Abstract:
A computer-implemented method for generating coupons is provided. The method comprises receiving a request for a coupon from a publisher; responsive to the request selectively generating a coupon, said coupon comprising: (a) a unique coupon id; (b) code associated with a clipping button which when executed on a customer device configured to display the coupon together with media content and an ad unit associated with the media content, causes the customer device to send a clipping notification message including the coupon id to the coupon server system upon selection of the clipping button by a customer; sending the coupon to the publisher for displaying with said media content on the customer device; receiving the coupon clipping notification message from the customer device upon selection of the clipping button by the customer; and creating an association between the coupon id in the coupon clipping notification and the customer.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims that the benefit of priority to prior US provisional patent application No. 61/835,582 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC PERSONLIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COUPON DISTRIBUTION AND REDEMTION VIA MOBILE DEVICE”, filed Jun. 16, 2013. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems generating coupons 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Advertisers (product manufacturers or service providers) issue and distribute coupons to encourage customers to purchase their products or to purchase products and services from them. With proliferation of mobile devices, increasing numbers of coupons are created for and distributed by mobile devices. 
         [0004]    Because coupons are traditionally created, distributed, and most importantly redeemed in printed form—typically by a Point of Sale (POS) systems capable of scanning them, coupons in electronic form are not accepted by Brick and Mortar (BM) retailers as most existing POS systems are unable to receive coupon information from a mobile device. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    This invention offers a system and method for advertisers to create and distribute text or multi-media based hyper-targeted, personalized electronic offers and coupons which can be accepted and redeemed by BM businesses in electronic form regardless of the capabilities of their existing POS system. 
         [0006]    Furthermore, the system allows manufacturers to create unique, identifiable, and traceable coupons which can be used to launch and run self-tuning marketing campaigns designed to meet various business objectives. 
         [0007]    The invented system takes advantage of proliferation of mobile devices, their network connectivity, ability to install new applications, digital footprints left by consumers, and the fact that electronic coupon redemption by BM businesses is done in proximity to a customer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  shows a deployment drawing in accordance with one embodiment of the invention 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  shows the use cases for the DCPMS, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  shows the use cases for coupon generation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  shows the use cases for coupon clipping and publishing in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  shows a coupon query Q 1 , in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  shows the use cases for the customer coupon app, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 7   a - b  shows a Publisher publishing media on a Customer node, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  shows a flowchart for processing a coupon clipping notification, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9A  shows the use cases for coupon redemption by the customer coupon app, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 9B  shows the use cases for coupon redemption by the retailer coupon app, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  shows an example of published coupon, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 11  shows the published coupon of  FIG. 10  in magnified view, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 12  shows an example of a report to an Advertiser, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 13  shows a high-level block diagram of hardware for implementing the DCPMS, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block or flow diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the invention. Accommodate 
         [0023]    Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearance of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. 
         [0024]    Moreover, although the following description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and/or alterations to the details are within the scope of the present invention. Similarly, although many of the features of the present invention are described in terms of each other, or in conjunction with each other, one skilled in the art will appreciate that many of these features can be provided independently of other features. Accordingly, this description of the invention is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the invention. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1  shows a deployment scenario  100  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 1  a Digital Coupon Personalization and Management System (DCPMS)  102  includes a server component  102 A which implements a Coupon Service (CS)  102 B. The CS  102 B is under control of a Coupon Service Provider (CSP) A plurality of advertiser nodes  104  each equipped with an appropriate user agent (browser)  104 A are communicatively coupled to the DCPMS  102  by means of a network link  112 . In one embodiment, each advertiser node  104  may include a computing device such as a laptop or PC, and the network link  112  may comprise the Internet. Each advertiser node  104  represent an Advertiser who uses the CS to generate coupons on its behalf, as will be explained. 
         [0026]    The DCPMS  102  may also be communicatively coupled with plurality of publisher nodes  106  by means of a network link  112 . Each publisher node  106  represent a computing device such as a PC and includes a publishing interface  106 A, which represent the mechanism whereby a Publisher is able to publish media on a customer node  108  for viewing by a Customer. Examples of Publishers includes CNN, Facebook, YouTube, etc. 
         [0027]    The customer node  108  represents a customer device such as smartphone or tablet PC. In one embodiment, the customer node  108  may include a publisher app  108 A and a coupon app  108 B. The publisher app  108 A may be configured to receive media content from a Publisher, as will be described more fully later. The media content may include a personalized coupon generated by the DCPMS  102 . 
