A CENTURY OF TRIAL

1912 Post by Post

a mail-in coupon offer for free sample of Postum cereal-based beverage in various U.S. farm journals. "Free to you," read the ad. "For a 2c [sic] stamp (for postage) with attached Coupon we will send to any reader of this paper a trial tin (enough for 5 cups) of Instant Postum."

1933 Clip and Sip

Kool Aid (then owned by Perkins Products Co.) runs a colorful ad in Ladies Home Journal magazine, which includes a coupon for a free 5-cent package of the soft drink mix. The coupon asks consumers to write in a name and address and to indicate if they are a first-time user of the product. Body copy indicates that "2,500,000 new Kool Aid friends" are sought.

1952 Payoff Pitch

This two-page ad for General Mills' Wheaties features a 15-cent coupon good for two boxes of the Breakfast of Champions. Copy on the coupon read, "Mr. Grocer, I think the new Wheaties are the best Wheaties ever, and I want to prove it to my friends. Please give the bearer of this Coupon 15c off the regular price of two boxes of Wheaties." It is "signed" by the era's hottest baseball pitcher, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians.

1960s FSI Floodgates Open

This freestanding newspaper insert may be the very first. It piggybacks coupons for Alcoa Wrap, Orange Plus and Lavoris Mouthwash on a magazine subscription offer for Look magazine. Magazine publishers like the concept as a way to help defray the cost of building subscription rolls. The idea is soon extended to direct mail.

1960s Tasty Alliance

Early example of a gatefold magazine insert features recipe and five coupons for General Foods and Pillsbury products. It runs in women's service and general interest magazines.

1960s Salad Days

Chicago Tribune "flag waver" magazine insert ties in offers for General Foods' Good Seasons salad dressing mix, Hunt-Wesson's Wesson Oil and Post Grape Nuts cereal, along with a tasty recipe.

1980s On the Shelf

Peel-off adhesive technology allows Post Raisin Bran to run one of the very first on-pack, instant-redeemable coupons on this package.

1970s Power Play

Procter & Gamble solo FSI features cents-off coupons for five of its biggest-selling products. It demonstrates scale economies that the company could create to help build share for its brands.

1984 Check 'Em Out

Catalina Marketing introduces its Checkout Coupon system and purchase-triggered coupons are born. Brand marketers are introduced to a hard-nosed couponing technique targeting users of competing brands with fairly high-value offers. The system's successful introduction allows it to later expand to more sophisticated, information-based services.

1990 Moment of Truth

Actmedia's Instant Coupon Machine puts offer delivery at the store shelf, powering the in-store marketing company to industry prominence. Rugged and based on fairly simple technology, tens of thousands of the units are installed in food and drug stores nationally. Proof of a good idea: several imitators follow.

1990s Automatic Pilots

This early kiosk is one of dozens of freestanding in-store coupon dispensers proposed by entrepreneurs. Gimmicks include touch screens, printed recipes, coupon trade-ins, contests, consumer I.D. cards and a machine that counts loose change. Adventurous brand marketers test them.

1992 High-Tech Interface

Advanced Promotion Technologies' Vision Value terminals produce coupons at the checkout while performing a host of other information-gathering functions. Some coupon promotions become paperless and many become more targeted to desired shopper groups as information flows upstream to brand marketers.