Patent Publication Number: US-2010131369-A1

Title: Group association system and method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to membership systems and, more particularly, to establishing group association within a membership system. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many establishments maintain customer loyalty programs. A patron becomes a member of the program typically by providing his or her name and address to the establishment. A membership card is given to the patron and subsequently scanned or swiped upon each visit to or transaction within the establishment. Details of the patron&#39;s membership (e.g., identity, member number) are stored by a membership system. The patron benefits from the membership by receiving discounts and promotional offers, and the establishment benefits from the membership by being able to track valuable market data. This may include information such as: how much money an individual has spent at the establishment, what products or services are more popular among customers from various regions, how one product correlates to another (e.g., whether people who buy product A tend to also buy product B), whether promotional mailings are successful, and many others. 
     In some cases, a group of patrons all arrive at once, and an establishment wants to A) associate each patron as a member of the group that arrived together, and B) give a new account (and membership card) to any patron who is not already a member of the customer loyalty program. Typically, each patron is requested to go to a customer service desk during their visit and register their arrival with the group. While there, the patron will establish an account in the customer loyalty program if he or she does not already have one. This procedure is typically too slow to handle a group of people in a timely fashion, and there is no guarantee that each patron will do as requested. Of the patrons that do, some may become frustrated by any resulting delay or may harbor a negative impression if a lengthy procedure is imposed upon them. Such patrons may not spend as much money at the establishment as they otherwise might have. Even if the patrons are not annoyed by the procedure, the time spent waiting to register, or to establish a new account, is time they might have otherwise been spending money in the establishment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In a first implementation, a method includes defining an identity of a patron of a casino. Whether the patron has an account within the casino is determined. If the patron has an account, the account associated with the patron is determined. If the patron does not have an account, an account is generated and associated with the patron. The account is associated with a group of patrons. 
     One or more of the following features may be included. Defining an identity of a patron may include processing encoded data to define the identity. Defining an identity of a patron may include defining the identity on a handheld device. 
     A membership card may be generated and the membership card maybe associated with the account. A personal identification number may be associated with one or more of the account and a membership card. A promotional credit may be issued. Associating the account with the patron may include defining one or more of membership data and group association data. One or more of the membership data and group association data may be provided to one or more of a membership system and a promotions system. 
     In another implementation, a system is configured to perform operations including defining an identity of a patron of a casino. Whether the patron has an account within the casino is determined. If the patron has an account, the account associated with the patron is determined. If the patron does not have an account, an account is generated and associated with the patron. The account is associated with a group of patrons. 
     One or more of the following features may be included. Defining an identity of a patron may include processing encoded data to define the identity. Defining an identity of a patron may include defining the identity on a handheld device. 
     A membership card may be generated and the membership card maybe associated with the account. A personal identification number may be associated with one or more of the account and a membership card. A promotional credit may be issued. Associating the account with the patron may include defining one or more of membership data and group association data. One or more of the membership data and group association data may be provided to one or more of a membership system and a promotions system. 
     In another implementation, a computer program product resides on a computer readable medium that has a plurality of instructions stored on it. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processor to perform operations including defining an identity of a patron of a casino. Whether the patron has an account within the casino is determined. If the patron has an account, the account associated with the patron is determined. If the patron does not have an account, an account is generated and associated with the patron. The account is associated with a group of patrons. 
     One or more of the following features may be included. Defining an identity of a patron may include processing encoded data to define the identity. Defining an identity of a patron may include defining the identity on a handheld device. 
     A membership card may be generated and the membership card maybe associated with the account. A personal identification number may be associated with one or more of the account and a membership card. A promotional credit may be issued. Associating the account with the patron may include defining one or more of membership data and group association data. One or more of the membership data and group association data may be provided to one or more of a membership system and a promotions system. 
