QR Codes (short for Quick Response), are 2D, pixilated black and white squares taking you to an online destination when scanned by a smartphone. Developed in Japan in 1994, QR Codes have only recently become mainstream in the New Zealand market.
Ollie Langridge and his anonymous Kiwi-expat business partner in Tokyo, saw the black and white QR codes weren’t particularly pleasant to the eye, and all looked the same. “Inserting logos, design and brand equity helps project the ‘true identity’ of a brand or business” Langridge says. After 4 years of development the ‘designer QR codes’ were perfected and so their company SET QR and
SET QR NZ was born.
The development of the designer codes wasn’t an easy feat “We’ve taken a long time to be able to actually sort out how to make them readable not only on just one QR scan system, but on the top 10 global systems. That is our measure of expertise” Langridge says.
SET QR and SET QR NZ are global leaders in the designer QR code field “its taken years to perfect what we do. We can safely call ourselves world leaders, and the designer QR code is a Kiwi Invention.” From Ollie’s virtual office in Wellington and an office based in downtown Tokyo, Set QR and SET QR NZ have an impressive client list like Time Magazine, Moet, Louis Vuitton and Disney. New Zealand companies are also jumping on board the designer QR code craze with Westpac, Resene, Honda, Helipro , the Green Party and others already using the designer QR codes here.
QR codes are a Marketer’s dream says Langridge “They are designed to drive people from offline mediums to online destinations with pinpoint accuracy and total measurability,” he says. “A shopper in Tokyo, for instance, can pick up a bottle of artisan honey from New Zealand, scan the designer QR code and they could be taken to a website showing information or video about where the honey was grown, the type of bees involved, the field it came from. They can add an experience and value that otherwise would not be there”.
Enter
netfilms, Langridge’s other Wellington-based company, dedicated to producing premium online videos. No commercials, documentaries or music videos, purely online and strictly for business. Ollie and his Executive Producer Paula Nightingale are experts in their field with over 20 years experience each. This is the difference with netfilms, they generally employ those with at least 10 years’ experience to ensure that the output they are producing is of the highest standard. “Here at netfilms we're passionate about quality moving image production, and demystifying the film process for the direct benefit of your business or brand, and at affordable prices” says Langridge.
Founded in early 2011, netfilms has already made a name for itself both in New Zealand and internationally with a client list including Animal Planet UK, Briscoes, Cadbury NZ, Emirates Airlines, MTV and Telstra.
SET QR NZ and netfilms are extremely complimentary companies. Ollie’s work with the designer QR codes, teamed with a premium online video by netfilms is what can make a QR campaign so successful - directing people to an interactive informative video via a designer QR code.
As demand for designer QR codes and more interactive online videos are bound to soar in the coming months, SET QR NZ and netfilms are definitely ahead of their game and are companies to keep an eye on for what comes next.