Abstract:
Systems and methods are disclosed for harnessing a significant volume of unique users to a host website, as through a registration process, to become a valuable asset to other online retailers (e-tailers) who desire to place reward advertisements or icons on the host website that permit users to click through directly to the e-tailer&#39;s website from the host site. Any reward offered by the e-tailer, a manufacturer of goods sold by the e-tailer, or another source, may be passed through to the users, in addition to the host site. This is accomplished by tracking click-through traffic generated by the high-incentive Internet ads and distributing the resultant rewards through specialized software. The user base will grow, retailer demand for access to that user base will grow, and the host site may also benefit by charging a membership fee to its users or fees to retailers using the service.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to the World Wide Web and to incentive-based advertisement and sales systems by online retailers (e-tailers) thereon. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for distributing advertising fees and purchase incentives, or portions thereof, directly to the advertisement recipients and customers.  
           [0003]    2. General Background and State of the Art  
           [0004]    The Internet provides a new medium in which to view, appreciate and utilize various forms of entertainment, information, shopping, and a variety of other interactive services to millions of users around the world. One way to finance such services on the Internet is through advertisement. Therefore, much attention has been focused on providing advertising through the Internet.  
           [0005]    A popular method for providing Internet advertisement has been in the form of banner ads. By selling a portion of valuable space on a web page to accommodate banner ads, a web page content provider can finance and support the activities and content to which the remainder of the web page is devoted. Banner ads are typically displayed across the top or bottom of a web page and often include a stream of information designed to entice the web page visitor. When the web page visitor selects such a banner advertisement, by clicking through the banner with a mouse or other computerized pointing device or peripheral indicator, an HTTP message is generated by the visitor&#39;s web browser using the information encapsulated in association with the selected banner ad. The HTTP message causes the visitor&#39;s web browser to send a request to access a different Internet object or website with a predefined URL, or website address. An example of a different website would be the banner ad advertiser&#39;s home page. In other words, when a web page visitor clicks a banner ad, he or she “clicks through” to, or is re-directed to, a new website that was the subject of the banner ad.  
           [0006]    Website content providers utilize various methods for payment of advertising fees. One method is a flat-rate base fee payment for web page space utilized by the banner ad. The amount of a base payment fee may be determined, for example, according to the worth of the banner-ad space to the web page owner, as that space must necessarily be forfeited by the web page owner for display of the advertiser&#39;s banner ad. Assessing the amount of value lost by forfeiting that space, which the web page owner is then unable to use for displaying his own content, helps determine a price for that space. The amount of a base fee payment might also be determined according to the worth of the banner advertisement to the advertiser. In essence, setting a base fee payment for banner ad space is similar to renting a portion of a building, such as a single unit or apartment.  
           [0007]    Incentive-based advertising fee payment methods are also known and used in the art. For example, a retailer who sponsors a banner ad on a host web page may monitor the traffic to its own website that originates from the banner ad. In this manner, the retailer can track and measure the effectiveness of its banner advertisements, and pay the host website accordingly. In some cases, these payments may be conditional upon the user completing a designated transaction, such as making a purchase, at the website advertised in the banner ad. In these cases, payment is a proportional reward to the banner ad host site.  
           [0008]    Typically, these base fees and/or incentive-based advertising fee payments are retained by the web host site in consideration for the use of its assets, which are its web page space and visitors. Web host site retention of incentive payments encourages the sale of web page space for display of banner ads. However, it does not encourage visitors to pay attention to banner ads or to utilize them in a way that will result in a transaction at the advertising retailer&#39;s website.  
           [0009]    Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide website host and Internet users with retailer rewards, including but not limited to base fee payments, incentive-based advertising payments and/or manufacturer rebates, for example, for utilizing retailer advertisements and to increase the advertising value to retailers. It is a further object of the invention to provide a valuable customer base to retailers through creation of an on-line environment of registered Internet users having a vested interest in becoming the targets of retailer advertising in order to obtain the advertisers&#39; inherent incentive value.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    These and other objectives are achieved by the present invention which, in a broad aspect, provides a large volume of Internet users that may be effectively targeted by on-line advertisements. The large user base is established and sustained through reward-based systems wherein users are incited to acknowledge and respond to advertisements. Prices of goods or services are reduced, and/or visitation to an advertised website is rewarded, through the incentives, of benefit to the users. Similarly, traffic to retailers who utilize on-line advertising is driven higher, of benefit to retailers. Furthermore, a host website that both displays the advertisements and generates the user rewards benefits through its access to the large user base in combination with collected rewards.  
