It seems like Poynt is following the trend set by location based services and starting to show offers when you search for a certain location. For example, you might be searching for a coffee joint and find a coupon for the local Starbucks. The idea is pretty cool and that is more or less how search engines like Google make money.
The service will be called the Poynt Offer Engine and will let local merchants from small businesses to large multinationals to target local users with offers and coupons on their devices. Its nice to see that Poynt is getting a revenue model and it looks like it will hopefully be pretty nonintrusive. With 23+ million searches a month they could do well with this deal and keep the awesome Poynt app free.
Check out the latest version of Poynt at www.poynt.com. Full press release after the jump:
MULTIPLIED MEDIA UNVEILS POYNT OFFER ENGINE AT DEMO FALL 2010
Offer Engine Brings Local Businesses the Best in Direct and Targeted Consumer Outreach
Calgary, Alberta and Santa Clara, California —September 14, 2010—Multiplied Media Corporation (TSX-V: MMC) (“Multiplied” or the “Company”), a leading provider of mobile local search services, today announced from DEMO Fall 2010 the introduction of the Poynt Offer Engine (“Offer Engine”).
The Offer Engine is an easy-to-use, location aware turnkey advertising service that merchants large and small can utilize to set up just-in-time offers, specials and coupons to attract local consumers via their mobile phone.
The Poynt Offer Engine addresses the needs of the local merchant, from small businesses to multi-location national brands. Each can now effectively present offers in a simple, relevant and local manner. The Offer Engine uses our patented geo-fencing technology to deliver offers within a pre-defined geographic area, as determined by the merchant. When a customer moves into the geo-fenced area, they trigger offers to be delivered where and when they are looking to make a purchase The consumer receives the ad when they are within the offer radius, but it is only once the consumer is in close proximity to the merchant’s business that the offer is activated and can be redeemed.
"Multiplied Media’s Offer Engine provides merchants with an easy-to-use service to help target nearby customers and ultimately bring in new business," said Matt Marshall, executive producer of DEMO. “Through offering special discounts via direct message within a selected area, Poynt users receive relevant offers that enrich the overall local search experience.”
The Offer Engine includes an easy-to-navigate dashboard where merchants can set up new offers, view existing and past promotions, as well as see how many mobile users are in the area. Merchants can preview their offers and once they are satisfied with their ad, choose to have it go live immediately within the Poynt application. The dashboard also shows merchants when a customer has redeemed an offer, as well as who their competition in the area is and how many offers are live around a location.
“Our new Offer Engine is going to further expand on Poynt’s goal of taking users from inspiration to action within a single easy-to-use app,” said Andrew Osis, CEO of Multiplied Media. “Poynt users make tens of millions of search queries a month—we see the next step in local search as connecting local merchants directly to these users.”
Multiplied Media is unveiling the Poynt Offer Engine at DEMO Fall 2010. Multiplied Media will be located at station number 35 in the Demonstrator Pavilion.
