Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal | March 19, 2018 | wbjournal.com F O C U S M E E T I N G S G U I D E & G O L F D I R E C T O R Y BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Business cards play more of a marketing role in an era where contact information is easy to obtain The new business card W hen Cathy DiPilato started her new organic produce bag line this month, she took advantage of a branding opportunity few in other fields would have. When she came up with a business card, she made it not a card at all. DiPilato's business cards are, in fact, miniature versions of her cotton bags, complete with ner name, phone num- ber, website and a description of her business, B-Organic. The Worcester resident researched creative marketing opportunities and landed on the small bags, which are about twice the size of a typical business card. "I thought it would really have an impact on people," DiPilato said. "This is my business card, so you won't forget what I do." Business cards once had to serve as Rolodex-filling necessities if someone wanted to remember how to reach an important or distant contact. In the dig- ital age, that's not as necessary. But at a time when anyone can make more unique business cards than ever before, these longtime work desk staples have moved from simple how-to-reach- me objects to marketing opportunities. "We have to differentiate ourselves. We want to make sure people take us seriously," said Kham Inthirath, the founder of InThink, a Worcester mar- keting company. Standing out in a crowd Inthirath, of Northbridge, is choosy when he decides when to give out his business cards. He has to be. The thick metal cards cost him $5 to $6 each. "If I'm at a networking event meeting 30 people, I'm not going to bring the metal cards," he said. Still, Inthirath is sticking with expen- sive-but-impressive plan. The business has rebranded since he first launched it, and he's ordering more metal cards. He said he's given his cards to people and found out a year later they kept his card on their desk. Features today aren't just a choice between gloss or no gloss, two-sided or one. Dozens of variety of designs are available, a wide range of textures or materials, even metal or plastic. Some cards are meant to stand out when they're part of a stack on a desk or in a drawer either by being thicker or a little bit wider and taller. Some actually take the opposite approach. The website MOO, which prints its cards in Lincoln, R.I., makes cards that are half the size of traditional ones. One California company, My Metal Business Cards, makes cards that double as bottle openers. They don't come cheap, though: They start at nearly $6 each. "You can ask any of our clients – there's something about hand- ing someone a business card made of metal that stuns most people and instantly strikes up a conversation," said Ashley Sandoval, a client support specialist at the firm. "When you give someone a metal business card, their perception of you is instantly elevated." But not everyone thinks cards should be so daring. Art meets function Pagano Media, a Worcester market- ing, design and media production com- pany, advises clients on designs with various types or finishes. Joe Pagano, the president and creative director, said he likes cards that leave room to write in a cell phone number or other infor- mation, and a surface type that makes writing possible. "I'm a big fan of white space," he said. One Pagano Media client, a New Hampshire firm making padding for To stand out in the crowd, companies will use more elaborate business cards with glossier printing, rounded edges, different shapes and sizes, and unique materials. Joshua Croke, founder of Origin Consulting and co-founder of Worcester Idea Lab

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