WO2001062515A1

WO2001062515A1 - A redemption coupon

Info

Publication number: WO2001062515A1
Application number: PCT/AU2001/000187
Authority: WO
Inventors: Craig Phillips
Original assignee: Lip-Say International Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2000-02-23
Filing date: 2001-02-23
Publication date: 2001-08-30
Also published as: WO2001062515A9

Abstract

The invention comprises a redemption coupon comprising: a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of said faces, said carrier sheet further having redemption data printed thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible. The invention further comprises a tracking system for tracking a redemption coupon comprising a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of said faces, said carrier sheet further including a unique identifier printed on at least one face and redemption data printed thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible, said tracking system comprising: a database capable of storing data relating to the identifiers of a multiplicity of redemption coupons; a series of identifier reading means, each identifier reading means connectable to said database for transmitting said data; and an application program adapted to retrieve said data from said database and present it to a user.

Description

A redemption coupon

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a redemption coupon used in particular for promotional and marketing purposes. Background of the invention

Coupons can be used to relay information regarding goods and services offered by a vendor to the vendor's potential customers. One type of coupon that is offered to customers relates to discount purchases offered by a vendor in which the vendor offers reduced price goods or services. For example, a coupon or voucher issued by a dry cleaning service may provide the customer with a 20% reduction on the price of dry cleaning items upon presentation of the coupon at the vendor's premises. Typically the discount offer is prominently displayed on coupons or vouchers of this type and is completely visible at all times to the potential customer.

Such a coupon or voucher may also contain some form of identification, for example a bar code, enabling the vendor to track the coupon and determine when an individual coupon is returned for redemption of the offer. Trackable coupons of this type are a valuable tool employed by vendors to assess the market and identify potential areas for growth and development. Furthermore the redemption rate (that is the proportion of coupons distributed which are subsequently returned for redemption purposes) can be determined and used to evaluate the success of the vendor's marketing and advertising campaigns. Typically the use of this type of redemption coupon or voucher achieves a low redemption rate, often of less than 20%. Thus more than four of every five coupons distributed are not returned. The large number of similar campaigns used by different vendor's at any one time mean that consumers are inundated with offers. Often there is nothing eye-catching or memorable about any one offer over another to induce the consumer to accept that offer. Another type of coupon relates to a lottery coupon in which a prize is offered in return for purchasing the coupon. One example of this type of "prize coupon" is one which is sold to a customer as a game on the chance that the customer might win a monetary prize if they achieve a certain result. These lottery coupons include a panel having an image printed thereon which reveals the result. The image is typically covered with a latex coating which may be scratched away from the surface of the panel with an object to thereby reveal the image. The customer, when they purchase the coupon, is uncertain as to whether in fact the coupon they purchased is a ticket which will successfully win them a prize. This is only discovered once the latex coating has been scratched off the coupon.

In the production of such lottery coupons, the printing of the latex coating covering the image occurs independently from the printing of the rest of the information on the coupon. Thus a multi-stage printing process is needed to produce such coupons in which the latex coating is applied last, usually by screen printing. Furthermore these coupons often include up to four layers of latex which results in increased production time and costs. Another disadvantage of this latex coating is that it creates a residue which sticks to a user's fingers. Once scratched from the coupon the latex coating breaks into small particles which stick, for example, to floors and are difficult to remove. The latex residue is also not recyclable.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a coupon which includes a redeemable offer and which may achieve a higher redemption rate than is commonly achieved with coupons of the prior art. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a redemption coupon containing initially hidden information which does not result in the generation of a messy residue when the hidden information is revealed.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a redemption coupon comprising: a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of said faces, said carrier sheet further having redemption data printed thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible.

In a preferred embodiment the carrier sheet will further comprise a unique identifier printed on at least one face, the identifier enabling the redemption coupon to be tracked.

Preferably the redemption data printed on the carrier sheet may relate to any one or more of the following: a prize offered in a competition; a product; a service; or a discount offer.

