Shaquille O’Neal and SmashUps from American Greetings Team Up for Personalized Birthday Messages

Cleveland, OH, Dec. 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Greetings and Shaquille O’Neal today announced that the legendary athlete will lend his personality and creative talent in composing customized digital birthday greetings. The greetings, called “Shaq-in-the-Box” use the innovative SmashUps technology and make the Hall of Famer the latest celebrity to team up with the greeting card maker. SmashUps are highly personalized, sharable videos that effortlessly weave characteristics about the recipient into a catalog of celebratory content. Inside jokes become central plot points with the recipient’s name showing up in lights, and perhaps a celebrity sending their regards.   SmashUps are funny, entertaining, and easy to create and share whenever the moment strikes. Available on americangreetings.com, Apple iOS, and Android, the SmashUps mobile app and website allow users to easily sign up and send personalized funny messages, including the new Shaq birthday card. Additionally, Talking SmashUps offer character-focused, animated cards that use text-to-speech technology to provide the ultimate versatility and personalization capabilities. “SmashUps have consistently been the most popular digital greetings on americangreetings.com since we introduced them a few years ago. The SmashUps app gives us an opportunity to introduce them to new users who look for fun new digital products in the app stores versus their browsers” said Rob Matousek, GM, Direct-to- Consumer Business at American Greetings. “The celebrity SmashUps have been especially popular with our members, and the partnership with Shaquille helps us introduce them to his incredibly broad fanbase across the globe.”  “Everyone deserves a laugh, and to feel loved and appreciated, especially on their birthday,” said Shaquille O’Neal. “I’m excited to partner with SmashUps and American Greetings to help bring ‘big fun’ to everyone and anyone on their special day.” The addition of the “Shaq-in-the-Box” birthday SmashUp is just one of many more to come in the growing library of SmashUps as more content is scheduled to be released in the upcoming months. ###ABOUT AMERICAN GREETINGS: As the leader in meaningful connections, American Greetings is committed to making the world a more thoughtful and caring place. Founded in 1906, the creator and manufacturer of innovative social expression products offers paper cards, digital greetings, gift wrap, party goods and more to help consumers honor the people and moments in life that really matter. The Company’s major greeting card brands are American Greetings, Papyrus, Recycled Paper Greetings and Carlton Cards. The 113-year-old company is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and its products can be found in retail outlets worldwide. About Shaquille O’NealShaquille O’Neal is one of the world’s most successful athletes-turned-businessmen, whose accomplishments both on and off the court have translated into a highly sought-after consumer brand. As a business mogul, sports analyst, DJ, restauranteur, and brand ambassador, Shaquille O’Neal’s unique “Business of Fun” mantra resonates throughout each of his countless endeavors. The 15-time NBA All-Star’s unprecedented athletic career spanned nearly two decades and earned him countless awards and honors, including NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Rookie of the Year, four NBA Championships and a First Ballot NBA Hall of Famer.  Currently, O’Neal is an analyst on TNT’s Emmy Award-winning “Inside the NBA,” and will be premiering his life chronicling reality series, Shaq Life, in 2020. O’Neal is a universally recognized figure in sports, entertainment, and pop culture. His music career has evolved from the release of four rap albums with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum to a successful worldwide “Summer League” tour as DJ Diesel. O’Neal, who has a PhD in Leadership and Education, gives back through a number of annual philanthropic programs including Shaq to School, Shaqsgiving, and Shaq a Claus. The debut of his Los Angeles restaurant Shaquille’s along with his Las Vegas eatery Big Chicken has further elevated Shaquille’s tycoon status he has positioned him as a successful restaurateur. A second Big Chicken location is slated to open in Glendale, CA and will debut at sea on Carnival Cruise Lines Radiance and Mardi Gras. Shaquille O’Neal has been a trailblazer on the technology front with one of the most robust social media followings of any athlete in the world. He was an early adopter of Twitter and the first verified account on the platform. O’Neal’s success in sports, business, food service and music, along with his fun personality, is credit to his devoted global fan base. Follow Shaquille O’Neal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About Authentic Brands GroupAuthentic Brands Group (ABG) is a brand development, marketing and entertainment company, which owns a portfolio of global media, entertainment and lifestyle brands. Headquartered in New York City, ABG elevates and builds the long-term value of more than 50 consumer brands and properties by partnering with best-in-class manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Its brands have a global retail footprint in more than 100,000 points of sale across the luxury, specialty, department store, mid-tier, mass and e-commerce channels and more than 5,000 freestanding stores and shop-in-shops around the world.    ABG is committed to transforming brands by delivering compelling product, content, business and immersive experiences. It creates and activates original marketing strategies to drive the success of its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms and emerging media. ABG’s portfolio of iconic and world-renowned brands generates more than $10 billion in annual retail sales and includes Marilyn Monroe®, Mini Marilyn®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille O’Neal®, Sports Illustrated®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®, Thalia®, Nautica®, Aéropostale®, Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Herve Leger®, Judith Leiber®, Barneys New York®, Frederick’s of Hollywood®, Nine West®, Frye®, Jones New York®, Louise et Cie®, Sole Society®, Enzo Angiolini®, CC Corso Como®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx®, Adrienne Vittadini®, Taryn Rose®, Bandolino®, Misook®, 1.STATE®, CeCe®, Chaus®, Spyder®, Tretorn®, Tapout®, Prince®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Vision Street Wear®, Above The Rim®, Hind®, Thomasville®, Drexel® and Henredon®. For more information, visit authenticbrandsgroup.com. Follow ABG on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.AttachmentShaq_in_the_BoxPatrice Molnar
American Greetings
216.252.7300 ext. 2584
[email protected]

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