UKTV FOOD USES PRINTABLE COUPON TECHNOLOGY FROM COUPONSTAR TO INCREASE VIEWER INTERACTIVITY

24th April 2008

UKTV Food joins leading grocery coupon network CouponNET™

UKTV Food, the UK’s only dedicated TV food channel, has partnered with printable-coupon market leader Couponstar to integrate a gallery of online printable food and beverage coupons into its highly popular website, to offer an improved and more interactive online experience to its viewers.

UKTV Food is one of nine UKTV channels available on Virgin or Sky that attract 33 million viewers a month. The website, which has been a big driver in the business following a merger of the new media and TV departments in 2007, won the ‘Best Online Community Site’ at the Broadcast Digital Channel Awards 2007 after it secured pole position in online traffic ratings ahead of BBC Food’s website earlier that year. While the website has strong synergy with the TV channel, interactivity is one of its key functions – here viewers can now save money on their grocery shopping as well as read about the programmes, search for a recipe, enter competitions and buy related products.

UKTV Food is using the CouponNET™ network from Couponstar – a “white label” platform for securely distributing printable coupons and vouchers via the Internet – to offer their viewers grocery coupons that they can print at home or in the office. The technology provides a secure and trackable distribution system, which is easy to use and allows FMCG brands to control and monitor their coupon campaigns.

Amber Coley, Head of Online Sales at UKTV Food, comments, “At UKTV Food we pride ourselves on having some of the best online content to add value and positively contribute commercially to our carefully selected TV programmes. The CouponNET™ gallery has allowed us to expand on the services that we can make available to our viewers. We encourage our viewers to engage with us online, and now we can offer an even more interactive and fulfilling experience, with money saving coupons from a range of grocery, pharmaceutical and retail brands.”

As market leaders in the consumer-printable coupon industry, Couponstar’s technology is unique in providing organisations with a proven solution to securely and efficiently issue personalised and trackable coupons via the internet, critically bridging the gap between online marketing and consumers’ offline purchasing behaviour. And, with typical redemption rates now at 23.5% - significantly higher than the industry average – Couponstar’s CouponNET™ network can help brands cost effectively acquire new customers and drive in-store sales.

Jared Keen, Managing Director of Couponstar, comments, “We are very excited to have UKTV Food join the CouponNET™ network. Research has shown huge consumer demand for online printable coupons, and the UKTV Food website is a perfect platform from which to offer grocery coupon savings. The CouponNETTM platform is helping UKTV Food to further its continued success in offering its viewers a relevant and comprehensive source of online content. It also closes the gap between consumer expectations and a slow response to-date to consumer demand for a more interactive and personal online experience.”

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For further information, please contact:
Lisa Williams/Kieran Kent
The itpr Partnership
t. +44 (0)1932 57 88 00
www.itpr.co.uk
lisaw@itpr.co.uk