WHAT'S IN STORE? 1995-11-13

CARLENE A. THISSEN

Brand managers and anyone in the manufacturer's organization who has anything to do with coupons should understand about good coupon design. Let's have a quick review. Good criteria for "good" design include three things:

Material Good coupons are printed on good paper, not sticky or flimsy materials.

Size A good size is like a dollar bill.

Design A good coupon design specifies the value. If the coupon is for free product, it specifies the maximum value. Good coupons avoid any need for checker intervention. They have expiration dates. Product pictures are included. Clear instructions for clearing are printed, along with the redemption address. Legal text is clear and concise. Accurate UPC and UCC/EAN 128 codes are printed in the bottom right hand corner.

Information Resources Inc. recently summarized bad coupon codes. Incorrect family codes make up 58% of errors; incorrect value codes are 20.6%. Value codes are the worst because they almost always cost someone money. Let's say a coupon for $.75 is erroneously coded with a value code of "76." ("76" on the value code table means $1.) If the retailer is not scanning coupons, the customer will get $1 off, so the customer wins, which means someone loses. Down the clearing line, if the clearinghouse scans the bar code to enter the coupon, the manufacturer will be charged $1, so the manufacturer loses. If the clearinghouse doesn't scan, they will key-enter $.75. The manufacturer will only be charged $.75, so the retailer loses, because the retailer gave the consumer $1. However, in reality, the manufacturer really loses because coupon-scanning retailers catch these errors and fine manufacturers -- sometimes up to $10,000. A lot of money for a "simple" error!

A coupon coordinator should be assigned to the tasks of ensuring good coupon design. Duties include administering the numbering assignments (manufacturer IDs and family codes and offer codes); acting as a liaison with the trading partners to advise them of changes to coupon or product codes; staying in communication with the Uniform Code Council; and being the contact for the printer.

The coordinator needs to perform quality assurance and testing. They should confirm that the film masters for bar codes meet Uniform Code Council standards; review artboards and press proofs for correct bar code contrast and size, following UCC guidelines; confirm that bar codes are printed on flat even surfaces, and printed in the direction of the printing press web (cross-web printing can smear the bars). Print quality should be verified on each new print run because excess build-up on plates causes problems.

It's worth the time and money to assign someone to the task of ensuring good coupon design. Nestle has gone to the length of creating a video explaining good coupon design in detail. It is distributed to all involved personnel in all Nestle divisions. This type of commitment, in the same or a different form, would help manufacturers and retailers as we move down the road to electronic clearing.

Carlene A. Thissen is president of Retail Systems Consulting, Naples, Fla.