General
Who makes decisions for The Coupon Bureau?
The Coupon Bureau has a team of staff that is directed by the TCB advisory board, and the TCB advisory council, as well as industry standards organizations (GS1, Conexxus) and other industry associations. The advisory council consists of members from JICC, ACP, CIC, Consumer Brands Association and FMI (The Food Industry Association). Other advisory councils are currently being staffed with industry participants that will specialize in guiding TCB staff and Board in specific channels, stakeholder groups or technologies.
Who can be on the TCB board?
The TCB Board is made up of representatives from retailers and manufacturers. Service providers cannot participate in the Board but do participate at the advisory council level creating proposals and work product for the Board to vote on.
What does TCB do with its money as a non-profit?
The Coupon Bureau utilizes its revenue to maintain staff, technology, databases and servers. It also uses funds for industry education, and to support other various industry associations. According to TCB Bylaws, 20% of revenue is to be used for philanthropy, which allows TCB to partner with other industry stakeholders to support charities that relate to our industry.
Who runs TCB?
What is the general timeline for this technology to be in-market?
What impact does the new industry standard for paperless couponing have on paper coupons such as FSI, on-pack, etc?
What data will TCB handle?
How will the offer information be transmitted from the consumer's phone to the POS?
Does The Coupon Bureau have any other industry role besides managing positive offer file coupons?
Why are retailer agnostic mobile offers important?
How does the settlement work for retailer agnostic mobile coupons?
How will billing work?
How many connections are there?
Barcode information and standards
How will TCB positive offer file impact paper and digital stacking?
Initially, there will be no additional security around stacking, but as more mediums are shifted to the new AI (8112) offering, the stacking issue will be mitigated if not resolved completely. Keep in mind that virtually all retailers have point-of-sale controls in place to prevent the stacking of a digital coupon with a paper coupon, in line with JICC Guidelines for digital coupons.
Once, redeemed, is the coupon "De-activated"?
If a coupon is used on a mobile device at one retailer, can it be used again? How would you limit more than one scan at POS?
Is there a working solution for blended coupons? (For both paper and paperless)
Are there any fraud risks associated with universal coupons?
What keeps people from taking a picture of an 8110 coupon and trying to use it from their phone?
Fraud prevention
How will TCB positive offer file impact paper and digital stacking?
Initially, there will be no additional security around stacking, but as more mediums are shifted to the new AI (8112) offering, the stacking issue will be mitigated if not resolved completely. Keep in mind that virtually all retailers have point-of-sale controls in place to prevent the stacking of a digital coupon with a paper coupon, in line with JICC Guidelines for digital coupons.
Once, redeemed, is the coupon "De-activated"?
If a coupon is used on a mobile device at one retailer, can it be used again? How would you limit more than one scan at POS?
Is there a working solution for blended coupons? (For both paper and paperless)
Are there any fraud risks associated with universal coupons?
What keeps people from taking a picture of an 8110 coupon and trying to use it from their phone?
Consumer experience and distribution
Are there any special requirements or limitations for alcohol manufacturers?
Alcohol coupons would experience any current restrictions on coupon distribution, by state, age, as well as at check out. Other than those existing restrictions, there would be no additional restrictions.
How will POS systems handle stacking with UDC?
What happens if someone tries to use their serialized coupon twice?
How do I figure out which distributor to use? Is there a document that shows the pros and cons of the different providers?
What will these coupons look like on my phone?
For more information on display data element guidelines, refer to the JICC Voluntary Guidelines for Digital Coupons.
If a retailer isn't connected to TCB, what will happen when their POS scans the UDC?
If the POS is not able to recognize the AI (8112) data string, it will not be accepted. To mitigate consumer confusion, TCB is developing an API for providers to communicate connected retailers to the consumer.
How will UDC impact current digital coupons that live within retailer loyalty programs?
How do I know which vendors are following TCB guidelines?
Providers and other vendors must complete an onboarding and certification process before they are connected and authorized by TCB. While we cannot monitor every campaign we will ensure that the core principles of serialization and validation are met for a coupon to be successfully distributed and redeemed.
What is the MOF and distributed data string?
What is the timeframe for retailer settlement once a coupon is redeemed?
The settlement workflow will vary by retailer and retailer clearinghouse processes. Contact your settlement partner for more information.
What if a company prefix is shared with another manufacturer?
Will certain distributors of the offer have exclusive relationships with retailers? Will we have to use several distributors to do a national program?
The TCB ecosystem is retailer agnostic, so there will be no distributor exclusivity for retailers. You will only need to use one distributor to reach all connected retailers.
Can the master offer file be considered a program, which could have multiple offers?
A master offer file (MOF) can only contain one offer
Will accelerators have exclusivity with certain retailers?
Retailers can connect directly to TCB or through a single accelerator of their choosing. Multiple accelerators are not necessary and would be redundant.
If a manufacturer wanted to deploy an in-store (on-pack coupon) how would they assign an individual "serial/coupon code" to be printed on each coupon?
There are several print vendors with the ability to print serialized data strings. The coupon industry is currently identifying the barcode specifications for printed AI (8112) coupons.
Are accelerators the same as distribution providers?
Accelerators provide connectivity for retailers to TCB’s centralized database. Distribution providers handle offer distribution to consumers on behalf of manufacturers.
