Bringing An End to Thoughtless Card-Buying

Greetings cards—something we often feel obliged to buy, but secretly enjoy. That’s what makes the card market so interesting. Going into this project, we were curious about the varied attitudes and behaviours of card buyers. Why do some prefer online over shop-bought? Who loves it, and who finds it a chore? Could we shift these habits? Are greetings cards fading away, or are they primed for a revival?

Thortful had big growth ambitions and needed clear answers. We designed a multi-phase study to explore usage, attitudes, market sizing, segmentation, and brand health. Before diving in, we ran a pilot study to enrich our understanding of the market, gathering insights into existing thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. We also collaborated closely with the Thortful team to weave in their perspectives and key needs, ensuring our survey was built on a strong foundation of existing insight.

Stage one was all about balancing depth and engagement. We covered a lot of ground in a single survey, making it as engaging as possible with varied question types, a smooth flow, and well-crafted scripting. The result? High-quality data, thoughtful verbatim responses, and clear segmentation with high replicability. It allowed us to craft a story from the data naturally, focusing on the people behind the stats and identifying key opportunities for Thortful—without drowning in numbers.

The clarity of the data allowed for actionable, strategic recommendations. Thortful is already integrating these insights into their operational and marketing strategies, from creative direction to pricing. Next up, we’ll take it a step further with qualitative focus groups, meeting our target segments face to face to deepen our understanding and keep Thortful growing.