College Tokens Site Rivals Coupon Market

Three former University of Arkansas students and one current student started a company late last year that will go head-to-head with a college constant.

CollegeTokens.com is a Web site for e-coupon marketing, a green alternative to the booklets of coupons most college students receive when they start the school year. In lieu of printed materials, users visit the site and sign up to have it send any of the available coupons directly to their cell phone. Within a few minutes, a text message appears with the same information as the online coupon along with a specific code for the retailer.

The gimmick works, they said, because college students are tech-savvy and carry their cell phones everywhere. End users can even share a coupon by forwarding it to friends, potentially giving it a viral effect.

The partners push visitors to the CollegeTokens site via relationship marketing through the Greek system, online via Facebook and with promotional items like pens and T-shirts.

Kelvin Stroud, a recent finance and accounting graduate, said the partners’ research shows that only about 1 percent of paper coupons are redeemed, but some clients in Fayetteville have seen 35 percent to 45 percent redemptions (83 redeemed out of 236 requested for Inta Juice, a smoothie retailer in Fayetteville). Clients can log into the site and change promotions and expiration dates whenever they want.

The partners are actively selling the service in Northwest Arkansas, Conway, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area with mixed results. They’re charging $289 per year and have 56 clients. The pricing may change depending on different markets, they said.

The company was entered in the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup set for April 3, and was a finalist in the Innovation category and a semi-finalist in the Undergraduate category. Stroud said the partners are seeking capital and investors so they can expand.