In its continuous effort to improve life for consumers, the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) (NYSE: PG) is partnering with mobeam inc. to bring the first-ever fully mobile couponing system to market. The innovation, created by mobeam of California, makes electronic coupons presented on a phone or other mobile device scannable, so shoppers need only their phones/handhelds, not a stack of coupons, at check out.

Today, couponing represents a growing $3.7 billion segment of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) market in North America, with more than 300 billion coupons distributed every year and redemption on the increase as consumers strive for greater value and savings. And while smartphones are supporting users and simplifying life in a host of new ways, until now, phone couponing has not been an option because barcodes displayed on mobile phone screens are invisible to commonly used in-store laser scanners.

Mobeam technology converts – or mobeams – the barcode data into a beam of light that can be read by barcode scanners already found at store checkout counters. No additional point of sale (POS) equipment is needed.

“As impossible as it seems, even to technologists in the mobile industry, a vividly displayed barcode cannot be read by the typical barcode scanner,” said Nick Holland, senior analyst with Yankee Group. “The inability for a red laser scanner to read information displayed on a smartphone is not a small problem. This limiting factor is stalling important innovation as the retail industry is stuck waiting for next generation mobile technology to go mainstream. The mobeam beaming solution eloquently fixes this problem, enabling current generation mobile devices to interface with legacy red laser barcode scanners.”

P&G, one of the world’s leading coupon distributors, developed a partnership with mobeam through P&G’s open innovation Connect+Develop program, designed to bring leading innovation into P&G and share P&G innovation with others.

The P&G and mobeam partnership is aimed at exploring and testing a new, highly efficient method for consumers to redeem – and retailers to accept – coupons at the point of sale.

“Our vision with P&G is for the mobeam technology to be used and leveraged broadly by many leading CPG companies, with P&G and other key consumer goods partners as first adopters,” said mobeam CEO Christopher Sellers.

The next step in the partnership is to work with the mobile communications industry to add the mobeam application into handheld phones and then to test the application and process with shoppers and selected retailers.

“We are excited about the potential for this new technology and our partnership with mobeam to make shopping simpler and faster for consumers. Couponing is a great way for shoppers to try new products or save on the trusted brands their families have come to love. If that can be easier, faster and less costly for shoppers and retailers, we want to help bring it to life,” said Jeff Weedman, vice president of P&G Global Business Development.

Mobeam is working with handset manufacturers to engineer its light based communications (LBC) technology into new lines of handsets. P&G, mobeam and other partners expect to test the technology in market in 2012.

A mobeam-enabled couponing service would provide significant benefit to key stakeholders:

CONSUMERS:

Consumers would be able to collect and manage coupons received electronically and redeem them from their phones at the point of sale. Up to now, coupons received electronically either had to be printed to be redeemed, downloaded to a loyalty card or a checkout clerk would have to manually key in a coupon code. Not only will a shopper using the mobeam technology benefit, so will all the shoppers standing behind her in line.

RETAILERS:

The service aims to enable North American retailers to accelerate adoption of mobile coupons without hardware changes at POS. Because coupons will be submitted digitally, mobile coupons would increase efficiency and reduce costs.

CPG COMPANIES:

Digital coupons provide substantially deeper analytic capabilities, allowing better measurement of campaign effectiveness, as well as efficiencies in distribution, purchase validation and processing.

About mobeam
Mobeam, inc. is transforming mobile commerce with its unique and patented light based communications technology. Overcoming the technical barrier preventing mobile phones from interacting with laser scanners at checkout, mobeam’s technology provides universal access at point of sale (POS), enabling the transmission of coupons, gift cards, tickets and other barcode data at retailers worldwide. Mobeam’s technology powers new capabilities for existing mobile phone designs, and requires no changes to retailer POS infrastructure. Mobeam is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information visit www.mobeam.com.

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mobeam, inc. (www.mobeam.com) announced today that it has closed a $4.9 million Series A venture round, receiving funding from yet2Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Mitsui, together with other independent investors. mobeam’s patented technology overcomes the technical barrier preventing mobile phones from interacting with the laser scanners used at retail locations around the world. Funds from this multimillion dollar funding round will be used to establish mobeam’s light based communications (LBC) technology as a new industry standard allowing mobile phones to interact with point of sale (POS) technology. mobeam is also using these new funds to accelerate business development efforts with major consumer and retail brands for mobile couponing and other broad mobile commerce initiatives.

mobeam Inc. is transforming mobile commerce with its unique and patented light based communications technology. mobeam technology takes barcodes, like those used on every item sold in retail stores and on billions of coupons each year, and converts them to a beam of light able to be read by every red laser barcode scanner already found at checkout in stores around the world. mobeam’s technology powers new capabilities for existing mobile phone designs, and requires no changes to retailer POS infrastructure.

mobeam will have important news at CTIA and is providing the following resources for media:

• A table at Pepcom’s MobileFocus® media event – held Tuesday, October 11 from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M. at the Marriott Marquis and Marina, 333 West Harbor Drive, near the San Diego Convention Center. Press registration information for MobileFocus is available at http://www.pepcom.com.
• Online press kit available at http://mobeam.mobilitypr.com.
• Media availability of Chief Executive Officer, Chris Sellers, and Chief Operating Officer, Marcia Donner.

