Thank you to our incredible sponsors who have made it possible for The Greeting Card Association to attend both Pride in London and Manchester Pride this year.
Ohh Deer, Dean Morris Cards, Imaging Centre, UK Greetings, Hallmark, Top Drawer, Cath Tate, Fedrigoni, Paper Rose and Enveco.
Following the huge success of Pride in London last year where we handed out over 10,000 greeting cards to the cheering crowds, we’re delighted to announce that we’re doing it all again… TWICE!
This is a great opportunity to promote greeting cards, sharing the joy of sending and receiving cards, and show the diversity of product available in our industry. Also engaging with the crowds by handing out cards along routes in both cities.
The GCA have successfully secured parade places for both Pride in London and Manchester Pride. So save the following dates:
Pride in London
Saturday 29th June 2024
Manchester Pride
Saturday 24th August 2024
The start times for both events won’t be announced until nearer the time. You should be prepared to march at any time during the day.
Pride in London last year was one of the best days of my life. The streets in London were filled with so much love and support and our GCA walking group were full of energy and excitement. I can’t wait to do it all again this year in both London and Manchester.
Mark Callaby, Managing Director Ohh Deer and GCA Diversity and Inclusion Lead.
Check out this amazing video from Lanther Black which shows what we did last year!
Want to join the Parade?
This year we’ve increased the number of places available for London by 25. This means that we will have a walking parade group of 75. In Manchester, we’ve secured 50 places.
Because we’ve got more places available across the two events, we won’t be limiting the number of places available to any one company and all tickets will be issued on a first come, first served basis. However, please be considerate to others when signing up and please make sure that all tickets allocated to your company are used. Once all places are taken we’ll be operating a waiting list.
Please note: The GCA will be holding back some tickets for the organising committee and relevant sponsors.
You can sign up to take part in the parade here.
Successful applicants will be notified nearer the time.
If successful you will be invited to an initial online briefing session with the organising committee to go over the details for the day. All participants will be required to hold placards, banners and help distribute greeting cards on route. All participants should also dress for the occasion, however we are hoping to provide some T-shirts and accessories on the day.
All participants will be promoting the GCA and our thriving industry. Due to the conditions of our application, you are not allowed to self-promote your own business or another company during the parade. This does not stop you from shouting about the event within your own PR and marketing activities!
Being able to combine the two things I love the most: my queer identity and greeting cards was an absolute dream. Celebrating all types of love and inclusivity, at the same time representing the GCA and our fellow publishers by handing out cards to beaming smiles in the crowds was incredible! I can’t wait to do it all again this summer!
David Nichols-Rice, Owner of Ricicle Cards
Do you plan to hand out Greeting Cards again?
Yes! But unlike last year, we won’t be asking for Greeting Card donations.
Due to the restrictions on how many trollies we can take to the event, we have decided that we will be printing our own Greeting Cards this year to ensure that we can maximise the amount of cards we can hand out (At last years event we could only hand out 10,000 cards due to the various size of cards we were given and these were all handed out before we’d even walked a quarter of the parade route!). If you would be interested in printing cards for us then please refer to this part in the sponsorship packages below.
Are you looking for sponsors this year?
YES! We couldn’t have done Pride in London last year without the help from our incredible sponsors.
This year we’re looking for sponsorship to cover both events (we’ll be sharing a lot of the same resources for both events).
We have made 5 tiers of sponsorship (+ a special option to print our cards) and you can make your payment via this page.
Please Note – The application prevents us from prominently promoting any individual brands on the parade other than the GCA, which is a not-for-profit organisation.
£1000 Package
Headline Sponsor + Guaranteed place at both London and Manchester
- one guaranteed place on the parade for your company at both London and Manchester.
- Your brand name will be included on the Greeting Card we give out on route for both events
- Special thanks mentions when talking to press (including industry publications)
- Special thanks for being a headline sponsor at the GCA Conference in Bristol later this year, including on the screens and during one of the speeches.
- Special thanks (+ logo) for being a headline sponsor on the GCA website
- Social Media Recognition
£500 Package
Headline Sponsor
- Your brand name will be included on the Greeting Card we give out on route for both events
- Special thanks mentions when talking to press (including industry publications)
- Special thanks for being a headline sponsor at the GCA Conference in Bristol later this year, including on the screens and during one of the speeches.
- Special thanks (+ logo) for being a headline sponsor on the GCA website
- Social Media Recognition
£250 Package
Mid-Tier Sponsor
- Your brand name will be included on the handout we give out on route for both events
- Special thanks for being a headline sponsor at the GCA Conference in Bristol later this year
- Special thanks for being a sponsor on the GCA website
- Social Media Recognition
£100 Package
Sponsor
- Special thanks for being a sponsor at the GCA Conference in Bristol later this year
- Special thanks for being a sponsor on the GCA website
- Social Media Recognition
£20 Donation
- Special thanks for supporting our Pride events on the GCA website.
Greeting Card Printing + supply of envelopes
We’re looking for a printer who will be able to print all of the greeting cards we’ll be handing out at both events. Should you be interested in this then please contact Mark at mark@ohhdeer.com
Pride 2023
Further Information
See our blog for more about Diversity and Inclusion in the greeting card industry
The GCA Diversity and Inclusion policy can be used and adapted by members.