         [0028]    Finally, the deployment scenario  100  also includes a retailer node  110  which represents retailer. In one embodiment, the customer node  108  communicates with the retailer node  110  via an audio link  114 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 2  shows use cases  200  for the DCPMS  102 , in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As will be seen, the DCPMS  102  supports a create_account( ) function  202  which allows an Advertiser and a Publisher to create user accounts on the DCPMS  102 . A configure_business_rules( ) function  208  allows an Advertiser to provision business rules and objectives in the DCPMS  102 . The business rules and objectives may be used to generate highly personalized coupons for publishing to particular customers, as will be described. The use cases  200  also includes a configure_coupon_generation_parameters( ) process  210  whereby an advertiser configures coupon generation parameters which are used to generate personalized coupons. Examples of coupon generation parameters include the following:
       (a) Demographic data;   (b) Geographic data;   (c) Offer size for a coupon offer. This may be specified in the terms of a minimum offer size and a maximum offer size;   (d) The particular medium for which a coupon needs to be generated. Examples of media include video content, banner ads, and printed ads.   (e) Publisher. Examples of publishers includes Facebook, YouTube, CNN etc.;   (f) Context for the coupon. Examples of contexts includes sports, politics, science, business, lifestyle, etc.;   (g) Psycho-graphic information comprising values, opinions, attributes, interests, and lifestyles associated with a target demographic group.       
 
         [0037]    Finally, the use cases  200  include a reporting function  212  whereby reports are generated for Advertisers and Publishers. 
         [0038]    Referring now to  FIG. 3  of the drawings, there is shown use cases  300  for coupon generation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In terms of the use cases  300 , a Publisher sends a query Q 1  to the DCPMS  102 . The query Q 1  is a request for a coupon. Generally, at the time of sending the query Q 1 , the Publisher is already publishing content to a customer and is the further, typically displaying an advertisement unit (ad unit) in association with the content. This can be seen in  FIG. 7   a , which shows media  700  being published on a customer node  108 , wherein the media  700  includes content  702  and an ad unit  704 .  FIG. 5  shows the elements of the query Q 1 , in one embodiment. As will be seen, Q 1  includes customer information  500  and an ad unit id  502 . The ad unit id  502  corresponds to the ad unit being shown to the Customer. The customer information corresponds to profile information/data  706  (see  FIG. 8 ) about the Customer. The profile data  706  is collected from the Customer node  108  by the Publisher and includes that customer&#39;s browsing behavior and information about the customer device itself 
         [0039]    Responsive to receiving the coupon query Q 1 , the DCPMS  102  executes a process coupon query block  304 . Under this block, the DCPMS  102  attempts to match the ad unit id in the coupon query Q 1  in an ad unit list. The ad unit list is provisioned by an Advertiser and is basically a listing of ad units for which coupons must be generated by DCPMS  102 . Thus, under the process  304 , if the ad unit id is matched then a generate coupon function  306  is executed. Under this process, a personalized coupon is generated based on the coupon configuration parameters and based on machine learning techniques. 
         [0040]    The use cases  300  also include a reply to query function  308  wherein the DCPMS  102  replies to the query Q 1  by returning a coupon to the publisher  302  or a reply indicating that no coupon is available for the particular ad unit associated with the coupon request Q 1 .  FIG. 7B  shows the media  700  that is published on a customer node  108  as updated by the Publisher to include a coupon  708 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 4  shows use cases  400  for coupon displaying and clipping on the customer node  402 , in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. As will be seen, the customer node  108  is configured to display content by executing a display content function  402 . The display content function  402  may be extended to include a display ad function  404  which in turn may be extended to include a display coupon function  406  if the ad unit associated with the ad being displayed is match by the DCPMS  102 , as described earlier. A profile customer( ) function  408  collects profile information for a customer which is transmitted to the Publisher. The use cases  400  also includes a coupon clipping( ) function  410 . Under the coupon clipping function  410 , a Customer performs a ‘clipping action’ in relation to a coupon. For example, in one embodiment, the clipping action may include selection of a clipping button associated with the coupon. Responsive to said clipping action, the coupon clipping function  410  generates a coupon clipping notification and transmits it to the DCPMS  102 . 
         [0042]    Referring now to  FIG. 8  of the drawings, there is shown a process  800  executed on the DCPMS  102  responsive to receiving a coupon clipping notification. At block  802 , a check is made to determine if the customer is a registered customer. In one embodiment this step includes validating customer credentials included in the coupon clipping notification. If it is determined that the customer was not registered, then at block  804 , a registration process is executed in order to register the customer. This process may include redirecting a customer to a registration page in order for the customer to input registration information. At block  806 , the coupon identified by the coupon id in the coupon clipping notification is added to the customer&#39;s account. At this point, the DCPMS  102  may inform the Publisher that the coupon has been clipped, in which case the publisher may instruct a browser being used by the customer node  108  to view the coupon to stop displaying the coupon. 
         [0043]    In the case where a Customer is using the coupon app  108 B to view the published content, the coupon app  108 B includes logic to stop showing the coupon as soon as the coupon clipping action is performed. Thus, a seamless coupon clipping experience is facilitated. 
