are meant to be Xmas gifts, so they are designed to be passed on in some way. Two years ago we sent animated versions of clients’ logos so they could use it in their presentations. In 2008, we designed an animated e-card that was a big hit. Some called and asked for “adjustments” while others put in orders for separate e-cards for specific purposes.

This year we started early with an idea that came from Alex Morrissey, Donnett Smith and Russell Meghoo. We created digital wallpaper as greeting cards with the clients’ logos so that they could send these to their clients. Despite the pains we took to send clear instructions on how to do it, however, all did not go smoothly. Many recipients were simply baffled and could not figure out what to do with the wallpaper. In the end, we called up clients and explained on the telephone how it should work.