Z-CARD

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Z-CARD is the registered trademark for a foldable guide^{[clarification needed]} invented by George McDonald when he was a travel writer and consultant for British Airways.

History[]

McDonald found that traditional fold-out maps were too bulky to carry with him on travel research trips and wanted a more convenient solution. From this the Z-CARD was developed and launched in 1992,^[1] with the company as it looks today being founded in 2003.

The Z-CARD was quickly adopted as a marketing communications tool and reached such prevalence that the term z-card is now used as reference to many z-fold or concertina card and not just those produced by Z-CARD Ltd.^{[citation needed]} While Z-CARD pioneered the z-fold market from 1992, a number of other companies have since entered the market by producing their own take on the z-fold format. The original inspiration for the product came from the familiar fold-out map format.

Applications[]

The Z-CARD and similar products have been used for a wide range of applications, including internal corporate communications, product and services information and promotional merchandise across all major industries.

Use of technology[]

In recent years, cards have featured technology such as Radio-frequency identification, QR codes and Augmented reality.^[1][2]

Awards[]

In 2011, Z-CARD won the Chartered Institute of Marketing Excellence Award in the SME category. Previous winners of CIM awards include Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann Erickson and JCDecaux.

In 2010, Z-CARD won South London Business of the Year and the Best Business for Marketing categories at the South London Business Awards.^[3]

See also[]

• Brochure
• Business card
• Comp card
• Folded leaflet
• Marketing collateral
• Merchant Mariner's Document
• Pamphlet

References[]