     The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic view of a promotional association system coupled to a distributed computing network; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart of the process executed by the promotional association system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a more detailed flowchart of a portion of the process shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a more detailed flowchart of a portion of the process shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     System Overview: 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown promotional association system  10 . As will be discussed below in greater detail, when a patron (e.g., patron  12 ) arrives at an establishment as a member of a group of patrons (e.g., a group of patrons on bus  14 ), it may be desirable to associate patron  12  as a member of the group (i.e., make a record of the fact that patron  12  arrived as part of the group on bus  14 ). It may be desirable to do so by e.g., associating the group membership with the patron&#39;s customer loyalty program account, and if the patron does not have an account, it may be desirable to establish a new account for patron  12 . Associating the account of patron  12  with e.g., the group from bus  14 , including generating an account if necessary, may be effectuated by promotional association system  10 . 
     The account/membership in question could be one of, for example, a rewards account, a customer loyalty program account, a credit account, a debit account, or a service account (e.g., at an auto shop or utility company). Examples of customer loyalty programs may include membership accounts or rewards accounts, for example: a frequent flyer account, a casino player&#39;s club account, a hotel rewards club account, or a grocery store ‘valued customer’ account. 
     In such a case, the patron may present an account/membership card, which may include encoded data. All or a portion of the encoded data may be processed on a stationary scanner/reader (e.g., stationary device  16 ) or on a handheld device (e.g., handheld device  18 ). Examples of stationary device  16  may include but are not limited to a kiosk, an overhead or frame-mounted reader/scanner, a point-of-sale-type card reader, or a pedestal-mounted reader/scanner. Examples of handheld device  18  may include but are not limited to a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, and a specialized device. 
     Promotional association system  10  may include a client-side portion (e.g., client-side promotional association system  10 C) and a server-side portion (e.g., server-side promotional association system  10 S) that may work cooperatively to effectuate the functionality of promotional association system  10 . 
     Stationary device  16  may include various instruction sets and subroutines (e.g., client-side promotional association system  10 C), which may be stored on storage device  20  coupled to/included within stationary device  16  and may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) incorporated into stationary device  16 . 
     Examples of storage device  20  may include but are not limited to: a hard disk drive; a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM), a compact flash (CF) storage device, a secure digital (SD) storage device, and a memory stick storage device. Stationary device  16  may run an operating system, examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft Windows™, Microsoft Windows CE™, Redhat Linux™, PalmOS™, Apple Mac OS X™, or a custom operating system. 
     Handheld device  18  may include various instruction sets and subroutines (e.g., client-side promotional association system  10 C), which may be stored on storage device  22  coupled to/included within handheld device  18  and may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) incorporated into handheld device  18 . 
     Examples of storage device  22  may include but are not limited to: a hard disk drive; a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM), a compact flash (CF) storage device, a secure digital (SD) storage device, and a memory stick storage device. Handheld device  18  may run an operating system, examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft Windows™, Microsoft Windows CE™, Redhat Linux™, PalmOS™, Apple Mac OS X™, or a custom operating system. 
     Server-side promotional association system  10 S may reside on and may be executed by server computer  24 , which may be coupled to network  26  (e.g., the Internet or a local area network). Examples of server computer  24  may include, but are not limited to: a personal computer, a server computer, a series of server computers, a mini computer, and a mainframe computer. Server computer  24  may be a single server or a series of servers running a network operating system, examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft Windows 2003 Server™; Novell Netware™; or Redhat Linux™, for example. 
     The instruction sets and subroutines of server-side promotional association system  10 S, which may be stored on storage device  28  coupled to/included within server computer  24 , may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) incorporated into server computer  24 . Examples of storage device  28  may include but are not limited to: a hard disk drive; a tape drive; an optical drive; a RAID array; a random access memory (RAM); and a read-only memory (ROM). 
     Stationary device  16  may be coupled to distributed computing network  26  (e.g., the Internet or a local area network). Handheld device  18  may also be coupled to distributed computing network  26 . Server computer  24  may be connected to network  26  and may execute a server application, examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft IIS™, Novell Webserver™, or Apache Webserver™, that allows for access to server computer  24  via network  26 . Network  26  may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g., network  30 ), examples of which may include but are not limited to: a local area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example. 
