Media Release
For immediate release
Photos on request from Botica Conroy
New Zealanders sell marketing
technology back to Japanese
Auckland, 19 September 2000 - In a variation on the coals to Newcastle theme, an Auckland company has taken
Japanese-created card technology and is selling it back to customers in Japan.
Visible Results Limited, a subsidiary of The Atlantis Group, today announced it has reached agreement with Japanese
restaurant chain, T Y Harbor, to use the New Zealand company’s loyalty technology.
Under the agreement, Visible Results will supply its loyalty technology to T Y Harbor to drive its customer loyalty
programme using the GraphiCard™ technology. This thermal read/write card technology was originally developed in Japan.
Visible Results is the first company in the Asia Pacific region to use the rewritable card in an interactive loyalty
based application.
Visible Results has linked its proprietary software to the card technology to create loyalty programmes for Mobil in New
Zealand, Caltex in Singapore and Dymocks in Australia. The cards have a rewritable message face. Each time the card is
used, new information is displayed, including the customer’s points total, promotional games and media messages.
By linking the GraphiCard™ with Visible Result’s intelligent loyalty software, the cards can display messages that are
personalised to the card user. For example, when a person with an interest in motor vehicles makes a purchase, they may
receive a limited time offer for a car magazine subscription.
Visible Results CEO, Michael Whittaker, says the Visible Results technology takes loyalty programmes and targeted point
of sale marketing to new levels.
“Using this technology we are able to target consumers in ways that range from the very broad to the extremely specific.
We are able to direct communication toward an organisation’s most profitable customer segments, ensuring those people
receive relevant higher value rewards”.
Director of TY Harbor, Kouhei Terrada, was impressed by the Visible Results technology as it allowed them to further
strengthen the bond between restaurateur and diner. “The Visible Results technology will have strong appeal in Japan
where technological marketing and mass customisation are widely accepted and effective customer relationship tools.”
Mr Terrada said that among other applications, the Visible Results technology enables the restaurant chain to recognise
the wine a customer has purchased with their meal and offer rewards of a similar quality and value.
Editors’ Note:
About Visible Results
Established in New Zealand in 1997, Visible Results launched with its first client 2 years ago. Today, the company has
subsidiaries in Singapore, Australia, and Japan. Employing in excess of 40 specialist staff, it has quickly become one
of Asia Pacific’s leading customer relationship companies serving an ever growing client base across convenience, fast
food, fuels and the general retail industry.
Visible Results multimillion dollar investment into a future proof “customer relationship management” platform enables
retailers the opportunity to access advanced transaction processing, customer analysis and e-commerce related facilities
that have previously only been available as a result of expensive custom designed business solutions.
The future of Visible Results lies not only in its ongoing commitment to investment in technology, and adoption of sound
best practice principals, but most importantly in the consistent delivery of accountable and successful programmes to
clients.