         [0044]    Referring now to  FIG. 9A  of the drawings, there is shown a use case for coupon redemption by a Customer. As will be seen, a coupon redemption( ) function  900  includes a process  902  for encoding a coupon for transmission, and a process  904  for transmitting said encoded coupon to a retailer node. In one embodiment, the process  902  for encoding the coupon for transmission encodes the coupon as an audio signal which is then transmitted via a speaker associated with the customer node  108 . The retailer node  110  then uses a microphone to detect the audio encoding.  FIG. 9B  also shows a use case for the retailer coupon app  110 A to redeem a coupon, in accordance with one embodiment. Referring to  FIG. 9B , process  906  comprises a receive coupon id( ) function whereby a microphone of the retailer node  110  is used to listen for the coupon transmission from the customer node  108 . A decode coupon id( ) process  908  decodes the audio signal in order to extract the coupon id. An authenticate coupon id( ) process  910  includes transmission of the coupon id to the DCPMS  102  by the retailer coupon app for authentication. The DCPMS  102  authenticates the coupon id and returns coupon parameters associated with the coupon id that was authenticated. The retailer coupon app then executes a receive coupon parameters( ) function  912  to receive the coupon parameters from the DCPMS  102 . A service customer( ) function  914  includes servicing the customer by providing the goods and/or services associated with the coupon. A apply discount( ) function  916  extends the service customer( ) function  914  to apply the discount indicated in the coupon to the transaction with the customer. A report redemption( ) function  918  includes operations to report any coupon redemption to the DCPMS  102 . 
         [0045]    Referring now to  FIG. 6  of the drawings, use cases  600  are associated with the coupon app  108 B. As will be seen, the use cases  600  may include a browse coupons( ) function  602 . This function allows a Customer to browse previously clipped coupons. A search coupon( ) function  604  allows the Customer to search for particular coupons based on search criteria. A suggest coupon for redemption( ) function  608  implements functionality to proactively suggest coupons for redemption to a Customer. For example, in one embodiment based on the location, the Customer may be shown coupons that are only available for redemption at that particular location. Finally, the use case  600  includes a redeem coupon function( )  610 , whereby the Customer may redeem a selected coupon, as has been described above. 
         [0046]    Referring now to  FIG. 10  of the drawings, there is shown a coupon  1000  which is published in association with an advertisement for women&#39;s&#39; lipstick. The coupon  1000  is shown in magnified view  FIG. 11  of the drawings. As will be seen, the coupon  1000  includes a discount of $1.25, and a coupon expiration, which is set to 15 days. Further, the coupon  1000  includes a ‘clip it button’. This button may be used to clip the coupon  1000  in accordance with the techniques disclosed herein. 
         [0047]      FIG. 12  shows a report  1200  that may be generated for an Advertiser, in accordance with one embodiment. The report  1200  includes linking information  1202  to link ad unit id, coupon id, customer id, advertiser id, and retailer id. Report  1200  also includes an analytics component  1204  which may provide detailed analysis on a coupon&#39;s clip rate and its redemption rate. The coupon clip rate and redemption rate may be used to optimize a coupon campaign. As has been mentioned, machine running techniques are used to generate a coupon in a dynamic fashion. For example, coupon may be configured to have a certain clip rate and a certain redemption. If a clip rate for a coupon is too high the system may dynamically reduce the discount associated with the coupon in order to throttle or scale back the redemption rate. Alternatively, if the coupon clip rate is too low, then the DCPM  102  S may dynamically increase the discount associated with the coupon in order to achieve the desired clip rate. Likewise, a coupons redemptions rate may be used to dynamically scale the offer sized associated with the coupon in order to achieve a desirable redemption rate. 
         [0048]      FIG. 13  shows an example of hardware  1300  that may be used to implement the DCPMS  102  in accordance with one embodiment. The hardware  1300  may include at least one processor  1302  coupled to a memory  1304 . The processor  1302  may represent one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), and the memory  1304  may represent random access memory (RAM) devices comprising a main storage of the hardware, as well as any supplemental levels of memory e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or back-up memories (e.g. programmable or flash memories), read-only memories, etc. In addition, the memory  1304  may be considered to include memory storage physically located elsewhere in the hardware, e.g. any cache memory in the processor  1302 , as well as any storage capacity used as a virtual memory, e.g., as stored on a mass storage device. 
         [0049]    The hardware also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating information externally. For interface with a user or operator, the hardware may include one or more user input output devices  1306  (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, etc.) and a display  1308 . For additional storage, the hardware  1300  may also include one or more mass storage devices  410 , e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (USB) or other removable disk drive, a hard disk drive, a Direct Access Storage Device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g. a Compact Disk (CD) drive, a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) drive, etc.) and/or a USB drive, among others. Furthermore, the hardware may include an interface with one or more networks  1312  (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, and/or the Internet among others) to permit the communication of information with other computers coupled to the networks. It should be appreciated that the hardware typically includes suitable analog and/or digital interfaces between the processor  1312  and each of the components, as is well known in the art. 
         [0050]    The hardware  1300  operates under the control of an operating system  1314 , and executes application software  1316  which includes various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, etc. to perform the techniques described above. 
         [0051]    In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention, may be implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as “computer programs.” The computer programs typically comprise one or more instructions set at various times in various memory and storage devices in a computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a computer, cause the computer to perform operations necessary to execute elements involving the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the invention has been described in the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution. Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited to recordable type media such as volatile and non-volatile memory devices, USB and other removable media, hard disk drives, optical disks (e.g., Compact Disk Read-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks, (DVDs), etc.), flash drives among others.