GCA members came together in Nottingham on 29th September 2022 to celebrate our wonderful industry, listen to a series of inspirational speakers and network and catch up with industry friends.
The event took place at Nottingham Trent University, a fitting location to welcome Uni lecturers and students for the launch of our GCA Graduation Open Call project.
The day included discussion about the key issues affecting our industry, plus details from the latest annual Market Report, along with consumer insights from consumer specialists Kantar. As reported in PGBuzz the day was “fuelled by a super-charged spirit of camaraderie”.
Summary of the day
CEO Amanda Fergusson and president Chris Bryan welcomed everyone to Nottingham Trent University, reflecting on past year and the work the GCA were doing to support members. Amanda shared an update on the GCA governance, with members voting to accept the proposed updates to the GCA Articles of Association following communication in July 2022.
The GCA also said thank you to long serving Council members Ged Mace and Raj Arora, and welcomed new Council members Rebecca Green co-owner of Raspberry Blossom, Sarah Jackson owner of Bristol based publisher Stormy Knight, and Nick Carey managing director of Abacus Cards.
Amanda thanked our sponsors, who are all GCA supplier members so already working with, and recommended by, other GCA members: 2WL, Fedrigoni, Skylight Media, Graphite Creative, Entwistle, Hyve, N-Smith, GF Smith and Aspin. All are also specialists in providing the services that they offer, during breaks members had the opportunity to meet and speak to the sponsors.
GCA Update
Amanda highlighted the work the GCA has been doing to promote and protect our industry, and also sharing key information, resources and support to help members’ build their business.
The update included highlights from 2022 Thinking of You Week campaign, especially poignant with the Queen’s recent death. The Consumer Campaign reached over 260,000 consumers and the Thinking of You Week School project saw over 3000 children in the UK and Ghana exchange cards to date. Also we had more retailers than ever taking part, including Tesco’s Sainsburys, Clintons, Scribbler, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, House of Cards, Stationery Supplies, Co-op and Moonpig, plus the Royal Mail Stamp cancelling mark went out on all mail after the Queen’s funeral. Some great publisher initiatives are listed on ToYW News feed.
The opportunities & benefits for members to get involved in GCA marketing activity was highlighted, next up being Festive Friday – particularly important this year with the threat of postal strikes.
The GCA continues to work closely with stakeholders, particularly Royal Mail with the current consultation.
Also others who share our goals, such as the Indie Retailer Confederation, London Chamber Of Commerce, BEIS, DIT, gathering information that is shared with members via GCA blogs, eg Making Tax Digital, and CE marking for children’s cards to change. New blogs are highlighted in the GCA’s monthly newsletter.
Sustainability is key for us all and GCA now has a series of blogs sharing good practice and latest news.
GCA treasurer, and chair of the GCA Sustainability sub-committee, Daniel Prince, then presented the accounts and gave a further update on sustainability progress in the industry so far.
Guest Speaker: Sir John Peace
Businessman, Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University and Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Sir John Peach gave an interesting and uplifting talk about the opportunities for our industry.
Guest Speaker: Richard Bacon, MD Sherwood Press
My Time in Print: Richard gave a fascinating insight into his time in the printing industry, including the lessons he’d learnt plus some really interesting local history!
50 Shades of the GCA, Adriana Lovesy
Adriana Lovesy, GCA membership marketing coordinator and owner of greeting card publisher Mrs Lovesy, gave an impressive countdown of 50 benefits of the GCA in under 2 minutes! All the items featured are in the GCA Members’ Library, highlighting new GCA benefits and how to make the most of your membership.
Guest Speaker: Geoff Sanderson, Celebration Nation
Geoff spoke passionately about Creative Innovation and how to use it to build your business. He also spoke about the new GCA Graduate Open Call, which was launched before the Conference, with lecturers from Birmingham City Uni, Nottingham Trent, and Manchester School of Art and several students presenting their portfolio’s to a group of GCA members from across the industry.
Mark Callaby , co-owner of Ohh Deer, GCA Council member and Chair of the GCA Diversity & Inclusion sub-committee, thanked Geoff and spoke about the importance of engaging with the next generation of card designers. Mark then welcomed Jon May to the stage.
Guest Speaker: Jon May, Mooch Gifts and Home
Jon gave a fascinating insight into how he and business partner Luke had got into, and built up their retail business. He detailed some of the innovative and inspiring initiatives that engaged their communities and built up the business.
GCA Market Report, Darren Cave UKG and GCA vice President
Darren shared some highlights for the 2022 GCA Market Report, reporting on a 2021 market bouncing back after the lock-down’s of 2020 and showing interesting splits between the different card occasions. Click here to download the full report.
Guest Speakers: Alex Bandini & Ni Wang from Kantar
Alex and Ni shared some fascinating Consumer insights, looking at changes in shopping patterns, how sustainability, diversity and the current cost of living challenges are impacting how and where people shop.
Guest Speaker: Ged Mace, The Art File and GCA past president
Ged Mace, co-founder and Managing Director of Nottingham based publisher, The Art File, charted the milestones in The Art File’s journey, and some interesting insights into what he has learned along the way.
Close: Chris Bryan, Second Nature & GCA President, and Amanda Fergusson GCA CEO
Chris thanked Ged for his thought-provoking speech and his time on the GCA Council. reminded everyone that we are in an industry that spreads joy.
Amanda finished by reminding everyone of the benefits of connecting with others in the industry and sharing experiences. Asking members to let the GCA know if there are issues not covered and inviting everyone to get involved! Ending with a final reminder –
The British continue to love cards, a product that brings such joy to people, we work in an industry where there is so much innovation, and enthusiasm for the product we produce. And where we all pull together to support each other.
Let’s keep up the good work to ensure that the UK keep sending cards. Thank you all for coming and making this such a great day.
Amanda Fergusson, GCA CEO
The meeting then closed and Council members remained behand to take final questions.
Further Information
Minutes of the 2022 AGM are in the Members’ Library, along with slides from some of the presentations.
For more information on GCA Open Call 2022 click here
For more on the annual GCA Conference and AGM, and slides and film showing some of the speakers from previous years click here.