Do you plan on including paper coupons and when will these be available to Manufacturers
UDC on paper is part of the JICC/ACP roadmap., it is dependent on significant retailer adoption
Is there a way to find out which retailers currently are accepting of Universal Digital Coupons?
As we announce subsequent retailer connections all stakeholders will be notified. Once we have a larger ecosystem we will provide a public API of connected retailers.
How do you manage if you want to limit the amount of coupons distributed/redeemed?
Manufacturers/providers have full control to designate the number of distributed data strings. This is a setting in the MOF, and can be as few as 1. There is no upward limit.
How many Master Offer Files would there typically be for a Manufacturer?
Manufacturers can have multiple Master Offer Files depending on their needs. Each MOF has one Base Data String, upon which the serialization is appended upon distribution
Is this ready to use today?
Yes, we have completed testing and several pilots, and are currently in the open connectivity phase.
How long is the set up process to go live?
The timing of the setup process depends on several factors including your organization’s processes and your partners. You can create your manufacturer account today and begin the process.
Can UDC coupons be used on retailers dot com sites
This functionality is built into the TCB system, but has yet to be integrated into a retailer ecommerce site. Stay tuned!
Does UDC use the GS1 Company Prefix?
from the GTIN
Are independent grocers able to accept UDC?
Independent retailers are able to connect to TCB the same as other retailers.
Retailers
Will retailer-specific requirements or limitations be considered or addressed?
How does a retailer begin integration?
What is the general process for a retailer to get connected?
Do retailers have the ability to amend what GTINs are eligible for the offer or the number of allowed redemption?
How will we know what retailers are connected?
Other questions
Are there any special requirements or limitations for alcohol manufacturers?
Alcohol coupons would experience any current restrictions on coupon distribution, by state, age, as well as at check out. Other than those existing restrictions, there would be no additional restrictions.
How will POS systems handle stacking with UDC?
What happens if someone tries to use their serialized coupon twice?
How do I figure out which distributor to use? Is there a document that shows the pros and cons of the different providers?
What will these coupons look like on my phone?
For more information on display data element guidelines, refer to the JICC Voluntary Guidelines for Digital Coupons.
If a retailer isn't connected to TCB, what will happen when their POS scans the UDC?
If the POS is not able to recognize the AI (8112) data string, it will not be accepted. To mitigate consumer confusion, TCB is developing an API for providers to communicate connected retailers to the consumer.
How will UDC impact current digital coupons that live within retailer loyalty programs?
How do I know which vendors are following TCB guidelines?
Providers and other vendors must complete an onboarding and certification process before they are connected and authorized by TCB. While we cannot monitor every campaign we will ensure that the core principles of serialization and validation are met for a coupon to be successfully distributed and redeemed.
What is the MOF and distributed data string?
What is the timeframe for retailer settlement once a coupon is redeemed?
The settlement workflow will vary by retailer and retailer clearinghouse processes. Contact your settlement partner for more information.
What if a company prefix is shared with another manufacturer?
Will certain distributors of the offer have exclusive relationships with retailers? Will we have to use several distributors to do a national program?
The TCB ecosystem is retailer agnostic, so there will be no distributor exclusivity for retailers. You will only need to use one distributor to reach all connected retailers.
Can the master offer file be considered a program, which could have multiple offers?
A master offer file (MOF) can only contain one offer
Will accelerators have exclusivity with certain retailers?
Retailers can connect directly to TCB or through a single accelerator of their choosing. Multiple accelerators are not necessary and would be redundant.
If a manufacturer wanted to deploy an in-store (on-pack coupon) how would they assign an individual "serial/coupon code" to be printed on each coupon?
There are several print vendors with the ability to print serialized data strings. The coupon industry is currently identifying the barcode specifications for printed AI (8112) coupons.
Are accelerators the same as distribution providers?
Accelerators provide connectivity for retailers to TCB’s centralized database. Distribution providers handle offer distribution to consumers on behalf of manufacturers.
Do you plan on including paper coupons and when will these be available to Manufacturers
UDC on paper is part of the JICC/ACP roadmap., it is dependent on significant retailer adoption
Is there a way to find out which retailers currently are accepting of Universal Digital Coupons?
As we announce subsequent retailer connections all stakeholders will be notified. Once we have a larger ecosystem we will provide a public API of connected retailers.
How do you manage if you want to limit the amount of coupons distributed/redeemed?
Manufacturers/providers have full control to designate the number of distributed data strings. This is a setting in the MOF, and can be as few as 1. There is no upward limit.
How many Master Offer Files would there typically be for a Manufacturer?
Manufacturers can have multiple Master Offer Files depending on their needs. Each MOF has one Base Data String, upon which the serialization is appended upon distribution
Is this ready to use today?
Yes, we have completed testing and several pilots, and are currently in the open connectivity phase.
How long is the set up process to go live?
The timing of the setup process depends on several factors including your organization’s processes and your partners. You can create your manufacturer account today and begin the process.
Can UDC coupons be used on retailers dot com sites
This functionality is built into the TCB system, but has yet to be integrated into a retailer ecommerce site. Stay tuned!
Does UDC use the GS1 Company Prefix?
from the GTIN
Are independent grocers able to accept UDC?
Independent retailers are able to connect to TCB the same as other retailers.