Preferably the information and the redemption data are printed onto said coupon by means of a multi-colour printing process wherein said invisible ink forms one of the colours and said printing process comprises a single pass process. Preferably the ink is a metal-reactive ink which may be transformed from the first state to the second state by rubbing with a metal object, such as a coin.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a tracking system for tracking a redemption coupon comprising a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of said faces, wherein said carrier sheet further includes redemption data printed thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible, and a unique identifier printed on at least one face, the identifier enabling the redemption coupon to be tracked, said tracking system comprising: a database capable of storing data relating to the identifiers of a multiplicity of redemption coupons; a series of identifier reading means, each identifier reading means connectable to said database for transmitting said data; and an application program adapted to retrieve said data from said database and present it to a user; wherein said data may include any one or more of the following data items: vendor identification; time of dispensing redemption coupon from a vendor premises; time of receiving redemption coupon at a vendor premises; purchase or sale price of a vendor's services/goods; name of purchaser from a vendor. The term "coupon" as used in this specification is to be interpreted broadly so as to include, for example, cards, pamphlets, brochures, advertising flyers, price tags, bills, financial statements, payslips, and newspaper and magazine pages.

Where in the specification the word "comprising" or "comprised" is used, unless otherwise stated explicitly, the scope of the word is to be construed broadly such that it has an inclusive meaning rather than an exclusive meaning.

Brief description of the drawings

Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred forms of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of the front face of a redemption coupon with an initially invisible image printed thereon,

Fig 2 is a top view of a second embodiment of a front face of a redemption coupon with an initially invisible image printed thereon, Fig 3 illustrates one image of redemption data on the coupon of Fig 1 in the visible state,

Fig 4 illustrates an alternative image of the ledemption data on the coupon of Fig 1 in the visible state,

Fig 5 illustrates an embodiment of the rear face of a redemption coupon according to the present invention, Fig 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the rear face of a redemption coupon according to the present invention,

Fig 7 illustrates a third embodiment of a rear face of a redemption coupon according to the present invention, and

Fig 8 is a schematic illustration of a tracking system for tracking the use of a redemption coupon

Detailed description of the embodiments

The present invention relates to a redemption coupon which includes a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of the faces and in which the carrier sheet contains redemption data pπnted thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible A redemption coupon of the present invention is suitable for us in a marketing or advertising campaign whereby a vendor offers, for example, discount goods and/or services, upon return of the coupon to the vendor for redemption Additionally a redemption coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention may be used as a lottery or other prize coupon whereby a user wins a prize if the correct information is revealed upon rubbing the invisible ink panel with a suitable object

Referring to Fig 1 there is shown a front face 10 a redemption coupon 12 The front face 10 has a logo/graphic region 14 located at the upper part of the redemption coupon for displaying the logo/graphic of a vendor The front face 10 also has a panel 16 which contains an image printed in "metal reactive" ink The image is initially invisible and therefore the panel 16 appears as a blank space Fig. 2 shows another embodiment similar to the embodiment of Fig. 1, the only difference being that the panel 16 and the logo/graphic image 14 are positioned in different locations on the redemption coupon. The embodiment has been shown with like numerals for convenience. The size of the panel 16 may be of any suitable size according to the requirement of the particular redemption coupon and the nature of the redeemable offer to be displayed in the panel 16.

A customer who has been issued with the coupons of Figs. 1 and 2 then uses a metal coin to rub the image 16. The image 16 is "metal reactive" in that as the invisible ink image 16 is rubbed with a metal coin (or any type of metal) it reveals the images as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The coupon shown in Fig. 3 displays to a user after rubbing the area 16 with a coin, the notification: "20% off sale present coupon". Hence, a customer is able to present this coupon to a vendor who would typically have their logo/graphic printed on the face of the coupon at region 14. The customer would then receive 20% off the price of any purchases made at the vendor's premises. When a redemption coupon of this type is first distributed the redeemable discount offer is initially invisible to the eye of the user. The offer only becomes apparent when the user rubs the panel containing the redemption data printed in invisible ink. Thus the user must physically interact with the coupon in order to discover the nature of the redeemable offer. As a result of this interaction the offer becomes more memorable to the user and the user is more likely to use the coupon and redeem the offer. This results in higher redemption rates for the vendor using such coupons as opposed to those in which the redeemable offer is readily apparent to the user at all times.

