It's all in your cards!

Reindeer with tinsel antlers, stagecoaches in snowy lanes, angels and shepherds - the season of ordering Christmas cards is upon us. Such cards are a subtle way of reminding your customers and business associates of your firm and its services. "Season's Greetings", the accepted innocuous wording, is not the only message they carry. The style and design can also be very revealing!

A perennially popular illustration is the traditional snow scene. Frequently reproductions of old masters, these scenes are filled with nostalgia. Firms sending such cards probably want to convey the impression that they have old-fashioned standards of reliability and service. Although comforting, the illustrations depict a way of life which at best is highly romanticised and at worst probably never existed. They may leave the recipient thinking that your firm lacks imagination and ambition.

Cartoon cards are a light-hearted alternative and have the great advantage of appealing to a large number of people. Their simple, colourful designs are eye-catching and, almost uniquely among Christmas cards, can be entertaining too - an advantage if you want your firm to be remembered. Some are even interactive; press a button and watch lights flash or listen to tinny renderings of 'Jingle Bells'. (Amusing the first time but driving the recipient and their colleagues homicidal after a while.)

The disadvantage of humour is that it has to be mild enough not to offend and so risks becoming bland. You also have to think very carefully about the design: a clever cartoon can be really memorable, but on the other hand do you want your highly-professional, technologically-advanced firm to be represented by an overweight penguin in an orange bikini...?

Some firms use cards as blatant advertising to keep their name in front of their customers: the company name reproduced on the side of Santa's sleigh, etc. Conspicuous promotion can appear inappropriate and doesn't leave the recipient with an impression of quality. If you must include references to your firm in the design, do so subtly, perhaps by the name appearing suitably antiqued over a Dickensian shop or by clever use of your logo. Such illustrations are more attractive and more appropriate, as well as showing your firm to be witty and inventive. Cards which have a photograph of the boss dressed up as Santa Claus are merely nauseating.

Abstract and/or naïve designs, which often include the envelope, have been growing in popularity over the last few years. They look luxurious, but can be a mixed blessing as they could give the impression that you're spending client's money on frivolous excesses. On the other hand, you don't want to appear as though the Managing Director is Ebenezer Scrooge. Quality and under-stated elegance, rather than ostentatious flamboyance, say that your firm is both successful and cares about details.

Many corporate cards rely on size to make an impression. Tiny cards may be overlooked but cards can also be too large. If they get damaged in the post your firm will be represented by a battered, dog-eared object which keeps falling over. Above all, your card should be attractive. If it's not, it will be relegated to the back of any display.

There is a trend, particularly when sending Christmas cards to business contacts, to choose cards which state that their purchase benefits particular charities and which therefore advertise the company which buys them as a caring, responsible organisation. Occasionally firms circulate letters to their customers explaining that they will not be sending Christmas cards at all but will be donating to charity instead; there are various tax advantages for businesses making charitable donations.

Such notification produces mixed responses among recipients, although disappointment - together with guilt at feeling disappointed - is quite common. Ultra-cynics could also argue that there is no proof that such donations have been made. Charity Christmas cards on the other hand have been purchased and prove a benefit to the named charity - and they, unlike a letter, can be displayed.

E-mail cards are fun but are less popular than they have been, largely because of increasing vigilance against the dangers of computer viruses. Unusually in communications, paper versions of Christmas cards are often the preferred form and perhaps more effective. Electronic cards are entertaining and show your company to be modern and high tech. They can however take an irritatingly long time to download and, once viewed, your recipient has nothing to display and therefore no reminder of your firm for colleagues to see.

Christmas is a religious festival but cards with an overtly religious theme can appear out of place in global, multi-cultural businesses. Everyone likes being remembered at a time when good wishes are traditionally exchanged and sending Christmas cards rarely offends. If some of your contacts are from different cultures and faiths, why not send a card to celebrate other major religious festivals too? That way you get your name in front of your customers throughout the year...