So, a brand-new Iowa-based web startup has launched today called “Townpoints” (@townpoints).  The concept behind the new startup appears similar to popular daily deal sites like LivingSocial and Groupon. Basically, the site promotes a local merchant with some great deals. There are, however, a few basic differences behind Townpoint’s effort that are worth pointing out.

First of all, Townpoints is apparently not a daily deal site. It’s a weekly deal site, from the looks of it. They highlight a single merchant for an entire week, allowing you ample time to get in on the deals, and earn plenty of points.

Yes, that’s right: earn points. Townpoints doesn’t just have a deal, it’s also somewhat like a hyper-local rewards card. Every time you participate in a merchant’s deal, you gain some number of points for your account. Points can be accumulated and traded in for even more deals with either the same, or (presumably) other merchants in the future.

For example, the current featured merchant for this week is Being There Coffee (@btcoffee). You can purchase a $15 gift certificate for the coffee house for only $7. Which also earns you 50 space bucks (or Townpoints points, if you prefer). And, in addition to that, you can also tell others about the coffee house via Twitter, Facebook, or email referrals, and earn even more space bucks on top of that. Points can then be redeemed for things like free coffee and pastries. Alternatively, saving up 1,000 points can get a coffee drink named after you at BT. Which is a pretty cool idea, but I doubt anyone will want to drink a Nathaniel Payne Mocha (or the “Natty Pocha”, as it would inevitably be called, but even that sounds undrinkable and a little too much like a Hungarian band from the 70s).

No doubt the daily deal coupon space is getting crowded by the day, and most activity is being pushed to the outer limits by monster deal sites Groupon and LivingSocial. Another local startup in this space called DSM Daily will be launching soon, and it will be interesting to see what they focus on and how their service differs from the others on the market. Because the ultimate factors in people deciding where to spend their money will come down to this: just how good is the deal, and what all do I get out of it?

With Townpoints, it seems like they are going the route of highly-customized promotional solutions for local merchants, focusing on a week-long campaign that rewards people for telling their friends about the merchant. The discount deal itself is almost an afterthought here, the service instead using that to pull people in, and then drawing their attention (in a very Farmville-esque  manner, I think) towards racking up points and earning special rewards. Which in turn benefits both the merchant through word-of-mouth advertising and low-cost promotional opportunities, as well as the customer who gains those rewards.

It’s a pretty slick platform, if you ask me, and I really look forward to seeing what future weeks bring for the service. I love supporting local businesses, and any service that brings attention to lesser known establishments is a plus. Here’s hoping future deals are just as good as this week’s, and that everyone finds something they can like there.

“I’ll take one tall Natty Pocha with extra cream.”

Nah, still don’t like it.

NOTE: I’m not an investor in Townpoints, nor do I work for them in any capacity, up to and including not being paid to promote them. Just thought it was an interesting service worthy of a post.