Connecting the marketing world – one business card at a time

"In Korea, business cards are a proxy for your identity. A job with no cards is not a job; a person with no cards is not a contributing member of society. In Korea, if someone gives you their business card, it’s an extension of their own body".

Euny Hong, 'The Power of Nunchi'.

For most people in the West the business card, a once great celebration of status and introduction has become something of an anachronism. Where once Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) uttered the immortal line of “Look at that subtle off-white colouring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark” in American Psycho, today you’re more likely to hear “Oh my God, you have business cards?” in complete incredulity when you bring one out of your pocket or purse.

Created in the 15^th century by the Chinese, visiting cards were originally used to announce the holder’s intention. You left your card at the residence of an important address where you wanted to trade your wares, permitting the owner to have your contact details and decide whether or not to meet should you have something of value they might want to buy.

A simple system of connection and introduction. Connecting people who want to sell with people who want to buy, all the while allowing the most important information, contact details, to effortlessly change hands.

Fast forward to the latest IPA Bellwether report (Jan 2025) and we once again saw Events out-performing the seven monitored sub-categories for the final quarter of 2024 with an impressive net balance of +12.3% (up from +9.9% in Q3). In fact, throughout 2024 Events, where people physically meet, continuously outperformed all other categories, and going into 2025 are predicted to be the joint top performer in terms of YOY budget growth at 15.5%. People meeting people, connecting, sharing, shaking hands – hoping to exchange details to one day trade their wares.

But, for reasons only the accounts department of most companies might know, we in the West no longer have the ability to effortlessly exchange contact details at the moment we might need it most – the point of human connection. Yup, I already know what you’re thinking, “doesn’t this guy have access to Linkedin?” and often-times I do, but more often than not performing the awkward dance of wifi connectivity, QR codes, and embarrassed tones of “are you this Jane Smith or that one?” gives me, and more importantly, the person I’m looking to connect with the ick. In a heartbeat the moment of connection is lost and the spark extinguished.

Something intended to be so simple has become somehow so complicated, to the point where a generation of western marketers and agency folk no longer question why they don’t have access to one of the most important innovations in human communication.  

Recently I was asked how many business cards I give out, and, after checking with Moo.com, the current run-rate is roughly a hundred a month which tells you two things. I work away from home a lot, regularly connecting with marketers and agency folk in real life, and secondly I’ve not yet found a shortage of new people to connect with.

So, to paraphrase Euny Hong, none of this is convenient and that’s the whole point. As humans digitally transform, becoming more reliant on online connection to in person we’re losing the art of Nunchi, the subtle art of non-verbal cues, social dynamics and unspoken rules. By bothering with something as trivial as a business card to connect the marketing world you’re showing your clients and prospective partners you value them over your own convenience.

With 2025 in full view and the growing desire from many to work away from home, to regularly meet and connect in real life, I challenge you to be a little bit more Korean, to embrace the power of Nunchi, and hand me your business card next time we connect.