     Stationary device  16  may be directly or indirectly coupled to network  26 , or network  30 , or server computer  24 . For example, stationary device  16  is shown directly coupled to network  26  via wired communication channel  32  that may be effectuated using e.g., an Ethernet port (IEEE 802.3), a Token Ring port (IEEE 802.5), a Universal Serial Bus (i.e., USB) port, an IEEE 1394 port, a parallel port, and/or a serial port that is capable of coupling stationary device  16  to network  26 . Stationary device  16  may additionally/alternatively be coupled to network  26  via a wireless communication channel (not shown) established between stationary device  16  and wireless access point  34 , which is shown directly coupled to network  26 . Wireless access point  34  may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15, Bluetooth, and/or infrared device that is capable of establishing a wireless communication channel (not shown) between stationary device  16  and wireless access point  34 . 
     Handheld device  18  may be directly or indirectly coupled to network  26 , or network  30 , or server computer  24 . For example, handheld device  18  is shown wirelessly coupled to network  26  via wireless communication channel  36  established between handheld device  18  and wireless access point  34 , which is shown directly coupled to network  26 . Wireless access point  34  may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15, Bluetooth, and/or infrared device that is capable of establishing wireless communication channel  36  between handheld device  18  and wireless access point  34 . Handheld device  18  may additionally/alternatively be coupled to network  26  via a wired communication channel (not shown) effectuated using e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (i.e., USB) port, an IEEE 1394 port, an Ethernet port, a parallel port, and/or a serial port that is capable of coupling handheld device  18  to network  26  or server computer  24 . 
     As is known in the art, all of the IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernet protocol and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (i.e., CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications may use phase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary code keying (i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. As is known in the art, Bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that allows e.g., mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants to be interconnected using a short-range wireless interface. 
     Promotional association system  10  (e.g., client-side promotional association system  10 C and/or server-side promotional association system  10 S) may work cooperatively with an existing membership system (e.g., membership system  38 ) that maintains the accounts of patrons (e.g., a membership database) and/or an existing promotions system (e.g., promotions system  40 ) that maintains marketing, promotional, and/or group information. Promotional association system  10  may be closely integrated with an existing system (e.g., membership system  38  or promotions system  40 ). For example, server-side promotional association system  10 S may be executed on the same computer platform as membership system  38  and/or promotions system  40 , and server-side promotional association system  10 S may be implemented as an add-on, plug-in, or API (Application Programming Interface) in conjunction with membership system  38  or promotions system  40 . 
     System Operation: 
     Referring also to  FIGS. 2-4 , assume that patron  12  arrives as part of a group (e.g., on tour bus  14 ) at an establishment. Further assume that he or she may present some form of identification. Promotional association system  10  may be used to associate patron  12  with the arriving group. 
     Identity  42  of patron  12  may be defined  100  (at least in part) by employee  44 , who may manually enter  102  identity  42  into stationary device  16  or handheld device  18 . Identity  42  may be defined  100  by e.g., employee  44  asking patron  12  for his/her identity and/or asking patron  12  to provide a form of identification. The requisite information may then be manually entered  102  into stationary device  16  or handheld device  18  through, e.g., a keypad or touch screen (not shown). 
     In another embodiment, identity  42  may be defined  100  by processing  104  data that is encoded within some form of identification, examples of which may include but are not limited to: a driver&#39;s license, a membership card (such as a customer loyalty card), a credit card, a proximity card, a passport, or any other government-issued or privately-issued identification, or may be a biological credential (e.g., fingerprints, retinal scans, or facial likeness). Data may be encoded using a variety of methodologies, examples of which may include but are not limited to: a magnetic strip, a barcode, an optical code, an RFID tag, an image, or text. 
     For the purposes of this disclosure, biological credentials such as fingerprints, retinal scans, and facial likeness are understood to be forms of identification, and a fingerprint image, a retinal image, or facial image are understood to be encoded data, because from such images the identity of the associated person may be determined. 
