Marketing trends are surely at the top of everyone's trends-to-watch list, but as we near the zenith of another holiday season, it's a good idea for corporate holiday card trends to temporarily supersede marketing, and take that coveted top spot; at least until the New Year.

After all, taking a month off from the status quo won't diminish any of the work you've done up to this point. In fact, keeping up with corporate holiday card trends might just save you from a face that alternates between red with embarrassment and green with envy; a reaction that is guaranteed if you send out inappropriate, outdated, or unsuccessful corporate greeting cards.

Keep in mind; your holiday card campaign is another version of the business cards Plastic Printers has helped you produce. This extension of your calling card is particularly important if you work in public relations, retail, or another image-conscious industry.

5 Memorable Holiday Card Trends

Make no mistake, your employees, clients, and partners will judge your business by what they see. You can profit by association using these 5 corporate holiday card trends:

Trend #1: Complementary color change-up. It's Christmas. Everyone expects to see an overabundance of red and green trappings everywhere they look. Change it up and they will be sure to look twice. Don't go to wild; stick to popular, yet understated colors like:

• Charcoal
• Chocolate
• Black
• Custard yellow

If you feel the urge to use complementary colors, stick to the same color family. For example, raisin and berry blush.

Trend #2: Be functionally stylish. We've talked about this in your business card design too. Use double-sided printing or a business card-sized insert with a calendar card or discount promotion on it. Use a neutral color that works with the overall design, like blue or brown, so the recipient remembers the insert and/or uses it all year-round.

Trend #3: Create en masse personalization. A corporate holiday card campaign needs to be personalized, but what happens if you have hundreds of names on your mailing list and a limited amount of time to get the cards into the hands of the recipients? Create en masse personalization in a snap using a seasonal company photo. That way, you can prioritize your time and devote more of it to personalized signatures and individual stamps.

Trend #4: The posh-print showstopper. Much like your regular plastic business cards; your holiday cards may need a style boost. Feel free to employ some of the same design choices you've used for your business cards in the past. This could be die cut shapes, a subtle frosted finish, unique geometrics, floral patterns, or stripes. A well-designed finishing touch will add the perfect holiday feel to our campaign.

Trend #5: Insert brand identity here. You don't want your marketing efforts to overpower the holiday best wishes, but you don't want to leave them out of the mix entirely. Look for subtle ways to include a nod to your brand identity on the corporate holiday card. Embrace the creativity found in accents like paperclip snowflakes. A little subtle quirkiness goes a long way to making your campaign memorable.

You've probably noticed that the suggestions tie-in very well with the design stratagems used by our company. There's a method to the madness.

Anything that you use to promote your business is an extension of your business card. It  doesn't have to match completely, but there should be similarities in the design choices that complement one another and strengthen your brand identity and customer loyalty efforts.

If you're not sure how to accomplish this on your own, please contact our staff right away. We can help you design a signature corporate holiday card campaign that embraces these trends, but keeps a watchful eye on connecting the finished product to your pre-existing promotional stock.

Our collaborative effort will work wonders for your business and keep recipients caroling your praises all year long!