Dippin' Dots offers internet gift cards.

Dippin' Dots reports that it will launch an online gift card program this summer, which will allow consumers everywhere to order Dippin' Dots gift cards online that can be sent to recipients via e-mail. The beaded ice cream company will use technology from CashStar, the interactive gift card and incentives company to support the program.

According to CashStar, the virtual gift card program makes Dippin' Dots the first national ice cream franchise to implement a completely Web-based gift card offering. The virtual gift cards will be available on the 'company's website, www.dippindots.com, and can be purchased the same way plastic gift cards are ordered.

However, the virtual gift card can be personalized with different images and text and is delivered via an e-mail with a link to activate the gift. Recipients can redeem the virtual gift card at participating Dippin' Dots locations nationwide.

"Dippin Dots is excited to be using CashStar to further promote the Dippin' Dots brand to our customers," said Anthony George, local area marketing manager at Dippin' Dots. "We are looking forward to growing our brand by using the online gift cards CashStar offers and also plan to utilize the company's online marketing features sometime in the near future."

CashStar will be responsible for the franchise's gift card-related offers and incentives and will provide analysis on sales and behavior. CashStar cofounder and CEO David Stone explains, "By leveraging our patent pending offer management platform, Dippin' Dots can now deliver personalized incentives and coupons in conjunction with their gift cards or as standalone incentives to drive sales. Most importantly, they can track the online to in-store results to tailor future programs. Motivating online-to-offline purchases and tracking the results is the holy grail of multichannel retailing."

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