With a name like hers, Ellie Fitzgerald was destined to work in the music business, and indeed she did, but this week she makes her debut in the greeting card world, with the launch of More than Words, with an innovative concept which combines a greeting card with memorable song lyrics and instant streaming of the music track featured.
For two decades Ellie was involved in managing the careers of artists including Alexandra Burke, The Pussycat Dolls’ star Kimberly Wyatt and JB Gill of JLS, but facing redundancy in March, at the start of lockdown, she turned her attentions towards greeting cards, seeing an opportunity to use the power of music to help deliver a message of caring and love on a multi-sensory way.
More than Words’ cards feature a memorable song lyric on the front with a corresponding QR code on the back, allowing the recipient to instantly stream the corresponding song through Spotify, YouTube or Amazon Music via a smartphone. The inside of the card includes a message alerting the recipient to the song link on the reverse, plus instructions of how to play it.
The brand was officially launched yesterday via a consumer PR campaign, backed up by a promotional video and smart looking website (http://www.morethanwords.store/).
Click below to watch the launch video.
From Beyonce to The Beatles, Frank Sinatra to Black Eyed Peas, the inaugural portfolio of designs spans over 250 artists and covers occasions, everyday as well as Christmas sends. With Ellie’s industry experience and connections, she stresses how the products adhere to the correct music licensing specifications and through her relationships with music publishers if the lyric someone is looking for isn’t in the collection, they will try to facilitate production through music copyright clearance.
“Songs transport us back to a time, place or person in just a few notes. From celebrating the good times to seeing us through the bad, music is like comfort food for the ears and soul. It brings us closer to others and makes us feel a catalogue of emotions – and that’s the inspiration behind More than Words,” says Ellie. “I used to make mix tapes for my friends to cheer them up so this is a new, modern way of doing the same. We’ve all realised over the past few months the importance of expressing our emotions to the people we hold closest to our hearts and through More than Words it’s possible to do that through a combination of heartfelt words and music. It’s a unique personalised way of showing those we care about most how much they mean to us.”
While the More than Words cards are initially only available via its website the ranges are soon to be available at retail.
The company has also partnered with music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, which will receive a 10% donation from every card sale (https://www.nordoff-robbins.org.uk).
Instagram @morethanwordsshop
Twitter: @morethanwords_s
Top: Name that tune? Two of the designs in the new More than Words portfolio.
