• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

Shutterfly, the king of custom-photo printing, is about to print close to 150 million holiday cards, all headed to mailboxes near you. That means Callie Worthington, head of brand and creative, is ready to make predictions. Among the trends: Older consumers drifting back into the category now that they’ve got cute grandkids,  young Gen Z families, who see greeting cards as family keepsakes, and plenty of photogenic pets.

Holiday is by far the brand’s biggest selling season, and it’s kicking it off with a new campaign called “Joy to the Moment.” Ads feature social-first creators in three approaches: Designer Cynthia Rowley with her grown daughters, Kit and Gigi and their multigenerational story; Love Is Blind star Giannina Gibelli with her growing family; and entrepreneur Nabela Noor, whose two young daughters are at peak holiday tot adorableness. 

With this year’s campaign, the company is making a larger effort to reach new and younger customers. “We'll be investing significantly more in TV and upper funnel, and that includes YouTube Shorts and paid social and social media, because we really see this campaign resonating with that younger demographic,” Worthington says. “And we are repurposing our connected TV spots from last year because they worked so well for us.” 

But this year’s vibe is decidedly messier. “This felt like a great opportunity for us to get away from picture-perfect holidays and show a more realistic way that families gather,” she tells Marketing Daily.

“There's this real sense that holiday cards are a keepsake for Gen Z and the younger demographics,” she says. “They don't see them as just a holiday card that gets sent and thrown away, but something to hang on to, a way to connect.”

She says there’s also a trend for grandparents to do multigenerational cards. “Their kids may be grown up, but now that they have grandkids in their cute stage, they are interested in photo cards again.”

What about the millions of younger consumers without kids? The brand is planning a December pop-up just for them. “Many of them have nontraditional ways of thinking about family,” Worthington says. “They may consider roommates family, or their three cats. They can bring their chosen family, whatever that looks like, and take a holiday card photo, and have it printed.”

Driving much of the campaign is the insight that for this brand, creator content outperforms. “People see themselves in it,” she says. "It feels authentic and relevant to them.”

Heavy social media users find the influencers “that resonate with them,” she adds. “They may not have that many people they follow, but they are still trusting them and looking to them for help and guidance.”