           [0011]    A large volume of visitors to a website can be a valuable asset to other on-line retailers who desire to place advertisements or icons on that website. The retailers generally offer a “reward” program to the host website, which may be a percentage of each sale by the retailer that originates from the host website through an advertisement or icon, for example. In contrast to the typical practice of a host website retaining the entirety of the reward, the present invention seeks to pass at least a portion of the reward through to the user. This not only increases the value of the advertisement to the host website and retailer, but the resultant user base will grow, to the benefit of both the host and retailer, retailer demand for access to the expanding host website will grow, and the host website will encounter similar functional and economic benefit further through its ability to charge membership fees to its expanding base of users.  
           [0012]    These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments which make reference to the following illustrative Figures. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a typical prior art Internet reward payment scenario.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention detailing an exemplary Internet reward advertising and distribution system and illustrating the features thereof.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an additional exemplary embodiment of one form of a payment disbursement model according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a flow chart detailing an additional exemplary embodiment of the present invention and illustrating the advertising payment determination logic thereof.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 illustrates a third additional exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]    The systems and methods of the present invention enable Internet users  109  at a user site to visit a website, denoted a host site  105 , in order to access advertisements  107  (ads) such as click-through banner advertisements displayed thereon. The ads  107 , like their prior art predecessors, contain material designed to promote third-party interests, such as goods for sale by a retailer or information for dissemination by a clearinghouse. In contrast to the present invention, however, prior art Internet advertising systems, as illustrated in FIG. 1, generally enable a retailer website  101  to make incentive-based advertising fee payments  103  to the host site  105  in return for the host site&#39;s service of displaying ad  107 . Typically, as shown in the art, the retailer website  101  makes the incentive-based advertising fee payments  103  to a host site  105  based upon the number of users  109  directed to retailer&#39;s website  101  through an ad  107  by tracking the variations  111 , as the click-through traffic to its retailer website  101 . The more click-through traffic to a retailer&#39;s website  101  generated at host site  105 , therefore, the more rewards (incentive-based advertising fee payments  103  and/or base fee payments  113 ) host site  105  will receive from retailer website  101 .  
         [0019]    In contrast to the prior art, the present invention employs a sophisticated payment disbursement model  203  wherein the users  109  receive at least a portion if not all of any reward  205 . As shown in FIG. 2, an embodiment of the present invention enables the retailer website  101  to track click-through traffic  111  from the banner ad  107 , sending the tracking information  201  to a payment disbursement model  203 , and to determine rewards  205  to be made payable to the users  109 . These rewards  205  are made directly to the users  109 , while host site  105  may continue to receive independent rewards, such as a base fee  113  from retailer website  101  in exchange for displaying an ad  107 . An alternative tracking method involves host site  105  tracking click-through traffic  111  and sending the tracking information  207  to the payment disbursement model  203 .  
         [0020]    Logic for an exemplary payment disbursement model (model)  203  in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is detailed in the exemplary flow chart of FIG. 3. Various inputs are received by model  203  and may include registration information, such as client information  301  and sale information  303 , among other types of information. Client information  301  may contain data related to, but not limited to, a user&#39;s identify, general profile information, preferred payment method information or any other information of interest. Sale information  303  may contain a variety of sales data including, but not limited to, data related to the goods or services involved in sales transaction, a dollar amount descriptive of the transaction, manufacturers associated with the goods or services of the sale, or additional information relevant to the transaction. This information is considered in step  305 , which establishes an initial amount of the reward to be paid to user  109 . The amount established in step  305  may depend on a variety of factors, in but not limited to percentage of the total sale or frequency of the particular user  109  as a customer. At step  307 , it is determined whether an additional reward, such as a manufacturer rebate  307 , is associated with the goods or services involved in the transaction. The reward  305  is adjusted by the amount of the additional rebate  307  in order to provide or maintain the reward click-through character of the ad. The final adjusted reward amount  205  is then considered for payment to user  109  in step  309 . Factors of consideration in step  309  include, but are not limited to, user&#39;s  109  personal information such as preferred payment method. Reward payment  205  is then made to user  109 . It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various payment disbursement models  203  may be employed in accordance with the present invention, and may consider various client, sales, manufacturer, service provider, and other types of information in determining the amount and method of payment of the reward  205  to user  109 .  
         [0021]    An additional embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by the flow chart of FIG. 4. In this exemplary embodiment, when user  109  connects to host site  105 , an opportunity is provided for user  109  to register and become a registered member  403 . For example, user  109  may be required to pay a full membership fee  401  to host site  105 , after which user  109  becomes part of an established group of registered members  403 . Ads  107  are purchased by the retailer  101  (for example, by base fee payment  113 ) and are displayed by retailer website  101  on host site  105 . Ads  107  may be accessed by any or all users  109 , including those users  109  who are registered members  403 . When an ad  107  is accessed, the retailer website  101  tracks the resultant incoming traffic at step  405 . This tracking may include, but is not limited to, gathering information related to a user&#39;s registration status. It is also contemplated to be within the scope of the invention that the tracking  405  may be accomplished by the host site  105 , and the tracking data subsequently delivered to the retailer website  101  in any of a variety of possible formats.  
