Rebates and Consumer Reward Management

No. Although many states and provinces have legislation banning expiration dates for retailer Gift Cards, not all do and even then, there are exceptions (EG: mall cards). Preloaded cards virtually always have expiration dates and some have processing fees that may be deducted after a set period of time. It is always advised to fully read and understand the terms and conditions that come with each card.

There is no centralized database for manufacturer's rebates and a reputable rebate processor would not sell such information, so I would suggest that your only option would be to contact Casio directly. Good luck with your search.

Great question! There are many advantages of using a plastic "reward" card over a check. The most important is the ability to customized a card - which literally takes your brand message and logo right to your customer's wallet. That's pretty powerful brand reinforcement. Once deposited, the value of a check goes to the consumer's bank account - but a reward card stays in their wallet and research shows it feels more like 'fun' money, giving them permission to splurge a little, thanks to your brand.

When you personalize the card to the consumer's name, you are making a direct connection with your brand. In addition, cards that are lost or stolen can be quickly replaced, protecting your reward investment.

We frankly see no downside to using reward cards and offer a full range of cards to suit your needs and level of customization.We are focussed on mail-in and online submissions, validation and reward. In that realm, yes, the rebate can have a significantly negative impact on the brand if the experience is not handled properly as, in the consumer's eyes, they are dealing directly with that brand. If they feel they've been treated unfairly, or worse - ripped off, they will likely think twice about purchasing that brand next time.

Conversely, a positive experience (eg: quick payment) will reinforce the brand and be a major influence to building brand loyalty.

Delay Cards (a postcard sent to communicate that it will take longer than 30 days to fulfill an order) are necessary to satisfy the FTC’s Thirty-Day Rule for mail order purchases, however this rule does not specifically apply to rebates – at least not yet. We have not seen widespread use of them in the rebate business to date, likely because postage and print could add unexpected costs to a manufacturer’s budget.

That being said, we agree that an essential element in providing an exceptional consumer experience is to communicate their rebate status before they even begin to wonder about it. We’ve worked very hard to create cost effective ways to communicate, including eMail, text messaging and by keeping our self look-up website and 24/7 call center updated in real time. We recommend that you clearly offer opt-in permissions, phone numbers and website addresses on the original coupon for consumers to reference.

So, although it’s not mandated (yet), we strongly recommend and encourage you to budget for pro-active communication with your customers.

We’ve found that many marketers have recently gone to instant, in-store savings due to a number of factors, but largely due to pressure from retailers who grew tired of consumer complaints about the wait times and growing mistrust of the mail-in process. What they found, however, were a number of issues: 1. Since everyone gets the reward, it becomes very expensive 2. When you lower the value of the offer (to make the cost manageable), you get less sales and 3. You need to manage the submission of the coupons from your retailers, in terms of validation, security/fraud issues, compilation, reconciliation and payment. We can do all of that for you. There definitely is a place for both, and we’re now seeing A shift back to mail-in, likely due to all of the above.

What you need to do is determine your consumer value proposition to the cost of the savings to the consumer. We believe the best compromise may be our ‘near instant’ payment solutions, which offer consumers the full discount and pay them quickly once they mail in the submission. Since we validate in days, not weeks, with our RebatePal™ process, we can actually send a reward payment via PayPal® within 10 days of receipt. We can also create a fully customized American Express® branded reward card for your campaign and have a personalized card sent directly to a consumer’s home. It saves time, gives a better reward and carries your brand right through to their wallet. With wireless carriers and subscription services (like satellite radio), we can even
facilitate a credit directly to the subscriber’s account.

As you can see, there is lots to consider and much depends on your product, the value of your reward and where you are placing your offer, but the good news is that there are many more options open to you now.