Tetherball 1st in U.S. to Deploy RFID-Based Mobile Loyalty Program that Solves the Measurability Puzzle in Mobile Marketing

First-of-its Kind Technology Platform Advances Dairy Queen®’s Mobile Rewards Program to the Next Level

INDIANAPOLIS – Tetherball, an industry leader in mobile loyalty and rewards solutions, unveiled its breakthrough RFID-based mobile marketing platform that represents the most advanced technology-based solution in the marketplace today and sets an unprecedented standard in mobile marketing.

“This groundbreaking technology platform, which has been in the making for more than two years, will truly revolutionize the mobile marketing arena,” said Jay Highley, President and COO of Tetherball. “Mobile marketers have been struggling to develop a solution that not only provides an easy method to deliver targeted offers to mobile users, but allows them to truly measure the return on their investment. Our new technology solution does just that in a radically simple way.”

“Mass adoption of mobile marketing using barcoded coupons just hasn’t happened because it’s far too complicated with a plethora of technical and user issues at the point of redemption,” added Highley. “Our solution doesn’t use mobile coupons with barcodes, or for that matter, require any type of mobile screen visuals to redeem offers. Most important, our RFID-based solution, which works on any mobile phone, eliminates fraud and allows our clients to measure the performance of their campaigns with pinpoint accuracy via real time validation and reporting. Brands are looking for a reliable mobile solution that is easy to deploy and delivers measurable results – and our solution does both with exceptional results.”

How it Works

Tetherball’s unique 360˚ approach helps clients “tether” their brand to target audiences by identifying what their customers want and delivering mobile campaigns that interact with the ultimate call to action through permission based mobile coupons, mobile rewards, mobile sweepstakes and mobile notifications. Integrating traditional marketing methods such as in-store advertising, customers are engaged to sign up for mobile loyalty rewards programs offering promotional discounts. Upon joining, customers are given a Tetherball Tag™, a tiny RFID chip that is easily affixed to their mobile phones, which uniquely identifies them through Tetherball’s sophisticated technology platform. Tetherball clients are then able to send offers to their customers via standard text messaging. Offers are redeemed electronically using existing in-store RFID point of sale terminals or stand-alone RFID kiosks provided by Tetherball.

Mobiquitous™, a patent-pending real time web-based reporting system, delivers detailed visibility and analytics into coupon redemption rates and overall program performance. Whether it’s reporting at a campaign level, geographical level or for a specific period of time, Mobiquitous provides clients with “real time visibility” so that they can adjust quickly and leverage the real time nature of mobile marketing.

“We are a big believer in the future of mobile marketing and are very excited to be partnering with Tetherball,” said Jamie Guse, Web Site Manager for International Dairy Queen, Inc. “Through their innovative RFID-based Mobile Loyalty Program we are able to provide great offers to our customers in a fun and easy way while precisely measuring the effectiveness of our Dairy Queen Mobile Rewards Program.”

“I have been working with Tetherball for nearly two years to refine the mobile loyalty program for my stores,” said Dave Reasner, International Dairy Queen Franchisee. “Due to the success of our program, we now average over 900 members per store and continue to see solid growth in membership and redemption rates – which is making a measurable difference in our year over year traffic and revenue. Tetherball’s hands-on approach made getting started and optimizing my programs really simple and affordable. Most important – their programs work.”

“We are delighted to provide our radio frequency (RF) based contactless technologies to Tetherball and believe their mobile marketing solution opens the door for the next generation of loyalty, coupon, and promotion programs,” said Mohammad Khan, President and Founder of ViVOtech Inc. “Tetherball’s RFID-enabled mobile solution is leading the way by making it simple and easy for consumers to use rewards and coupons while at the same time solving the most important industry problem of accurate measurability of program performance.”

About Tetherball

Tetherball, a leading edge mobile marketing applications service provider, offers a different approach to digital relationship marketing by “tethering” brands to target audiences through their mobile devices. Tetherball programs increase revenue, improve profitability and drive customer loyalty through mobile coupons, mobile rewards programs, mobile sweepstakes and mobile notifications. Tetherball clients enjoy real time analytics and reporting on program performance and redemption through Mobiquitous™, Tetherball’s own patent-pending web-based intelligent analytics platform. Tetherball serves national retailers and ad agencies in the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and entertainment industries and has delivered over 150% growth in new revenue and higher customer retention and loyalty for these clients. Founded in 2007 by Scott Yancey, Tetherball is now one of the fastest growing mobile marketing companies in the United States. For more information, please visit www.tetherball360.com.

About IDQ

International Dairy Queen (IDQ), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen stores in the United States, Canada and foreign countries, offering dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

About ViVOtech

ViVOtech (www.vivotech.com) is the market leader in Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payments, promotions and over the air (OTA) provisioning infrastructure software, transaction management software, NFC smart posters, secure tag technology, and contactless (RF) terminals. These innovative solutions allow millions of consumers to make contactless payments with radio frequency-enabled credit/debit cards, tags, fobs and NFC mobile phones. ViVOtech’s products are used by the most prominent retailers all over the globe and today the company has shipped over 500,000 contactless terminals to more than 35 countries worldwide. In 2009 ViVOtech received the prestigious Frost and Sullivan North American Smart cards Product Line Strategy of the Year Award. ViVOtech was named #1 in ABI Research’s Contactless & NFC Reader Ranking Report, last issued in 2008.