Kodak and Thrift Drug make phone card connection

Business Wire, March 15, 1995

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 1995--Beginning in late March, Eastman Kodak and Thrift Drug will be teaming up on a promotion that offers free long distance calls to consumers who purchase specially marked packages of film. The free talk time will be issued on-pack in the form of a 5 minute phone card that prominently displays Thrift Drug's corporate logo. More than 560 Thrift and Treasury Drug Stores throughout greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will be participating in this limited offer.

The program offers consumers who purchase Kodak film a two-part value: free phone time and discounted photofinishing. The phone card also serves as a bounce back coupon consumers can bring back to participating Thrift or Treasury Drug stores to obtain savings on film processing after the free talk time has been depleted.

The long distance phone cards or "debit cards" are being supplied by ComTel Debit Technologies of Lyndhurst, N.J., a telecommunications service bureau that specializes in packaging custom telephone debit card programs for businesses, organizations, and other institutions.

"We are pleased to be working with Kodak and Thrift Drug to provide telephone debit cards for this exciting promotion," said James Hollywood, President and CEO of ComTel. "Anyone who takes photographs and calls home to share experiences will find the personal appeal of this promotional tie-in very powerful," he added noting, "It provides a free gift to consumers and builds store traffic that benefits both Thrift and Kodak."

ComTel Debit Technologies is a wholly owned affiliate of Astarte Inc. of Boulder, Colo. Astarte is a diversified, privately held company with several interests in emerging technologies. Among these holdings are ParaGraph International / Matrix One, LLC, a computer software business which owns the handwriting recognition software used in the Apple Newton, and Astarte Fiber Networks, a telecommunications enterprise developing photonic switching technology for fiber optic users.

CONTACT: ComTel Debit Technologies

John Crawford, Gregg Gerstman, 201/460-3600