Coupons Inc. comes to Italy, Germany & Scandinavia
thewisemarketer.com - Jul 28 2004

http://www.thewisemarketer.com/news/read.asp?lc=r2588fx1009zj

Consumer-printed coupon technology from Coupons Inc. is to be marketed in Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia, following an agreement between Milan-based Kiwari and Couponstar (the coupon technology platform's global distributor outside of the Americas).

"Internet coupons have been growing in popularity in North America. According to research by Forrester Research, about 38% of US online households now use home printed coupons," explained Steven R. Boal, CEO for Coupons Inc. This article is copyright 2004 TheWiseMarketer.com.

The agreement between Couponstar and Kiwari furthers the company's goal of growing its technology into a global marketing tool, allowing CPG companies to use the platform both in Europe and North America, as well as in Couponstar's existing Australian territory.

How it works
The platform provides an internet-based distribution system for coupons that can be self-printed by consumers using their home or office computers, ready for in-store redemption. Proprietary encryption, authentication, private & public key technology and sourcing is used when coupon information is transmitted across the internet, preventing them from being copied. Additional built-in security features allow the automatic expiry of coupons, print-count limiting, bar coding (with 2-D bar codes), serialisation, time and date stamping, localisation, and numbering of coupons.

"Kiwari's mission is to offer solutions that combine consolidated direct marketing strategies with the effectiveness of new technologies," said Kiwari's president, Marco Rivosecchi.

Background
Established in January 2000, Kiwari develops technological solutions for digital marketing and communications, with many European companies having adopted the company's customer profiling, targeting and tracking solutions for either online advertising or digital marketing campaigns.

Couponstar is an online direct marketing solutions provider that specialises in e-couponing technology. In Australia, the company currently works with P&G, KingGee, Casino Canberra, City of Melbourne, North Ryde RSL, and others.