Fig. 4, like Fig. 3, shows a coupon once the coupon has been rubbed with a metal object to reveal the image printed in invisible ink. In this case the coupon is of the type used in instant lottery games and the redemption data on the coupon relates to a monetary prize.

The coin reactive ink provides an advantage over the latex scratchable panels typically employed in such instant lottery games as there is no latex residue which rubs off and leaves the coupon, the user's fingers, or the surrounding area including the floor untidy.

Consequently, using the coin reactive ink on the coupons provides a clean way of presenting "surprise information" to a customer without harming the environment by leaving deposits of latex which have to be cleaned once they have been scratched. Furthermore, this product is recyclable as the paper can be recycled unlike latex coated coupons which may cause problems in the recycling process

The coin reactive ink reveals the image only once the metal coin has been rubbed against the surface The coin reactive ink which may be used to print the image 16 on the coupons 12, can be "340802 Coin Reactive Transparent" ink which is supplied by SICPA Australia Pty Limited This coin reactive transparent ink consists of a mixture of diatomaceous eaith pigments, pigment white 27, C I 7781 1 blended into an oleoresinous vehicle system The vehicle incorporates metal catalysts/dryers to promote the oxidative drying process

A redemption coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention can be produced in a single-stage, multi-colour printing process Typically the printing process would be 4- or 5- colour computer-controlled offset printing in which one of the "colours" is represented by the invisible ink Thus all of the information contained on the coupon, including both the graphic/logo information 14 and the redemption data in the region 16 can be printed in a single print run This provides an advantage over the currently used latex coated coupons in which a multi-stage process is required and the graphic/logo information is printed first followed by a separate printing process to add the latex coatιng(s) As a result a redemption coupon according to an embodiment of the present invention can be produced for a substantially lower cost than a coupon including a latex coating

Referring now to Fig 5, there is shown the rear face 18 of the coupon 12 shown in Fig 1 In this embodiment, the specific terms and conditions of the redeemable offer provided by the vendor are printed on the rear face 18 of the coupon 12

Referring to Fig 6, there is shown a second embodiment of the rear face 18 of the coupon 12 shown in Fig 1 in which on the rear face 18 there is provided the entry details enabling the coupon user to enter a competition being run by the vendor The coupon user fills out their personal details to enter the competition Once the coupon is returned to the vendor for redemption of the offer printed in the metal reactive ink, the coupon users details may then be used by the vendor for marketing purposes

In Fig 7 there is shown a third embodiment wherein a unique identifier in the form of a bar code 22, which serves to identify the specific coupon issued by a vendor, is included on the coupon The bar code 22 may be printed on either the rear face of the coupon as illustrated in Fig 7 or on the front face of the coupon The bar code 22 may be incorporated in conjunction with any other information on the coupon such as the terms and conditions or competition entry details described above in relation to other embodiments. The bar code 22 can be used to uniquely track the coupon as will be explained below.

Referring now to Fig. 8 there is shown a system for tracking redemption coupons. The coupons are distributed by a plurality of vendors 28 (only two of which are shown in Fig. 8 for illustrative purposes). Each of the vendors 28 may be physical branches or outlets of an individual company or they may be separate, independent businesses.

The coupons distributed by the vendors 28 each have printed on them a unique bar code (such as bar code 22 illustrated in Fig. 7) identifying the individual coupons. In other embodiments a bar code may not be used but a unique number identifier which identifies the coupon. The coupons are distributed to potential customers and in this example are redeemed for either their prizes or the discount offerings provided by the vendors when then they are returned to the vendor's premises for redemption.

The vendors each have a bar code reader 34 which reads the data of the coupon. The reader 34 is connected to a central computer 30 which contains a database 32. The data from each individual coupon is transmitted by the reader 34 to the computer 30 where it is stored in the database 32.

The data stored in the database 32 may include the vendor's name and address, the date on which the coupon was distributed to potential customers and the time at which the coupon was returned by the customer for redemption and entered into the bar code reader. The database can also store information relating to the particular offering of the coupon as shown in the region 16 (refer to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), the information being pre-registered in the database when the coupons are first issued.