     Processing  104  of encoded data may include reading  106  a magnetic strip, a barcode, an RFID tag, or an optical code; or may include scanning  108  an image, text, a fingerprint, a retina, or a facial likeness. Accordingly, stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18  may include a magnetic strip reader (not shown), a barcode reader (not shown), an RFID reader (not shown), an optical scanner (not shown), or a biometric scanner/reader (not shown). 
     For example, a driver&#39;s license or a credit card of patron  12  may have data encoded within a magnetic strip. A magnetic strip reader (not shown) included within stationary device  16  or handheld device  18  may read  106  the magnetic strip when the driver&#39;s license of patron  12  is swiped through the card reader. Depending on the manner in which the magnetic strip is configured, the magnetic strip may directly contain the identity of patron  12  or may contain reference data from which the identity of patron  12  may be determined. For example, a record number or an account number may be defined within the magnetic strip, which may be used to determine the identity of patron  12  via a lookup operation performed on a database (e.g., a motor vehicle database or a bank credit account database). 
     The form of identification may not contain a magnetic strip but may include e.g., the name, address and/or photograph of patron  12 . In such a case, stationary device  16  or handheld device  18  may e.g., scan  108  the driver&#39;s license (or other form of identification) with an included scanner (not shown) and may further process the scan by e.g., storing the scan as an image file, conducting optical character recognition to extract text-based data, and storing the text-based data. Additionally/alternatively, face recognition software (not shown) may be utilized to process a photograph included within the driver&#39;s license (or other form of identification) to identify patron  12  from the photograph and define identity  42 . 
     As discussed above, identity  42  (as defined  100  on stationary device  16  or handheld device  18 ) may include the identity of patron  12  either directly (e.g., by name, address, social security number, etc.) or indirectly (e.g., by driver&#39;s license number, account number(s), photographic image, etc.). Additionally, other pieces of information may be included in identity  42 , examples of which may include but are not limited to: identity of the user of stationary device  16  or handheld device  18  (e.g., employee  44 ), identity of stationary device  16  or handheld device  18 , and date/time the information was entered into stationary device  16  or handheld device  18 . 
     As discussed above, promotional association system  10  may include a client-side portion (e.g., client-side promotional association system  10 C) and a server-side portion (e.g., server-side promotional association system  10 S) that may work cooperatively to effectuate the functionality of promotional association system  10 . Further and as discussed above, client-side promotional association system  10 C may be executed on e.g., stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18  and server-side promotional association system  10 S may be executed on e.g., server computer  24 . 
     In such a client-side/server-side implementation, at least a portion of identity  42  may be provided from client-side promotional association system  10 C to server-side promotional association system  10 S through any of a number of different interfaces and mechanisms. For example, either or both of stationary device  16  and handheld device  18  (i.e., a device that executes client-side promotional association system  10 C) may be coupled to server computer  24  (i.e., the computer that executes server-side promotional association system  10 S) via a direct cable interface, via a direct coupling to network  26 , or via a wireless interface (e.g., wireless communication channel  36 ) as discussed above. Further, there may be a plurality of stationary devices (e.g., stationary device  16 ) and/or handheld devices (e.g., handheld device  18 ) that execute client-side promotional association system  10 C and that are each coupled to server computer  24 . 
     At least a portion of identity  42  may be stored by promotional association system  10 . Specifically, all or a portion of identity  42  may be stored on a storage device (e.g., storage device  20  or storage device  22 ) coupled to a device that executes client-side promotional association system  10 C (e.g., stationary device  16  or handheld device  18 ) and/or on a storage device (e.g., storage device  28 ) coupled to a computer that executes server-side promotional association system  10 S (e.g., server computer  24 ). 
