Coupon All-Stars Challenge Consumers to Tackle Savings this 'SAVE-tember'

LARGO, Fla., Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SAVE-tember is just around the corner, and to celebrate the 14^th annual National Coupon Month, Valpak.com and its new sister site, Savings.com, will unite top savings and couponing bloggers to coach consumers on thrifty new tips to save year-round.  Joining forces behind two of the leading destinations for online deals, from local shops to national retailers, consumers will learn from the best through a downloadable playbook, online quizzes, live webinars with Savings.com DealPros and more, all available online.  

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"Even seasoned coupon veterans can learn a new trick or infuse fresh ideas into their savings strategy, therefore we've built a team of all-stars to coach consumers and capture the spirit of National Coupon Month through a month-long online educational channel," said Deanna Willsey, director of corporate communications at Valpak. 

Coupon Training Camps

Valpak and Savings.com will kick off the month with a free, live webinar on Monday, Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. EDT.  The webinar will allow for an hour of interactive Q & A to ask pressing questions about coupons, family finances and smart savings techniques from five of the leading online experts and Savings.com DealPros:

• Toni Anderson, founder of TheHappyHousewife.com
• Karen Rodriguez, creator of SavingTheFamilyMoney.com
• Lauren Greutman, author of the website I Am THAT Lady 
• Sara Steigerwald, founder of Sisters Shopping on a Shoestring
• Briana Carter, hardcore couponer and author of Bargain Briana

In addition to the webcast on Sept. 10, other exciting events on the calendar include:

• Sept. 4: Launch of Valpak Facebook contest: Enter to win 1 of 10 $250 gift cards
• Sept. 10: Live webcast of coupon class from Valpak's international headquarters
• Sept. 20: 'Go Crazy with Coupons' Twitter Party: Connect with others, enter to win prizes and get exclusive deals, just by following hashtag #SavingsNation
• Sept. 24: Nationwide Savings Nation event, Savings.com DealPros around the country will be hosting coupon classes to teach you how to slash your grocery bill by 50%; check www.savingsnation.com for an event near you!

Coaching Tips for Consumer Quarterbacks

For busy moms and dads that may not be able to take part in one of the many SAVE-tember events, tips from some of the best and brightest have been captured in the first annual National Coupon Month Savings Playbook.  This ultimate guide helps defend against impulse buys, includes step-by-step plays to budget smarter and has thirty tips to keep shoppers on track. The playbook is available for users to track their progress and includes tools that challenge consumers to change their spending habits for one month. The goal is to jumpstart consumer saving in advance of the busiest – and many times most expensive – season of the year.

"The Savings Playbook and National Coupon Month helps consumers to keep track of how much they are savings by changing how they are spending," said Willsey. "While some consumers use a budget to allocate where they spend, many could be missing big opportunities to save money through couponing or changing the way they allocate their financial resources.  It's not stopping shopping, it's smarter shopping - through coupons, like The Blue Envelope®, online deals through Valpak.com and Savings.com, and the Valpak mobile app."

Over the last year Valpak research has consistently tracked consumer behavior toward couponing through its 125^th anniversary survey and bi-annual Consumer Savings Reports.  Not only is couponing popularity continuing to rise, the stigma is fading away.  Sixty percent of survey respondents agree it's now acceptable to use a coupon on a date.  By channeling resources from Valpak.com and Savings.com, consumers can shop smartly and coupon for the ultimate prize – a season of winning. 

ABOUT COX TARGET MEDIA AND VALPAK®

Valpak, one of the leading direct marketing companies in North America, is owned and operated by Cox Target Media, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Media Group. With nearly 170 franchises across the United States and Canada, The Blue Envelope® delivers savings and value to nearly 40 million households each month. Annually, Valpak will distribute some 20 billion offers inserted in more than 500 million envelopes. Valpak also offers digital solutions with www.Valpak.com®, an online site for printable coupons, e-commerce and coupon codes, which has nearly 70 million offer views each month, as well as apps for smartphone platforms. For more information, please contact 1-800-676-6878. For information on owning a Valpak franchise visit www.ValpakFranchising.com.

ABOUT SAVINGS.COM

Savings.com helps people find the best deals on everything they want. They tell us what stores and categories they like, what city they live in, and Savings.com delivers the best deals for them. In addition to providing personalized recommendations, Savings.com has one of the most in-depth databases of online coupons. Shoppers can access thousands of exclusive offers from the biggest retailer names along with up to 100,000 deals from online and national retailers, daily deal sites and grocery brands. More than 5 million shoppers turn to Savings.com each month as their trusted resource for deals and to interact with the site's popular community of online coupon experts, the DealPros™. In June 2012, Savings.com was acquired by Cox Target Media, operators of Valpak, the leading direct mail marketing brand delivering value to 40 million households each month. 

Traveling overseas? Visit Savings.com's sister site in the UK, Savoo.co.uk and Savoo.de  in Germany. 

ABOUT COX MEDIA GROUP

Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. Additionally, CMG owns and operates Cox Target Media, providers of Valpak, a leading North American direct marketing company and Savings.com, a leading online coupon site and community. With $1.7 billion in revenue, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 86 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG operates in more than 30 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including 30 million TV viewers, more than 4 million print and online newspaper readers, and 18 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

SOURCE Valpak