ABILENE, Texas -- AutoGas Systems Inc. has announced the publishing of its seventh patent relating to fuel-discounting and loyalty and available to all channels of trade. This addition to the Fuel Rewards patent family awards AutoGas the intellectual rights to provide free fuel as a reward in any amount (dollar amount or cents-per-gallon) to consumers who purchase products and services via paper-based or electronic currency. Further, the patent recognizes that the discount (reward) can be issued at the fuel station or at a partnered retailer's location that may or may not sell fuel directly.[image-nocss]
U.S. Patent No. 7,383,204 is for "system and method providing customer incentive to purchase non-fuel products and services."
Initial plans for the patent include a strategy to pursue grocery and fuel retailers as well as nontraditional fuel-discounting retailers such as pharmacy, quick-serve and other consumer goods and services retailers.
"Our latest patent has been in-process for a long time, and we are extremely proud to have this assignment published to join the Fuel Rewards family of patents at AutoGas," said Randy Nicholson, principle inventor on the patent and founder of AutoGas. The initial application for the patent was filed in 1997 and has been in-process until now. All rights to use the patent will be sold through Centego Marketing, a subsidiary of AutoGas that focuses on the company's Fuel Rewards products and services.
John Cullen, president of Centego Marketing said, "In today's economic condition, the ability to provide free gasoline as a reward or promotion is the most relevant incentive any retailer can offer. We are excited to offer this product, complimented by our 10-plus years of Fuel Rewards knowledge and analysis, to all of our customers—whether it be direct from Centego or through our licensing program so that everyone can save at the pump. This is exciting to us because we know that a fuel rewards program that is optimized by our standards will only enhance retailer value and bring higher revenue to any category. Doing so not only helps consumer budgets but it helps the retailer to continue operating more profitably."
Nicholson said, "Our family of patents allow for the most comprehensive fuel rewards program. With our license and the right mixture of promotional strategy, retailers can not only survive but thrive in current conditions by maintaining margins and increasing promotional efficiency simply by using fuel as the incentive for customer purchases. Moreover, our beliefs are validated by the fact that as fuel prices increase, retailers/marketers continue to look to fuel discounts as their competitive edge."
AutoGas, based in Abilene, Texas, has been a leader in retail fuel automation for more than two decades, offering point-of-sale (POS) solutions and dispenser control systems, as well as loyalty programs. It continues to develop innovative cross-merchandising solutions based on its patented fuel-discounting methodology, Fuel Rewards.
Centego Marketing, Dallas, is a multi-dimensional fee-for-service marketing company that has been operating the Fuel Rewards program for nearly 10 years with a focus on the grocery channel of trade. Since its inception, Centego Marketing's Fuel Reward program has been available in more than 2000 retail outlets, touched more than 135 million consumers, saved consumers more than $22 million on gasoline and moved more than 270 million incremental gallons of gasoline.
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