Business Week : Why Did Newspapers Take So Long to Copy Groupon?

"To be fair to newspapers, not even Web giants such as Google and Yahoo have managed to come up with something like Groupon, which is a big part of why Google wanted to acquire it. But if anyone was in a position to do so, it should have been the newspaper industry; after all, who else already has relationships with hundreds, or even thousands, of local merchants and businesses? The problem for newspapers was seeing those relationships in a different way: not just as a static provider of banner ads and full-page color spreads for the advertising salespeople to harvest on a semiannual or quarterly basis, but as a resource the papers could connect directly to customers for a fee."

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Valassis Announces Revenue Growth of 5.2% for the Third Quarter Ended Sept. 30, 2010

LIVONIA, Mich., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Valassis (NYSE: VCI) today announced financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2010.  Quarterly revenues were $572.4 million, an increase of 5.2% compared to $544.1 million for the prior year quarter.  Third-quarter net earnings were $27.0 million, an increase of 95.7% compared to $13.8 million in the prior year quarter.

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Netnewscheck.com : Mobile Coupons Category To Watch

“Coupons are the category to watch - at least initially,” said Gordon Borrell of Borrell Associates in releasing a new report predicting huge growth in mobile ads. “There’s something dramatic going on, and heavy implications for direct mail, yellow pages, newspapers and anyone else in the coupon-distribution business.”

Borrell Associates officially released its outlook for local and national mobile marketing Thursday, calling mobile “the new disruptor” that has emerged on the scene faster than any other new medium over the past 90 years.

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Promo : Americans Keep On Clipping Coupons

In 2004, 84% of females and 68% of males used coupons clipped from Sunday newspaper inserts, retail fliers, magazines, in and on packages and online. The council said that retailers are increasingly turning to coupon promotions to attract, retain and reward loyal shoppers. In 2004, 46% retailers reported offering shoppers some form of a bonus coupon program.

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