Coupons.com Introduces Coupon-Enabled Banners

Incentive marketing firm Coupons.com Inc. this week introduced a technology called “adBricks” that allows secure coupons to be embedded in ad banners and email messages.

The technology extends Coupon.com’s “Bricks” offering, which is used on Web sites to offer print-at-home couponing. The technology is aimed at attracting traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers to online advertising, by giving them a way to connect an online spend to actual purchasing behavior.

Two well-known companies, 24/7 Media and Promotions.com, have signed on to distribute the new advertising banners, and the company says additional licensing agreements are forthcoming.

“An advertising ROI multiplier, our ‘Bricks’ suite of programs allows traditional advertisers to measure more than just click-through rates. It turns online banner and opt-in email campaigns into in-store transactions at the click of a mouse,” said Steven Boal, chief executive officer of Coupons.com.

“‘adBricks’ has the potential to change the value of online advertising for traditional brick and mortar retailers and manufacturers.”

The “Bricks” coupons contain a one-time-use coded link in traditional banners or email messages. When a user clicks on the link, the information can be transmitted to the user’s printer, with each coupon featuring a bar code. Use of the coupons can then be tracked through the manufacturer’s traditional methods of coupon clearing.