TECHNOLOGY: Shape Up
Perhaps we’re a bit traditional, but we sort of expect CD-ROMs to be round. Disc-shaped, in fact.
So we were surprised recently by a CD-ROM in the size and shape of a business card. The Townsend Agency, a Rosemont, IL shop specializing in integrated and interactive marketing, created the card to promote its services.
The concept was tested last May on a Hudson River cruise. Some 150 were distributed and resulted in about 10 responses, according to a spokesman for Townsend, who notes it could be used for clients as well.
Technologically, it turns out a CD-ROM does not have to be a disc to operate. As long as there is contact on a few specific points, the “disc” can be any shape a die-cut can make. However, the card does have to be placed carefully in the computer’s CD-ROM player.
Townsend’s current version provides a small show introducing the agency, its services and its work for such clients as Discover Card, GTE Airfone and Scudder Kemper Investments.
Future cards will link to the agency’s Web site (www.townagcy.com) and provide an opportunity to capture data from the prospect through prompts online.
