The very latest in high-tech marketing gimmicks hit Europe’s streets yesterday with the release of the MediaCarD. The compact ‘disk’, which is actually the same shape as a rather slightly larger than average business card, is the invention of Swiss compact disk printer, Adivan High Tech AG, which has signed distribution and reseller deals with a number of companies throughout Europe and the US.
The CD card fits into normal CD ROM drives and carries around 16 megabytes of information. It is being marketed as a way of giving business contacts more than just your name, number and company. Suggestions are that the card could carry anything from corporate ‘backgrounders’ in text, video and images or more specific information such as spreadsheets, databases or web pages. One of Adivan’s UK resellers, Maxim Training, a producer of CD ROM executive training products, told ComputerWire that it has had numerous enquiries from both individuals and corporations as varied as financial, manufacturing and telecoms companies. But most enquiries have come from marketing companies keen to follow the potential craze, said Maxim which first advertised the product last week.
Adivan is currently attempting to get the card patented to avoid copycat products which have already begun to appear. The MediaCarDs sell at $1.50 each or around $1,500 for 500.
