Bankable Celebrations launches e-card app at Chase Center event

When it comes to expressing yourself to someone for life’s celebrations, low-points or everyday moments, sometimes it’s challenging to find a card that will accurately say what’s on your mind and in your heart, in a thoughtful, endearing way that reflects your personality.
Kimberly Broomer-Carroll, 38, of Wilmington, says her e-cards app, Bankable Celebrations will make this undertaking a little more convenient.
Commanding the stage like a seasoned motivational speaker with evangelistic zeal, Broomer-Carroll announced the launch of Bankable Celebrations, last week at the Chase Center. “Steve Jobs is my mentor in my mind,” said Broomer-Carroll.
Thanking supporters, including family, friends and event sponsor Tekstrom, Broomer-Carroll, a real estate consultant, recalled the moment she decided to scrap her original e-card app and start over with a new focus.
In 2014, while rummaging through a drawer, she found an old greeting card from her recently deceased father that read, “You make me proud. Keep going! Love, Dad.”
Having lost her father to cancer, she said she felt it would have meant more if she was able hear his voice and see his face. “I went back to my development team and said, ‘We’ve got to do something different.’”
Available on iTunes and Google Play, the app allows users to:

• Choose from a variety of designs with a pre-written message from gallery
• Include a personal text message
• Attach a photo or create and send a video message up to 11 minutes

In a future release, users will be able to sign the card with their finger and include a gift card. “We have a lot more options and features that are going to come along with our greeting card that will really take it even further,” she said. You can sign up with your Facebook or Google login and use the platforms to send e-cards.
However impersonal e-cards may seem to some, the industry is showing gains as the traditional print greeting card industry faces shrinkage.
According to the Greeting Card Association, Facebook has increased the acknowledgement of birthday messages. Broomer-Carroll believes that personalization features of her e-card app will help people who are inclined to use digital greetings to make their messages more unique, fun and memorable.
While GAC reports American buy roughly 6.5 billion greeting cards annually, with industry’s sales of an estimated $7 billion per year, the U.S. retail greeting card industry is undergoing changes that threaten the profits of traditional publishers. According to industry research, the traditional greeting card industry, dominated by old-media leaders, such as Hallmark and American Greetings, are feeling the bite as the digital card industry cuts into its revenue stream. One of the largest e-card websites, someecards.com sees about 8 million visitors annually, according to Quantcast.
Bankable Celebrations anticipates being a part of the digital card industry growth, and plans to hire local residents into jobs it creates to continue success. “There’s going to be a lot of needs to support this as it grows, because I have to stay relevant. I have to stay amazing!” As the startup develops, Broomer-Carroll hopes to create jobs in development, marketing, customer service and creative content.
Recalling the old Wilmington slogan, Broomer-Carroll said she wants to “celebrate the fact that Wilmington is a place to be somebody.”