GILROY
– A piece of plastic no larger than a standard business card
could convince the next high-profile or high-tech business to set
up shop in Gilroy.
GILROY – A piece of plastic no larger than a standard business card could convince the next high-profile or high-tech business to set up shop in Gilroy.
The Gilroy Economic Development Corporation is now using an electronic business card, along with regular promotional materials, to help tout Santa Clara County’s southernmost city as a bastion of economic opportunity.
The “business card” – which is a miniature compact disc in the shape of a traditional business card – is the culmination of an eight-month, $5,900 project. When the card is loaded into a CD drive on a computer, an overview of Gilroy’s quality of life – from housing and small town atmosphere to climate and award-winning parks – is played.
After the overview, several links to more detailed presentations on business climate, real estate, education and other aspects of Gilroy life can be selected.
Bill Lindsteadt, the executive director of the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation, has begun using the cards when he meets with representatives of companies interested in moving to Gilroy. More importantly, he says, the cards can be sent as a follow-up to a live presentation and when he is unable to meet with someone.
“It’s just like me sitting there and talking to them,” Lindsteadt said.
“It saves me a lot of talking,” he quipped.
While the technology is not new, Lindsteadt said the business card puts Gilroy on the cutting edge of corporate recruiting.
“Big (economic development corporations) like Los Angeles and Orange County and Phoenix have something like this, but I haven’t seen cities in our size range use this,” Lindsteadt said.
Lindsteadt said he is not planning a blanket mailing of the business card, but would send the card to many of the contacts he has made. Those contacts can use the card when company leaders are discussing the merits of a move to Gilroy.
The electronic business card was made possible by a grant from the Gilroy-based energy production company Calpine.
“There is no way we could have done this without them,” Lindsteadt said. “The city had to cut our marketing budget by 12 percent this year, so thanks to Calpine we have this new marketing tool.”
