Finally the rest of the world figures out what Pharma already knew...

Last week's WSJ article Proctor and Gamble Clears Plan for Mobile Coupons is great news for consumers.  Continuing a trend started with retailer programs like that of Starbucks and BestBuy, the mobile coupon programs have huge upside potential for both consumers and the manufacturers issuing them.  If they implement this correctly, while the consumer saves, the manufacturers get information about those taking advantage of the coupons (with opt-in, ie: permission) as well as what message(s) drove uptake, where and when.  Even without opt-in, de-identified information provides a trove of information compared to that of the the aggregated redemption model used with paper.  This is a message that Pharmaceutical companies learned years ago.  Adjudicated (electronically processed) vouchers provided actionable insights into sampling of their products not available to them with the same level of clarity even with all the paper involved in the process.