Mountain View, Calif. and Farmington, Conn. – June 25, 2008 – Coupons, Inc., the world’s leading provider of interactive coupon marketing and technology solutions, today announced the acquisition of CouponBug LLC. Through the deal, Coupons, Inc. gains direct relationships with television stations in more than 100 local television markets across the country. The acquisition promises to further integrate the massive consumer reach of television and the efficient distribution of coupons online and significantly change the coupon business.
CouponBug, a partner of Coupons, Inc. since 2004, has network marketing agreements with more than one hundred local television stations in major markets; it expects to add a large number of new stations in the coming year. The stations run TV commercials directing consumers to CouponBug?managed coupon sections of their Web sites. This approach has proven to be highly effective in directing a significant percentage of in?market households to print coupons. Since 2007 CouponBug has exclusively distributed national brand coupons provided by Coupons, Inc., as well as coupons from local advertisers in the stations’ markets.
CouponBug will significantly increase its media activity in the third quarter of this year, generating approximately 250 million viewer impressions in over 50 major markets. By 2009, the campaigns are expected to reach 80 percent of all television viewers, further extending Coupons, Inc.’s reach and coupon distribution.
“Coupons, Inc.’s continued innovation, strong brand relationships and extensive network distribution make it the right choice for CouponBug and its television station partners,” said Al Bova, CEO, CouponBug. “We’re looking forward to bringing our expertise in television direct marketing to Coupons, Inc.’s network, providing excellent benefits to local television stations, businesses, and consumers.”
For Coupons, Inc. the acquisition further demonstrates the company’s commitment to expanding its network and leveraging all forms of media and channels to make online the distribution medium for coupons. With this acquisition, the company increases its local market penetration and expands the company’s national distribution network by enabling television stations to run local coupon advertising. Coupons, Inc.’s network now includes more than 500 newspapers and more than 100 television stations, all of which can leverage the Coupons, Inc. platform to sell coupon campaigns to their local advertisers.
“Television is still the most powerful medium for reaching the largest number of consumers, and CouponBug has shown that an integrated approach, with television driving traffic to printable coupons, is a winning formula,” said Steven Boal, CEO, Coupons, Inc. “This acquisition provides us with a direct relationship with local television stations to help make the Internet the most popular source for coupon savings.”
Coupons, Inc. currently provides more than 90 percent of online printable coupon offers, and works with more than 800 top brands. The Coupons Inc. Digital FSI™ Network is the world’s largest coupon network with more than 3,500 Web sites, including those of manufacturers and brands, grocery stores, and destination sites like FoodNetwork.com and Yahoo!. With its acquisition of CouponBug and recent developments such as the Brandcaster network for publishers and the mobile coupon program with Yahoo!, Coupons, Inc. continues to enhance its service and enable partners to develop new and creative ways to offer coupon promotions to millions of consumers.
About CouponBug, LLC. CouponBug® provides online national and local grocery coupons, health and beauty coupons, entertainment coupons, and retail coupons that you receive online and print at home. Comprised of local Web sites developed with broadcast media partners, the CouponBug Network is dedicated to bringing valuable and relevant offers with significant savings. Its network of marketing partners provides printable grocery coupons, office supply coupons, fast food coupons, shoe coupons and other discount offers across more than 150 leading Web sites on the Internet.