An application program 36 run by the computer 30 then retrieves this data from the database 32 and processes it so that, for example, the redemption rate can be determined. In this way, it is possible for a vendor to undertake a marketing campaign by providing a number of coupons to the public and then being able to assess which coupons actually are redeemed for their value. Accurate records of all redeemed coupons means that numbers are kept for those redeemed coupons by customers of the vendors of the total number of coupons which are offered to the public. This provides the vendor with the ability to track and hence monitor the efficiency of the advertising campaign. Redemption coupons may be provided in booklets or as individual coupons. Redemption coupons may be distributed in a variety of ways. For example coupons may be distributed by hand directly to potential customers or distributed to a customer when the customer purchases a good or service. Alternatively, redemption coupons may be delivered, for example, via letterbox drops or direct mailings.

Although the specific embodiments described above relate to a redemption coupon in the form of a small card, other forms of redemption coupons can be used, for example pamphlets, brochures, advertising flyers, price tags, bills, financial statements, payslips, and newspaper and magazine pages. For example, a bill may have a portion of its area containing an invisible coin reactive ink image on its surface. This means that a vendor such as a utility company (ie such as a telecommunications company) would use the metal reactive invisible ink to print an offer on the bill which could then be used by a customer to redeem an offer. The offer may involve the customer visiting the company's web site in order to redeem the offer. In another embodiment an employer may incorporate a panel having redemption data printed thereon with metal reactive invisible ink onto employees payslips. The redemption data may include details of special offers provided by either the employer or another company and available to the employees, such as information relating to financial services (loans, savings, superannuation offers and the like). An employee on receiving their payslip would rub the panel to reveal the offer.

Bills, payslips, and other statements are typically produced in a two-stage process. For example, in the case of a bill the information common to all bills is printed by means of an offset printing process wherein the bills may be individually sheet-fed, or more commonly printed in a continuous reel on a so-called web. Subsequently the data specific to each individual bill is printed using a similarly web-based laser printing means. Newspaper and magazine pages are also typically printed using a web-based laser printing means.

The incorporation of a latex coating disguising redemption data on a coupon such as a bill for example would increase the thickness of each bill in a localised region where the latex coating is applied. This variable thickness of the paper will result in a distortion and misalignment of the continuous reel of paper on the web making subsequent printing steps extremely difficult. Furthermore the heat generated in the laser printing process may melt the latex thereby removing the means of disguising the redemption data and further adversely affecting not only the printing process but also the printing machinery In contrast, the incorporation of redemption data printed in invisible ink is well suited to such a printing process and the invisible ink can be incorporated into the normal process without the need for an additional print run and without the consequent disadvantages described above for producing latex coatings

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and/oi modifications may be made to the present invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive

Claims

1. A redemption coupon comprising: a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of said faces, said carrier sheet further having redemption data printed thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible.

2. A redemption coupon according to claim 1 wherein said information and said redemption data are printed onto said coupon by means of a multi-colour printing process wherein said invisible ink forms one of the colours and said printing process comprises a single pass process.

3. A redemption coupon according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said ink is a metal-reactive ink which may be transformed from said first state to said second state by rubbing with a metal object.

4. A redemption coupon according to claim 3 wherein said metal object is a coin.

5. A redemption coupon according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said redemption data printed on said carrier sheet relates to any one or more of the following: a prize offered in a competition; a product; a service; or a discount offer.

6. A redemption coupon according to any preceding claim wherein said carrier sheet further comprises a unique identifier printed on at least one face, the identifier enabling the redemption coupon to be tracked.

7. A tracking system for tracking a redemption coupon comprising a carrier sheet having a front face and a rear face with information printed on at least one of said faces, said carrier sheet further including a unique identifier printed on at least one face and redemption data printed thereon with an ink which in a first state is invisible to the eye but on rubbing with a selected object becomes visible, said tracking system comprising: a database capable of storing data relating to the identifiers of a multiplicity of redemption coupons; a series of identifier reading means, each identifier reading means connectable to said database for transmitting said data; and an application program adapted to retrieve said data from said database and present it to a user.