To receive news under embargo or arrange meetings with mobeam executives at CTIA Enterprise & Applications, contact mobeam media contacts who will also be on site at CTIA:

• All mobeam media contacts can be reached by email at mobeam@mobilitypr.com
• John Sidline: +1-503-989-5474 (mobile, can receive text messages)
• Holly Woolard: +1-503-360-7144 (mobile, can receive text messages)
• Melissa Burns : +1-208-850-5939 (mobile, can receive text messages)
• Jessi McKain: +1-503-475-5277 (mobile, can receive text messages)

About mobeam

mobeam, inc. is transforming mobile commerce with its unique and patented light based communications technology. Overcoming the technical barrier preventing mobile phones from interacting with laser scanners at checkout, mobeam’s technology provides universal access at point of sale (POS), enabling the transmission of coupons, gift cards, tickets and other barcode data at retailers worldwide. mobeam’s technology powers new capabilities for existing mobile phone designs, and requires no changes to retailer POS infrastructure. mobeam is headquartered in Cupertino, California. For more information visit www.mobeam.com.

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mobeam, inc. (www.mobeam.com) announced today that it has closed a $4.9 million Series A venture round, receiving funding from yet2Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Mitsui, together with other independent investors. mobeam’s patented technology overcomes the technical barrier preventing mobile phones from interacting with the laser scanners used at retail locations around the world. Funds from this multimillion dollar funding round will be used to establish mobeam’s light based communications (LBC) technology as a new industry standard allowing mobile phones to interact with point of sale (POS) technology. mobeam is also using these new funds to accelerate business development efforts with major consumer and retail brands for mobile couponing and other broad mobile commerce initiatives.

“Laser scanners are used in all major retail locations throughout the world, yet no current mobile technology can communicate with them, except for mobeam,” said Ben duPont, general partner of yet2Ventures. “Increasingly, mobile phones are the centerpiece of everyone’s daily lives, but in order to deliver a complete digital commerce experience they must communicate universally with scanners at point of sale. That’s the beauty of mobeam; ‘mobeaming’ a barcode works accurately and reliably every time, and it makes the technologies retailers already have far more useful while adding a new layer of intelligence gathering for retailers and brands.”

Due to the way mobile handset screens are constructed, even the most vibrantly displayed barcode cannot be read by the commonly used laser scanners found at point of sale in most retailers. mobeam technology affordably adapts existing mobile technology to already deployed retail POS infrastructure, opening the door to a wide range of previously impossible mobile commerce programs and services.

mobeam’s patented light based communication (LBC) technology utilizes LED technology already used on the vast majority of handsets to transform barcodes into a beam of light that every laser scanner can read. This technology makes it possible, for the first time, for a phone to present a coupon that can be easily and conveniently scanned and redeemed, without the need for retailers to upgrade their technology. Beyond mobile couponing, mobeam’s technology brings applications such as mobile ticketing and other mobile content enabled services to the next level.

“mobeam’s technology addresses virtually every POS environment,” said Chris Sellers, CEO of mobeam. “Not only is mobeam the only way to use light to interact with a laser scanner, our technology can also simultaneously display 2D images and initiate NFC transmission, making it possible for retailers, brands and device manufacturers to rethink mobile commerce. mobeam is solving a significant problem for consumers, brands, retailers and every other player along the retail value chain. The potential for mobeam’s light based communications technology – from mobile couponing to ticketing to mobile content – promises to be a tremendous industry game changer.”

About mobeam
mobeam, inc. is transforming mobile commerce with its unique and patented light based communications technology. Overcoming the technical barrier preventing mobile phones from interacting with laser scanners at checkout, mobeam’s technology provides universal access at point of sale (POS), enabling the transmission of coupons, gift cards, tickets and other barcode data at retailers worldwide. mobeam’s technology powers new capabilities for existing mobile phone designs, and requires no changes to retailer POS infrastructure. mobeam is headquartered in Cupertino, California. For more information visit www.mobeam.com.

About Samsung Venture Investment Corporation
Samsung Venture Investment Corporation manages investment and investment-related activities for Samsung affiliate companies. The investment mandate for Samsung Venture Investment Corporation tracks closely to the strategic priorities of Samsung affiliate companies’ core operating divisions, and encompasses investments in semiconductors, displays, telecommunications, and consumer electronics.

About Mitsui
Mitsui Ventures is a venture investment arm of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. on a mission to invest in venture companies worldwide. Mitsui Ventures consists of MVC Corporation, investing mainly in Japan, China and other Asian countries with three offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, and Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners, Inc., investing mainly in North America with two offices in New York and Silicon Valley.

About yet2Ventures
yet2Ventures is an Open Innovation venture capital fund and is affiliated with yet2.com, a firm that has offered intellectual property and licensing services globally since 1999. Yet2Ventures partners with industry and focuses on start-ups delivering revolutionary products to market, in medical devices, electronics, mobile, materials science, and consumer products. It has offices in; Boston, Tokyo, Liverpool, and Wilmington, Delaware. For more information on yet2Ventures and yet2.com, visit www.yet2ventures.com or www.yet2.com; or call 1-781-972-0600.

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