         [0022]    If a sale or other transaction is generated at  407  as a result of the click-through from the ad  107  on the host site  105 , it is determined whether user  109  is a registered member at step  409 . If user  109  is a registered member, a reward payment  205  is made directly to user  109 . Additionally, a reward  205  may be paid to the host site  105 , or to other designated recipients. Thus, for example a reward may be paid to the registered member, one reward may be spilt between the registered member and the host site or different types of rewards may paid to the registered member and the host site.  
         [0023]    An additional embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by the flow chart of FIG. 5. In this embodiment, a host site  105  enters into agreements with manufacturers or providers  501  and retailers  101  who provide the goods or services produced by manufacturers or providers  501 . Registered members  403  may access participating retailers  101  through ads  107  and placed on the host site  105 . Upon completion of a sale or other qualifying transaction, the participating retailers  101  recognize registered members&#39;  403  origination, or click-through, from the host site  105  and pay a reward  205  to the host site  105  to compensate for the transaction generated from the click-through. Likewise, the participating manufacturer or provider  501  recognizes the retailer&#39;s  101  sale or other transaction and pays a rebate  307  to the host site  105  to compensate the host site  105  for the sale generated from the affiliation. The resultant rewards are directed to registered member  403  in part or in whole as a credit, cash payment, or other form of incentive.  
         [0024]    Host site  105  may credit the rewards  205 / 307  to the consumer through specialized, automated accounting software. This software may require placing a code on user&#39;s  109  computer in order to track user&#39;s  109  personalized account with originating host site  105 . The placement of software on user&#39;s  109  computer may be incorporated as part of the registration process. If desired, user  109  may be provided with access to their secure personal account on the host website  105  by logging in with a special password or other security feature. If there is a positive balance in user&#39;s  109  account with host site  105 , user  109  may request the balance be paid to it via check or, alternatively, may elect to use the balance to pay for membership fees to host site  105  or to pay for future goods or services from the participating retailer sites  101 . Use of a positive balance toward future purchases may require additional accounting or crediting software between host site  105  and participating retailer sites  101 . Alternatively, payments or application of credits toward purchases may be accomplished through direct communication with the host  105  and without the implementation of additional software.  
         [0025]    In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the creation of a group of registered members  403  with a host site  105  in combination with agreements between host site  105  and various retailers  101  and manufacturers or providers  501  creates a novel marketplace in which consumers, manufacturers, retailers, and subscription originators all benefit in unique ways. For example, manufacturers  501  and retailers  101  need not spend money for new advertising because the reward ads of the present invention retain their attractive utility. Business increases, and users directly benefit from their transactions.  
         [0026]    The foregoing descriptions of exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration, description and enablement. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms illustrated. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible within the scope of the above teachings. For example, qualifying transactions generating reward payments from retailers or manufacturers are not limited to goods and may include services or a simple contribution of information by the user  109 , such as, for example, the completion of a survey or other data collection form. Also, the host site  105  may include additional information related to the collection of its group of registered members  403 . For example, the host site  105  may contain shopping categories that the users  109  may customize to function as their start up screens to the host site  105 . Further, banner ads  107  are not the only means by which users may access a retailer&#39;s website  101 . Icons, links, or other connecting means may be utilized within the scope of the present invention to replace or substitute for “ads”  107 . The present invention also is not limited to use in connection with sales and advertising across the Internet. Rather, the present invention may be used for a wide variety of sales and incentive programs across any available computer or communications networks.  
         [0027]    Additionally, the term “retailer” may be used, but is not limited, to describe online retailers who offer goods for sale at a website accessible via the Internet or World Wide Web. It is also anticipated to be within the scope of the invention that retailers may include any provider of goods, services, or information, whether offered for sale or not. Likewise, “rewards” may include, but are not necessarily limited to, incentive-based payments calculated as a percentage of sales originated from a host website, or flat-fee based fee payments calculated according to the results of a user clicking through from a host website to a retailer website or manufacture coupons or rebates.  
         [0028]    It is intended that the scope of the present invention be limited not by this detailed description, but only by the claims appended hereto.  
         [0029]    While the specification describes particular embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill can devise variations of the present invention without departing from the inventive concept.