Coupons, Inc. Unveils Viral Marketing Options, Flexible Page Layouts; New Features Include Coupon Sharing Feature and Customizable Look

Business Wire, May 4, 2004

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2004

Coupons, Inc. (http://solutions.coupons.com), the leading U.S. provider of consumer-printed coupon marketing and technology solutions, has launched the next generation of its print-at-home coupon technology, including a viral marketing program that helps friends tell each other about coupons as well as more options for page design.

The Bricks(TM) Tell-A-Friend Program provides manufacturers and retailers with a secure and convenient way for their customers to alert friends and family members to consumer-printed coupon offers.

Manufacturers and retailers can customize the program's features, including setting the number of recipients that each customer can e-mail and the message that each friend receives. In addition, the e-mail that is sent to friends can include a link to the promotion Web site or a link to print the coupon directly from the e-mail.

"This is a safe and effective way for companies to benefit from the viral marketing potential of the Internet," said Steven R. Boal, CEO of Coupons, Inc. "Because the sender has already 'pre-qualified' these recipients, the likelihood that they are interested in the promotion is greatly increased."

Boal noted that the system incorporates security and anonymous tracking features to prevent fraud and to measure results. "Each time a user shares an offer with a friend, that friend is assigned an anonymous, but unique, identifier, and that identifier is linked to the original sender. The system can track how many e-mails each participant generates and the number of coupons that are printed and redeemed as a result." Results to date show an average up to 9 percent increase in the volume of coupons distributed due to Tell-A-Friend activity.

In addition to the coupon sharing feature, Coupons, Inc. has also enhanced its Coupon Page Layout (CPL) page description language to provide increased flexibility in the design of consumer-printed coupon pages. A coupon can be positioned at the top or the bottom of the page and full-color graphics and text accompanying the coupon can be in arranged on the page outside of the coupon. These options allow advertisers to distribute full-page advertising along with a coupon, greatly increasing the value of each consumer interaction.

About Coupons, Inc.

Coupons, Inc. is an independent, privately held company that provides products and services specifically to support the creation, distribution, tracking and reporting of consumer-printed coupons that can be used for traditional in-store redemption. Coupons, Inc.'s core couponing and e-mail marketing services provide its clients with a secure, flexible online marketing solution to complement their offline programs. A network of hundreds of consumer websites uses its services as do the majority of the largest consumer packaged goods and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Coupons, Inc. represents the most flexible, secure, fraud-resistant, print-from-the-web, coupon solution available in the marketplace.

Coupons, Inc. clients and licensees include ConAgra Foods, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark, Masterfoods, Dial Corp., Pfizer, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, Valassis (NYSE: VCI), and News Corporation's News America Marketing (NYSE: NWS).

Coupons, Inc. is located at 1301 Shoreway Road, Suite 102, Belmont, Calif. 94002. Telephone 650-620-9200 or online at http://solutions.coupons.com.