An opportunity is developing for a strong ISO organization, or perhaps several organizations to market new technology to large and small retailers who have an interest in affinity marketing but who have not been able to justify large scale equipment and card issuing.
DNP (Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.), Japan's largest printing company and a leading card manufacturer, has successfully launched the world's first "Thermal Rewritable Card," owing to brand new technology which allows text and graphics to be repeatedly imprinted on and erased from a polyester card.
What is a Thermal Rewritable Card?
By coating the surface of the card with a special material which turns opaque at a certain temperature and becomes transparent at another temperature, various information can be displayed on the card surface. That information can be easily changed many times with the appropriate reader/writer.
For example, Thermal Rewritable Cards are used in the following applications: Point card for retail stores and Mileage service cards for airline companies.
Millions of these Thermal Rewritable Cards are already in use in restaurants and retail shops in Japan as loyalty cards designed to attract frequent customers and encourage repeat business. For example, cardholding customers are sent special notices detailing new merchandise that suits their preferences. Customer information such as size, birthdays, etc., can all be stored on this card, facilitating individual, personalized service which can be invaluable for attracting and keeping important customers. Retailers are becoming more and more interested in the possibilities for utilizing the Thermal Rewriteable Card system because it attracts customers without forcing the retailers to offer huge discounts or reduce their own profit margins.
For the first time, DNP plans to offer their Thermal Rewritable Card services to retailers in the North American market. "We are currently looking for the right promotional agencies and systems integrators to work with us as partners to market our Thermal Rewritable Card systems. We are confident that as cards become more and more sophisticated and common place, the use of the hi-tech promotional card will take off in the U.S. as it has in Japan," said Kaz Murakami of DNP.
Kaz notes, "For the right partner, the business of promoting this system ˜including cards, special cardreader/writers, the necessary software, sales and sales incentive campaigns ˜will enhance your company's business and offer unlimited earning potential."
For further information, please contact either Kaz Murakami or Makoto Enomoto at the addresses listed below.
Kaz Murakami, DNP America, Inc., San Francisco Sales Office, 50 California St., Suite 777, San Francisco, CA 94111. E-mail: murakami-k4@mail.dnp.co.jp
Makoto Enomoto, DNP America, Inc., New York Home Office, 2 Park Avenue, Suite 1405, New York, NY 10016. E-mail: enomoto-m@mail.dnp.co.jp
