Mar 1, 2007 6:01 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Betsy Spethmann

Catalina's coupons get ePrize codes that send shoppers online

Catalina Marketing Corp. has signed a deal with interactive promotions company ePrize to bring an online element to Catalina’s in-store promotions.

The collaboration launches Catalina Interactive, a new promotional service that leverages the Checkout Coupon printers that Catalina runs in 22,000 stores.

Those in-store printers will distribute promotional codes to shoppers, who then enter the codes online to enter sweepstakes or instant-win games run by ePrize. Brands can use the service to target individual shoppers based on their purchases, the same way Catalina’s flagship Checkout Coupon program triggers coupons based on the items being scanned at checkout. That kind of targeting is more efficient, and cheaper than the on-pack codes that packaged goods brands currently use for online promotions, said ePrize CEO Josh Linkner.

Consumers will start seeing the in-store/online offers this spring. The two companies have a handful of signed contracts and about a dozen more pending, said Cary Siegel, Catalina’s executive vice president and chief development officer.

One undisclosed manufacturer, a mutual client of Catalina and ePrize, has already used the service to field an account-specific promotion piggybacking the retailer’s loyalty program. The offer targeted the brand’s heavy users, giving them extra loyalty points when they made multiple purchases of the brand, said Ivan Frank, executive vice president of business development for ePrize.

The online execution makes offers easy to customize for an individual retail chain, Siegel said, adding that retailers can also field their own promotions. Marketers can use the registration information that ePrize collects to supplement their databases.

The launch comes as Catalina considers a takeover bid from ValueAct Capital Master Fund (PROMO Xtra, Feb. 23, 2007). No timetable has been set for a decision; Siegel declined to comment on the bid, saying only that the offer is being discussed “at the board level.”

The non-exclusive partnership between St. Petersburg, FL-based Catalina and Pleasant Hills, MI-based ePrize has been in the works since November, Siegel said. Catalina is talking with other Internet marketing firms, and looking for more conversations with potential partners, to expand its interactive services.

“Rather than build internally, we’ve got a lot of assets that online folks can use: an unbelievable client list, strong penetration in-store, and very targeted advertising capabilities, with messages based on purchase,” Siegel said. In fact, about 30% of Catalina’s business is ads delivered at checkout, with no coupon or promotional incentive attached.

That ad business has grown as Catalina completes its $100 million conversion to full-color printers on all its point-of-sale units. The switchover to color printers has been underway for eight months, and will be completed during the second quarter, Siegel said. Already, color-coupon redemption is up 31% over redemption rates for Catalina’s black-and-white coupons, he said.

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