WO1999050077A1

WO1999050077A1 - Communication method and communication system

Info

Publication number: WO1999050077A1
Application number: PCT/NL1999/000178
Authority: WO
Inventors: Raymond Edmund Ros
Original assignee: ADD-ON INTERNATIONAL BV
Current assignee: ADD-ON INTERNATIONAL BV
Priority date: 1998-04-01
Filing date: 1999-03-26
Publication date: 1999-10-07
Anticipated expiration: 2000-10-01
Also published as: EP1068080A1; NL1008775C2; AU3059199A

Abstract

A communication method, wherein a removable information carrier containing information about a particular product which is offered for sale is affixed to a publication to be distributed, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure, by means of a rebondable adhesive which is present on said information carrier. Once the information carrier has been removed from the object, the adhesive is used for affixing the information carrier to said product so as to provide said product with a mark and/or a code. The adhesive can also be used for fixing the information carrier in its double-folded condition.

Description

COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

The invention relates to a communication method, wherein a removable information carrier is affixed to an object to be distributed, for example a publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure, by means of a rebondable adhesive which is present on said information carrier.

It is known to place a removable communication carrier in a publication, for example in the form of a postcard which can be removed from the publication and subsequently, after the required data have been entered, be mailed to an address which is printed on the postcard. Such a postcard is generally affixed to the publication by means of a small amount of glue or by means of perforations, so that the postcard can be torn out. In this way it is possible to effect bilateral communication between an advertiser and a consumer.

Advertisers are furthermore known to insert a so-called discount coupon in a publication, which can be removed from the publication by tearing or cutting it out. The consumer can then take said discount coupon to a shop and buy a particular product at a discount in exchange for said discount coupon.

One object of the invention is to provide a method and a system wherein an advertiser communicates towards consumers, and that with regard to a particular product, by means of an information carrier which can be removed - f-rom a publication, wherein a consumer can indicate his intentions with regard to the product in a simple and efficient manner by means of said information carrier. To this end the information carrier, once it has been removed from the object, is affixed by means of said rebondable adhesive to a product about which said information carrier contains information, in order to mark said product .

In particular, the information carrier may contain information about a product which is offered for sale at a discount, wherein the information carrier, once it has been removed from the publication, is affixed to said product by means of the rebondable adhesive which is present on the information carrier before said product is paid for. Especially if a larger number of products are bought in a shop, for example when shopping in a supermarket, it is important that the cashier recognizes in time that a particular product is to be settled at a discount. Since the product in question is directly recognizable, it is possible to have said settlement take place in an efficient manner, also when discount coupons are being presented.

In one preferred embodiment, the information carrier carries a machine-readable code, for example a bar code, which code can be machine-read upon settlement. A cashier who scans all the purchased products with a bar code scanner will be able to scan the products in question by means of a bar code which is present on the information carrier, which is also directly recognizable for the consumer, so that the purchase transaction can take in a highly efficient manner.

The invention furthermore relates to a publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure or the like, which is provided with an information carrier which is ^"^removably affixed thereto by means of a rebondable adhesive, on which information carrier information is present with regard to a product being offered at a discount, and wherein it is indicated that the information carrier, after being removed, can be affixed to the product to be bought at a discount. This may be indicated in an advertisement, to which the information carrier is removably affixed and/or on the information carrier itself.

The invention furthermore relates to the information carrier itself, on which it is indicated that the information carrier can be affixed to a particular product and/or on which a bar code is present.

The invention furthermore relates to a communication method, wherein a removable information carrier is affixed to an object to be distributed, for example a publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure, by means of an adhesive, on which information carrier data are to be entered. In this manner an advertiser can for example ask information from the consumer by having the consumer enter up data on the information carrier, after which the information carrier carrying the data can be returned to the advertiser, for example by mail .

In practice, the willingness of a consumer to provide information, in particular personal information, on an information carrier appears to increase considerably when the information carrier can be folded and closed in such a manner that the information cannot be easily read from outside .

One object of the invention is to provide a communication method as described above, wherein an information carrier can be easily closed after data have been entered up.

Jn order to accomplish that objective, the information carrier is affixed to the object, for example the publication, by means of a rebondable adhesive, wherein said rebondable adhesive, once the information carrier has been removed, is used for fixing the information carrier in its folded condition and thus closing it. According to the method, the information carrier in folded condition is then mailed as a letter, for example to a postal address which is already present on the information carrier.

The invention furthermore relates to an information carrier which is provided with a rebondable adhesive, on which information carrier data are to be entered.

Furthermore, a folding line may be indicated on said information carrier to enable easy folding of said information carrier, in such a manner that the rebondable adhesive, which is preferably provided in a strip along the edge of the information carrier, will be capable of fixing the folded information carrier in its folded condition.

Further aspects, which can be used separately as well as in combination with each other, will be described by means of an embodiment and be defined in the claims .

