SEEING IS BELIEVING

In a bid to stand out from the loyalty card crowd, Montreal-based supermarket chain Provigo is distributing to its customers some two million plastic cards that promise to reveal hidden messages in Provigo coupons and flyers. The cards, produced by Montreal-based RCM (Reveal Card Marketing) Technologies, contain a clear strip that, when placed on top of a customized cache, reveals a secret message or prize. Provigo says it chose the card because it’s cheaper and more innovative than conventional scratch-and-save promotions. The card is also reusable. To build excitement for its Reveal Card, Provigo is distributing six different flyers (with a weekly circulation of 2.3 million copies) and 7.2 million in-store vouchers offering cardholders thousands of instant-win cash and product prizes – prizes that are revealed only when customers use their cards. The Reveal Card, which features a UPC code that can be read by standard optical scanners, also allows for data capture and analysis.

E-COMM PROVIDER ADDS AUCTIONS TO STABLE

A Mississauga-based Web developer is hoping to cash in on the explosive growth of online auction sales. NPartner.com, which designs low-cost e-commerce solutions for Canadian businesses, recently licensed an auction solution – Edeal Service’s Auction Enabler – that will allow clients to add branded, online auctions to their Web sites. Forrester Research projects online auction revenues will total $19 billion by 2003, with business-to-consumer auctions accounting for 66% of those sales.

Strategy is looking for creative and innovative marketing uses for technology. If you’ve got an exciting application to share, please contact Bernadette Johnson at bjohnson@brunico.com.