Fast Facts

What
   Advertising messages printed and distributed on personal business cards.

Who
   Max Custom Media, headquartered in New York City.

How it works
   Consumers receive 20 free personal or business cards branded with an advertiser’s message on one side and their information on the other side.
    The No. 21 bonus card can feature a sweepstakes, promotional offer or another call to action.
   “This offer can be dedicated to a coupon, a rebate, a web-site direct or even sampling,” says marketing director Shelby Washington. “It’s above and beyond what the customer thinks they are going to receive. It says 20 cards on the site, then they receive 21. We just ended a program with Chiclets sugarless gum, and everyone who signed up for cards received samples of gum that they didn’t expect.”
   Max Custom Media calls the program MaxCards.
   There are two ways for consumers to plug into the card program. They can log onto either the MaxCard or the advertiser’s web site or they can get the cards at special kiosks.
   When using the web site option, users enter required personal information and answer a three-question marketing survey designed by the advertiser.
   “They could ask something like ‘Have you seen Scion?’ or ‘Have you tried Chiclets?’” Washington says.
   The personalized cards are mailed within two weeks.
   “Consumers are aware of sites telling them where to get free stuff besides the MaxCards site,” Washington says. “Though the majority of sets of cards are given through the site hosted by the client.”
   The online program can be customized to meet an advertiser’s need to drive traffic to its site, to build a database, or to provide web links. Ad messages can be repeated with re-orders.
   Exposure to ad messages broadens as consumers pass cards to their friends and business associates.
   “The viral element occurs every time a person receives a card,” Washington says. “The new person is going to expose at least 20 people to the brand, and those new people ask where they can sign up. Word spreads and it communicates to the advertiser the kind of impact the cards can deliver.”
  Free-standing kiosks are available for an advertiser’s special event or at select locations. The same deck of 20 personal cards and a 21st bonus card are delivered to the consumer at the event after they enter the required data.
   “For example, we partnered with USA Networks to support the release of the Heidi Fleiss movie at a New York City hot spot,” Washington says.
   “Consumers inside go up to the kiosk, type in their information,  and have their cards within the next 30 to 45 minutes while they mill around.”
   Kiosks work well if there is any age issue related to the product. “The age limitations are sensitive for some advertisers,” Washington says.
   “Products like alcohol and beer wouldn’t do this program online. It opens them up too much to liability. That’s why the kiosks really work. People can be identified as they come in.”
   Campaigns are based on the number of card sets, and distribution is flexible, Washington says. “There can be multiple programs running at the same time.”
  The program can stand alone or operate as part of a media mix.
   To launch Chiclets' new sugar free fruit flavors, Media Edge used several mediums, says senior out-of-home communications analyst Michelle Katz. 
   “Besides business cards we also used television, street balloons, sampling, including at cinemas, and graffiti murals.”
   Creative is usually provided by the advertiser.
   “It’s not your typical business card,” Washington says.
   The ad side of the card is printed in four colors. The opposite side is primarily used for personalization. The advertiser can fill a quarter inch by one-inch space at the bottom left hand corner with a logo or tag line. This side is printed in black and white.
   Multiple brand messages with varied creative executions can be used in the same deck.
   “There can be more than one creative within a deck, or advertisers can offer a series of sets for consumers to select,” Washington says.
   The cards measure 2 inches by 3.5 inches. The area for ad copy measures 3.365 inches by 1.875 inches.
   Personal information consists of the consumer’s name, phone number, e-mail/IM address and whatever else is designated.
  The program is designed for national brands.

Markets
   Kiosk events are available in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
   Markets can be added, subject to shipping and staffing costs, Washington says.

Numbers
   Sets of cards come in 5,000 and 10,000 buys with flexible timelines for distribution.

How measured?
   Basic card counts are used.

What product categories do well?
  “This works well for any kind of advertiser into creating buzz and into more unique ways to market their product,” Washington says.
   “I don’t think it limits itself by category except for alcohol, beer and products sensitive to the age of the consumer.”

Demographics
   Targeting varies with each product. For example, Crunch gyms were limited to consumers 18 years old and older, while Scion targeted 13-plus and Chiclets was open to any age.
   Typically, the demographic skews young, Washington says.
   Advertisers may impose geographic limitations on online programs. For example, Crunch limited card distribution, which included a one-week free membership offer, to consumers within a 60-mile radius of a gym in their network.

Making the buy
  Lead-time on MaxCards is two to three weeks. For kiosk programs, the lead-time is two weeks.
  Sets of 5,000 cards cost $20,000 and sets of 10,000 go for $40,000.
   Kiosk programs are based on a three-event commitment with a minimum of two kiosks per event. An event lasts five hours and individual events are priced at $5,000 for two kiosks. A three-event package costs $12,750. Additional kiosks are $2,000 each. There is a four-kiosk limit.
   When clients build a campaign using multiple Max Media products, it’s reflected in pricing, Washington says. Advertisers have used MaxCards in conjunction with MaxPosts and MaxClings.

Who’s already on branded personal cards?
   Chiclets, Toyota Scion, USA Network and Crunch gyms are recent advertisers.

What they’re saying
   “We were trying to reach a primary target of 12- to 17-year-olds and then a secondary group up to age 24. It’s a really good program. The measured data they supplied showed exactly who we were targeting. It was also cool because the creative had the feel of text messaging geared more toward high school students. They all have cell phones and know the lingo.” – Michelle Katz, senior out-of-home communications analyst for New York-based Media Edge

Web site info
  Max Custom Media at www.maxcustommedia.com

MaxCards at www.maxcards.com

Etc.
   MaxCards will soon be offering a pay version where consumers can choose images, can upload pictures of themselves for inclusion in the creative, and can pick colors and fonts.
    “It will still be advertiser sponsored,” Washington says. “But there will be more ways a consumer can customize and make it more of their own card.”