In order to explain the invention more fully, embodiments of an information carrier will now be described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the front side of a first embodiment of an information carrier;

Figure 2 shows the rear side of the first embodiment of the information carrier;

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of an information carrier; and

Figure 4 shows the rear side of the second embodiment of the information carrier. -*»

The figures are merely schematic representations, which only show an embodiment by way of example . The embodiment which is shown in Figures 1 and 2 consists of a rectangular sheet of paper 1, which forms the information carrier. A strip of rebondable adhesive 2 is provided on the rear side, which is shown in Figure 2, which strip is hatched in the figure. The adhesive is known per se, and it will retain its tackiness so that it can be used several times. Such an adhesive is also called a pressure sensitive adhesive. After sheet of paper 1 has been affixed to an object by means of the strip of rebondable adhesive 2, sheet 1 can be removed again and be re-affixed to another object by means of the same strip of rebondable adhesive 2. Said affixing and removing can be repeated several times, without the bonding action of the adhesive being noticeably reduced.

In this manner, information carrier 1 can be placed in a magazine, for example, and subsequently be removed by a reader of the magazine and be affixed to another object. According to the embodiment, a bar code 3 and a text 4 are present on the front side of the information carrier which is shown in Figure 1. The text indicates that a particular product can be purchased at a discount in a particular shop if the information carrier 1 is taken along to the shop and affixed to the product in question prior to paying for it. At the cash desk, where normally the bar code present on the product is scanned, the bar code 3 present on the information carrier 3 is scanned rather than the aforesaid bar code, as a result of which the price of the product minus the discount is automatically charged. It is possible thereby to indicate on the receipt that the respective discount has been taken into account .

The other embodiment, which is shown in Figures 3 and 4, concerns a letter which can be mailed. To that end, the front side of the information carrier 1 which is shown in Figure 1 is provided with an address 6 and with the notification that no postage is due. Furthermore, a 6 folding line is illustrated in a dash line, both on the front side (Figure 3) and on the back (Figure 4) of information carrier 1.

According to Figure 4, the back of the information carrier 1 is provided with a strip of a rebondable adhesive. Furthermore, a text 10 is present on the back, as well as a blank space 8, in which certain data can be entered, in particular personal data of the person who enters the data.

After a consumer has removed the information carrier 1 from a magazine to which it is affixed by means of the strip of rebondable adhesive 2, the consumer in question can enter the data being asked for on the back in the appropriate space 8 and subsequently fold the information carrier double along folding line 9, thus forming a closed letter which can be mailed.

Claims

1. A communication method, wherein a removable information carrier containing information about a 5 particular product which is offered for sale is affixed to an object to be distributed, for example a publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure, by means of a rebondable adhesive which is present on said information carrier, wherein the 10 adhesive, once the information carrier has been removed from the object, is used for affixing the information carrier to said product so as to provide said product with a mark and/or a code .

15 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the information carrier contains information about a product which is offered for sale at a discount, and in that said information carrier, once it has been removed, is affixed to said product before said

20 product is paid for.

3. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said information carrier carries a machine-readable code, for example

25 a bar code, which code can be machine-read upon settlement .

4. A publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure or the like, which is provided with an

30 information carrier which is removably affixed thereto by means of a rebondable adhesive, on which information carrier information is present with regard to a product being offered at a discount, and wherein it is indicated that the information

35. carrier, after being removed, can be affixed to the product to be bought at a discount .

5. An information carrier provided with a rebondable adhesive, characterized in that said information carrier carries information with regard to a product being offered at a discount, which information carrier can be affixed to the product being offered at a discount .

6. An information carrier according to claim 5, characterized in that said information carrier carries a machine-readable code, for example a bar code, which code can be machine-read upon settlement.

7. A communication method, wherein a removable information carrier is affixed to an object to be distributed, for example a publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure, by means of an adhesive present on said information carrier, wherein said rebondable adhesive, once the information carrier has been removed, data have been entered thereon and the information carrier has been folded, is used for fixing the information carrier in its folded condition.

8. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that the information carrier in folded condition forms a letter, which can then be mailed.

9. A method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the information carrier is printed on both sides, and in that a space for entering data is present on the side which is present on the inside after folding.

±0. A method according to any one of the claims 7 - 9, characterized in that a postal address is present on the information carrier, on the side which is present on the outside after folding.

11. A publication, such as a magazine, a newspaper or a brochure, which is provided with an information carrier removably affixed thereto by means of a rebondable adhesive, on which it is indicated that the information carrier can be folded in such a manner that said adhesive fixes the information carrier in its folded condition.

12. An information carrier provided with a rebondable adhesive, characterized in that it is indicated on said information carrier that the information carrier can be folded in such a manner that said adhesive fixes the information carrier in its folded condition.

13. An information carrier according to claim 12, characterized in that a space for entering data is indicated on said information carrier.