The holiday season is the Hallmark Super Bowl.
This year alone, Hallmark has 80 hours of original holiday programming, including two unscripted series, two scripted series, a holiday special and 24 movies with titles like “The Snow Must Continue” and “Catnip Christmas,” running from mid-October through Christmas.
The company also expanded its entertainment business with the Hallmark Christmas Cruise and Hallmark Christmas Experience in Kansas City, Missouri, where the company is based.
“I think this is one of the most brilliant business decisions they've made, and they're expanding because they have to,” Anjali Bahl, an assistant professor of marketing at Babson College, said of Hallmark's business experience. “It provides a connection between the consumer and the brand on a direct level that film cannot provide.”
It may seem like a far cry from Hallmark's roots as a greeting card purveyor, but company executives say the holiday feeling evoked by its cards, decorations and gift wrap is reflected in the type of content they produce.
And that glut of content has turned Hallmark into a Christmas juggernaut, fueling rivals like Lifetime and Netflix, which also produce holiday romantic comedies in the vein of Hallmark movies.
But Darren Abbott, Hallmark's chief brand officer, doesn't seem too concerned.
“There’s a reason everyone else is trying to do this: consumers are looking for it,” he said.
Hallmark's heritage is rooted in celebrating the holidays and Christmas, he said, “and no other business or brand has that.”
Countdown to Christmas
Founded in 1910 by an 18-year-old greeting card entrepreneur, Hallmark has built its brand over the years through cards, holiday decorations and retail stores.
The family business entered the entertainment industry in 1951 with the Hallmark Hall of Fame television presentation. Today, Hallmark Media, headquartered in Studio City, operates three cable networks, including Hallmark Channeldebuted in 2001 and is also a subscription streaming service.
While Hallmark has been airing holiday movies almost since the inception of its cable channel, the company doubled down on the season in 2009 with the launch of “Countdown to Christmas,” a 24-hour programming block focused exclusively on holiday content, a tradition that has spanned 16 years.
Hallmark produces about 100 movies a year, both holiday and non-holiday.
As a private company, Hallmark has not disclosed its finances, although executives acknowledge that the holiday season is a key driver of entertainment revenue.
Expanding into entertainment is a way for Hallmark to stay in the zeitgeist for generations and diversify its business beyond cards and retail products, analysts say.
“Their television stations and business backgrounds allow them to remain culturally relevant while staying true to their origins,” said Bahl, a marketing professor.
The holiday specials and light, romantic fare that Hallmark has become known for are becoming increasingly popular with audiences.
Holiday movies, both old and new, typically account for more than a third of total movie viewing time in December, according to US TV data from Nielsen. This percentage has remained fairly stable over the past three years, although it reached 42% in December 2021.
Hallmark's television audience also increases in the months leading up to the holidays. Hallmark accounted for 1% of total linear TV and streaming viewers in October, a figure that rose to 1.2% in November, according to Nielsen. At the same time, rival A&E's rate, which owns Lifetime, remained unchanged at 0.9%.
Feel-good Hallmark movies tend to resonate with audiences across the country. They always end with a happy ending (and at least one kiss), where romantic misunderstandings, financial difficulties and family dramas are resolved. After years of criticism of films The cast and storylines are variedalthough experts say there is still room for improvement.
“These films are designed to be very appealing to a broad audience,” said Keith Hughes, an assistant professor of film and media studies at Colorado State University, who watched every Hallmark movie released in 2022 to research the portrayal of small business owners. “These are good films based on consensus.”
To expand its audience and the types of stories it tells, Hallmark is increasingly turning to brand partnerships. including the NFL.
Last year the company released a film dedicated to around the novel “Kansas City Chiefs”; this year they released an article about Buffalo Bills fans. Hallmark has also partnered with Walt Disney Co. to release a holiday movie next year set at Walt Disney World. The film stars Lacey Chabert, whom Abbott calls Hallmark's “Queen of Christmas.”
Meeting Hallmark Stars on Cruise Ships
Hallmark's foray into the cruise business may seem strange, but it follows a long tradition among entertainment companies.
creating real-life experiences with their fans, whether on a boat, in a theme park or on stage. As part of its massive tourism business, Disney operates its own line of cruise ships that promote the company's classic characters.
Last year, Hallmark launched its first “Hallmark Christmas Cruise” on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Tickets for the first cruise from Miami to the Bahamas sold out even before a planned television marketing campaign. After the waitlist reached 70,000 people, Hallmark had to add a second cruise, Abbott said.
For this year's cruise from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico, Hallmark had to book a larger ship to meet demand. During the November cruise, participants took part in a variety of Christmas activities, such as ornament-making and cookie decorating classes, and interacted with Hallmark stars in a variety of on-stage games.
The cruises even spawned an unscripted Hallmark show focusing on the experiences of several cast members and their interactions with Hallmark actors.
Many of them aren't exactly household names, but they've starred in dozens of Hallmark holiday movies over the years and have loyal fans.
Abbott joined the cruise last year, and while he's not a “cruise person,” he said he was fascinated by the way guests interacted with the stars.
“We've had a little bit of a break from what's going on in the world right now,” he said, “and that experience is kind of reflecting on this at the right time and place.”
