AIR™ (AirBaton Instant Rebate)

AIR™ is AirBaton's proprietary instant rebate module. Consumers photograph their purchase receipt using their phone camera. AirBaton's validation system identifies the qualifying product and purchase amount within seconds, then immediately deposits the rebate to the consumer's Venmo or PayPal account. The AIR module achieves a 99.3% instant payout success rate. Unlike traditional mail-in rebates that take weeks, AIR delivers cash back in minutes.

Alternative Method of Entry (AMOE)

A free method of entering a sweepstakes that does not require a purchase. US federal and state law generally prohibits making a purchase mandatory for sweepstakes entry — doing so can classify the promotion as an illegal lottery. AirBaton has some simple ways to offer a variety of AMOEs that still drive product engagement and retail visits. AirBaton builds AMOE compliance into every sweepstake it administers.

Connected Packaging

Physical product packaging that contains a digital activation point — typically a QR code — enabling direct consumer interaction at the moment of purchase or use. A connected packaging QR code can launch a loyalty program, trigger an instant cash rebate, enter the consumer into a sweepstakes, or deliver a personalized content experience. AirBaton's connected packaging solution requires no consumer app and can update the digital experience behind a QR code even after the product is already on retail shelves.

Contest

A promotion in which prizes are awarded based on skill or merit — for example, best photo submission, highest trivia score, or most creative recipe. Unlike sweepstakes, contests require judging against defined criteria and typically generate higher per-entry engagement at lower overall entry volume. AirBaton supports photo submission, video submission, trivia, and skills-based contest formats.

Digital Wallet Pass / Mobile Wallet Pass

A digital credential stored in a Mobile Wallet that can display dynamic information — loyalty points, stamp counts, offers, and event details — and receive push notifications. AirBaton uses mobile wallet passes as the delivery mechanism for its no-app loyalty programs. Consumers add a branded loyalty pass to their wallet in under 20 seconds by scanning a QR code.

First-Party Data

Consumer data collected directly by a brand through its own owned channels and consumer interactions — as opposed to second-party data (shared by a partner) or third-party data purchased from a data broker. First-party data is the highest-quality consumer data available because it is accurate, consent-based, and directly tied to a known purchase or brand interaction. AirBaton promotions capture first-party data at every consumer touchpoint: registration, purchase validation, reward redemption, and post-campaign survey with an industry leading 98.5% accuracy rating.

Gamification

The application of game-design mechanics — points, progress bars, spin wheels, scratch cards, countdowns, and competitive elements — to non-game contexts such as brand promotions. Gamified promotions generate higher consumer engagement than passive entry forms: research indicates consumers are 71% more likely to engage with a gamified brand experience and 4x more likely to redeem an offer they have won through an interactive game mechanic. AirBaton supports spin-to-win, scratch-off, race-to-win, trivia, and a wide variety of custom gamified promotion formats.

⚠ VERIFY: Confirm the '71% more likely to engage' and '4x more likely to redeem' statistics are sourced from research AirBaton endorses. If these came from a specific study, cite it. If uncertain, soften to 'research suggests' or remove the specific percentages.

Instant Win

A sweepstake format in which the consumer's winning status is determined and communicated in real time at the point of entry — rather than through a post-campaign draw. Instant-win mechanics generate immediate emotional engagement because consumers receive a definitive outcome (win or lose) within seconds. AirBaton's instant-win module integrates with its real-time prize delivery system — winners receive digital prizes, Venmo or PayPal payments, or coded rewards immediately upon winning.

Loyalty Program

A structured incentive program that rewards consumers for repeat purchases or defined brand behaviors. AirBaton's loyalty programs are delivered via mobile wallet passes — no app required — and support points-based, punch card, and fully custom reward structures. Consumers earn rewards in real time at the moment of qualifying purchase, and receive push notifications with offers and updates directly to their phone's lock screen.

No-App Promotion

A consumer promotion that requires no app download at any point in the consumer journey. AirBaton is a no-app platform by design: all consumer interactions — sweepstakes entry, loyalty enrollment, rebate submission, connected packaging activation — run in a mobile browser or through a native wallet pass that consumers already have on their phone. Removing app download friction increases consumer participation rates significantly, particularly among less tech-forward demographics.

No-Purchase-Necessary (NPN)

A legal requirement in most US sweepstakes that consumers must have a free method of entering the promotion that does not require purchasing a product. Promotions that make a purchase mandatory for entry risk being classified as illegal lotteries. AirBaton builds NPN-compliant Alternative Methods of Entry into every sweepstake it administers, in accordance with applicable state laws and reviewed by Husch Blackwell (if brands do not have own legal counsel).

One-Time-Use QR Code

A QR code that is unique and can only be scanned and activated once. AirBaton generates serialized one-time-use QR codes for connected packaging campaigns, in-pack sweepstakes, and instant-win promotions. Once a consumer scans and activates the code, it is immediately deactivated — preventing duplicate redemptions, code sharing, and promotional fraud. Each code in an AirBaton campaign generates a scan event record in real time, giving brands a complete audit trail of where, when, and by whom each code was activated.

⚠ VERIFY: Confirm that 'cryptographically unique' is accurate. If the uniqueness mechanism is different (e.g. database-level serialization rather than cryptographic), update the description accordingly.

Punch Card Program

A loyalty mechanic in which a consumer earns one digital stamp per qualifying purchase or behavior. Once the consumer collects enough stamps to complete the card — typically 3 to 5 — the reward is automatically unlocked and delivered. Punch card programs are among the simplest and most universally understood loyalty mechanics, making them effective across broad consumer demographics. AirBaton delivers punch card stamps via mobile wallet passes — no app required.

Push Notification

A message delivered directly to a consumer's phone lock screen without requiring the consumer to open an email, check a social feed, or interact with an app. AirBaton's mobile wallet loyalty passes support push notifications — brands can send bonus offers, point balance updates, limited-time challenges, and event reminders directly to enrolled consumers' lock screens. Push notifications via wallet passes are not subject to email spam filters or social media algorithm suppression.

Real-Time Receipt Validation

The automated process of verifying a consumer's purchase by analyzing a photograph of their purchase receipt — confirming the qualifying product, purchase price, retailer, and date — within seconds of submission. AirBaton's receipt validation system reads consumer-submitted receipt photos, cross-references them against a database of qualifying products and known retailer receipt formats, and approves or flags the submission in real time. As an added layer of security we also use HUMANS for final approval. Approved submissions trigger an immediate reward or rebate payment. 

Sweepstakes

A promotion in which prizes are awarded by chance — winners are selected at random from a pool of eligible entries. No skill is required to enter. US law requires that sweepstakes offer a no-purchase-necessary alternative method of entry. Sweepstakes are the most commonly used consumer promotion format in CPG marketing because they are accessible to all consumers, easy to understand, and straightforward to administer at national scale.

UPC (Universal Product Code)

The barcode printed on a product label that uniquely identifies the product by brand and SKU. AirBaton's receipt validation system uses UPC data to confirm that a consumer purchased a specific qualifying product — distinguishing, for example, a 12-pack of a qualifying beer from an ineligible flavored variant. Brands provide qualifying UPC lists to AirBaton at campaign setup.