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| Intersection, a British car magazine, has cards that can be folded into a model race car or a police cruiser with contact
info on the undercarriage. Courtesy of Yorgo Tloupas |
Business cards: the power of paper rectangles
Even in today's Internet age, these small cards remain a good way to stand out.
By Chris Gaylord | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the October 15, 2007 edition
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When Jon Knowlden launched his own lawn and land development service last spring, he needed publicity – badly. He couldn't claim much experience (he is only 18). And his flyers didn't attract much enthusiasm (there's plenty of competition in affluent Clarkston, Mich.).
So after a few weeks, Mr. Knowlden turned to his brother, who works in advertising, for help.
"There was basically no budget. So we needed one solid way to get the name out there," says big brother Brandon Knowlden, who is an art director for Struck in Salt Lake City. "We decided to focus everything on a business card. But not just any card, a business card that would help his business grow – quite literally."
They designed a card that looks standard on the outside – name, phone number, etc. – but hides a pouch of grass seed on the inside. After
handing out the novel card, Jon got meetings at apartment complexes all over the county and has since signed several annual work contracts.
"Without the cards, I was just a kid looking for work," says Jon. "Now everyone comments on how much they like them, and I really stand out."
In an age when people use Google to find gardeners and Microsoft Outlook instead of a Rolodex, standing out is crucial to small businesses. Many career counselors agree that, for entrepreneurs, sometimes the best ads are on tiny pieces of cardboard. A classic card, they say, gives companies a professional polish, but creative cards can give people like Jon an edge.
"The role of business cards is still very much the same, but they're taking on all kinds of different shapes," says Mark Gallagher, a brand consultant at Blackcoffee Design in Boston and coauthor of "The Best of Business Card Design 6." "In the book, there were, of course, cards from artists and creative types, but some of the most impressive to me were for dentists or lawyers."
There's the divorce lawyer whose card is perforated down the center, the personal trainer whose rubber card is unreadable until you work those arms and stretch out the contact info, and many businesses whose cards are printed on specially shaped CD-ROMs.
For many, considering a more imaginative redesign is simply a practical matter, Mr. Gallagher says. People today need to cram a lot of lines onto a card. There's an e-mail address, cellphone number, a website, perhaps even an instant-message screen name.
Unfortunately, business cards were standardized long before anyone even had a fax number. Some adventurous companies have tinkered with designs outside of the 2-by-3.5-inch box. But they risk frustrating those few people who still maintain traditional business-card holders.
"If the card is the wrong size, it may become a nuisance rather than a provider of information, and at that moment it's lost its value to you," says Peter Post, director of the Emily Post Institute in Burlington, Vt., and author of "The Etiquette Advantage in Business." He suggests using the backs of cards for extra information, logos, or tag lines, and leaving the front for the essentials.
Matt Verzola avoids cluttering up his card by keeping things simple: name, phone, e-mail, and the line "just Google me."
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