The New Delhi-based Archies Greetings and Gifts Limited (AGGL) has come out with a special millennium collection to add to its HelpAge India range of gifts and cards.

HelpAge India is a country-wide voluntary organisation promoting the cause and care of the elderly from 23 major centres since 1978. The NGO has assisted over 1,500 age care projects at a cost of nearly Rs 41 crore.

HelpAge and Archies have a ten-year strong relationship wherein the company has a separate business division designing cards, calendars and products. Five per cent of their sales go to HelpAge.

Vijayant Chabra, director, AGGL explains why they chose to associate with caring for the elderly. ``This is our way of contributing to HelpAge India's efforts to highlight the toughcircumstances in which over 70 million senior citizens in the country live. The products, including artistic cards, calendars and telephone diaries, will etch a long recall in the minds of the corporate buyers who are our focus as a target audience,'' he says.

The company will market specially designed cards depicting colourful portraits of women by Rajasthani painter S Krishan to CEOs, managers and companies through direct mailers and the emphasis will on highlighting their good quality and tasteful designs. ``Our brand of HelpAge cards is already established in the cards market. People come and ask for it by name now. Cards carrying Krishan's designs have a glossy laminated finish because of the use of UV machines in the manufacturing process. Priced at Rs 40, these cards would be marketed to the discerning corporate buyer who believes in quality,'' says brand manager Vineet Kapila.

The range includes the ubiquitous millennium cards, telephone directories, wall and table calendars besides a new cardrange representing pictures of Hindu deities-all bearing the HelpAge insignia. ``The range will be available at our 400 franchisees, but not in all the 20,000 retail outlets spread across the country,'' explains Vineet Chugh, head of the HelpAge India Greeting Cards division.

The HelpAge division of the company, whose only function is to reinforce the business relationship with the NGO, helps it in the overall marketing process . ``We are involved in the production process right from the outset. We source designs from the various art galleries of the Capital to begin with. Then we photograph these, reproduce these on the computer, produce the cards and the catalogue and market them to corporate India,'' explains Chugh.

The company has already over 65 designs in its HelpAge India division. These include four designs of millennium cards, 12 scenery designs, 13 season's cards, 9 floral cards, 3 still life cards and two designs on the animal kingdom. The price range is Rs 6-Rs 12.

In the latest productextension, Archies has brought out four designs of Millennium cards, three packs of assorted cards, a wall calendar and two telephone indices.

The new designs can be viewed on the Internet at www.archiesgreeting.com and will hit the market on October 15. The company is also promoting its HelpAge brand through television commercials featuring Naseerudidn Shah and Juhi Chawla in the run-up to Diwali.