Cox Target Media announced its acquisition of Savings.com, an online coupon website, and its British-based sister site, Savoo.co.uk today. Terms of the deal are undisclosed. Cox Target Media also owns and distributes Valpak coupons. Its print coupons from national and local retailers are mailed to more than 44 million homes a month. Savings.com gives online shoppers access to offers from national and online retailers. More than 5 million users access the site per month.

The acquisition also expands alternative revenue models, something Cox Target Media President Michael Vivio mentioned during ILM West last December. Under the traditional model, Valpak businesses pay for the ads up front and hope to receive a profit on the back end. Now, Valpak and Savings.com will offer national merchants pay-for-performance advertising that lets marketers drive sales with lower upfront costs. Savings.com also brings high-level email marketing and the ability to build loyalty databases around specific products and services to Valpak’s print-based model.

Savings.com and Savoo.co.uk will continue to operate independently but work together with Valpak to share resources, leverage technology platforms, and promote consumer engagement. Loren Bendele, founder and CEO of Savings.com, will continue in his current role.

Also worth noting today is Valassis Communications’ acquisition of Brand.net, an online display, video and mobile advertising platform. Valassis Communications is a direct mail company that is building out its digital display offering — Valassis Audience Network.

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Cox Target Media’s Valpak business is “better than ever, with free cash flow better than it has ever been,” according to COO Jim Sampey, who was keynoting the Deal-a-Day SuperForum at ILM:10 in Santa Clara. But the company, which puts out The Blue Envelope of local coupons in 70 metro areas and has 800 sales reps, has been trying to figure out how to extend the print business — and the Valpak brand — into digital.

Specifically, the company has been looking at online coupons, a Facebook coupon app, scannable QR codes, video ads, loyalty programs, LBS push messaging and daily deal offers.

Sampey acknowledged that Valpak.com, as an online flagship for the company, has been “part of the get rich slow” train. But the company is currently revamping the entire portal to focus on its traditional strengths, such as neighborhood zoning. The key is to provide advertisers with services throughout the month.

“We’re rounding out our offering to our SMB folks,” said Sampey. “ It has to be better than just activating a deals coupon and then being “dry for the next 28 days of the month.”

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