SmartSource.com Adds Direct-to-Card Technology

News America Marketing (NAM), which produces over 165 billion coupons annually in the U.S. and Canada, has updated its online site, SmartSource.com, with Direct2Card capability, giving users the ability to apply coupon offers directly to their shopper loyalty cards, from which they will be automatically redeemed at checkout.

The Direct2Card (D2C) offers will be powered by Cellfire. While NAM has been using D2C technology on a variety of different platforms, including its iPad app SmartSource Xpress, this is the first opportunity shoppers will have to get the offers found on SmartSource.com loaded directly to their loyalty cards. SmartSource.com will continue to provide printable offers for traditionalists as well as those whose neighborhood store may not be participating in the program's launch.

“More and more consumers are choosing digital channels to receive their savings, and SmartSource is committed to delivering the same outstanding caliber and selection of coupons to these shoppers that traditional coupon users receive in their weekly SmartSource Magazine,” said Chris Mixson, president of NAM. “We are looking forward to rounding out our digital portfolio more fully in the coming months, while continuing to build our core businesses of SmartSource Magazine and SmartSource In-Store.”

NAM, a division of News Corporation, publishes the Sunday coupon insert SmartSource Magazine which is delivered to 73 million homes each week. It operates the popular online consumer coupon site SmartSource.com and launched SmartSource Xpress - a couponing application for iPads - this spring with a version for the iPhone launching in October. SmartSource Xpress also uses Direct2Card technology.

“Our partnership with Cellfire gives consumers more choices, something that’s very important to us,” said Henri Lellouche, SVP, digital, News America Marketing.

NAM’s product portfolio, marketed under the SmartSource brand name, consists of the first branded free-standing insert, known as SmartSource Magazine, online consumer coupon site SmartSource.com, various in-store marketing products, merchandising services, database marketing tools and online promotions. These products and services allow marketers to deliver a brand message to millions of consumers each month via a network of 1,700+ newspapers/publications and over 61,000 supermarket, drug, office, mass merchandisers and dollar-store locations across the country, including Kroger, Safeway, Publix, CVS, Walgreens, Staples, Family Dollar, and Dollar General.