     At least a portion of identity  42  may be processed  110  by promotional association system  10  (i.e., client-side promotional association system  10 C and/or server-side promotional association system  10 S). Processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may include determining  112  whether patron  12  has an existing account. If it is determined  112  that patron  12  has an account, processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may include determining  114  the account associated with patron  12 . Alternatively, if it is not determined  112  that patron  12  has an account, processing  110  may include generating  116  a new account and associating  118  the new account with patron  12 . In either case, processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may also include generating  120  one or more membership cards and associating  122  the membership cards with the account. Further in either case, processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may also include associating  124  a Personal Identification Number (i.e., PIN) with an account or a membership card. In processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42 , membership data  46  may be defined (to be discussed below in greater detail). 
     At least a portion of identity  42  may be processed  110  by promotional association system  10  (i.e., client-side promotional association system  10 C and/or server-side promotional association system  10 S) to determine  112  whether patron  12  has an existing account. To determine  112  whether patron  12  has an existing account, promotional association system  10  may perform a query against a membership database (not shown) maintained by a membership system (e.g., membership system  48 ) or may compare all or a portion of identity  42  to a list of patrons having accounts. For example, promotional association system  10  may provide all or a portion of identity  42  across network  26  to membership system  48  in order to effectuate determining  112  whether patron  12  has an existing account. This may be done in the form of a query, using structured query language (i.e., SQL), or may be done through some proprietary protocol supported by membership system  48 . Alternatively, server-side promotional association system  10 S may be implemented as a plug-in, add-on, or API coupled to membership system  48 , as discussed above, and therefore a query may be performed as a local operation. In another embodiment, promotional association system  10  may download a list (not shown) of patrons having accounts from membership system  48  and compare identity  42  directly to the downloaded list (not shown). Further, promotional association system  10  may be pre-configured with a list (not shown) of patrons having accounts, which may be stored e.g., on one or more of storage devices  20 ,  22  and/or  28 . 
     If it is determined  112  that patron  12  has an existing account, at least a portion of identity  42  may be processed  110  by promotional association system  10  (i.e., client-side promotional association system  10 C and/or server-side promotional association system  10 S) to determine  114  the account associated with patron  12 . Determining  114  an account associated with patron  12  may include determining an account number or other account identifier, record number, or additional identifying information. To determine  114  the account, promotional association system  10  may perform a query against a membership database (not shown) maintained by membership system  48 , or may compare all or a portion of identity  42  to a list of patrons having accounts. A successful query or a match within the list may result in an account number or other account identifier, record number, or additional account identifying information. 
     For example, promotional association system  10  may submit a query across network  26  to membership system  48  in order to determine  114  the account associated with patron  12 . Alternatively, server-side promotional association system  10 S may be implemented as a plug-in, add-on, or API coupled to membership system  48 , as discussed above, and therefore a query may be performed as a local operation. In another embodiment, promotional association system  10  may download a list (not shown) of patrons having accounts from membership system  48  and compare identity  42  directly to the downloaded list (not shown). Further, promotional association system  10  may be pre-configured with a list (not shown) of patrons having accounts, which may be stored e.g., on one or more of storage devices  20 ,  22 , or  28 . 
     If it is not determined  112  that patron  12  has an existing account, processing at least a portion of identity  42  may include generating  116  a new account. Generating  116  a new account may include generating a new entry in a database (not shown) maintained by promotional association system  10  or membership system  48 . Further, generating  116  a new account may include assigning an account number or other form of account identifier. Additionally, the new account may be associated  118  with patron  12  and/or identity  42 . Associating  118  the new account with patron  12  nd/or identity  42  may include storing one or more pieces of information, such as but not limited to: an account number or identifier, all or a portion of identity  42 , name, address, phone number, social security number, credit or debit account numbers, date of birth, or similar identifying and/or marketing information associated with patron  12 . 
     Once determined  114  or generated  116 , the account in question may be indistinguishable as to whether it was a new account or an existing account. Accordingly, further references will merely refer to “the account” and will not distinguish between a previously existing or a new account unless it is necessary for understanding the concepts discussed. 
     As introduced above, processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may also include generating  120  a membership card and associating  122  the membership card with the account. The membership card may be generated  120  by either client-side promotional association system  10 C or server-side promotional association system  10 S through a variety of mechanisms. For instance, stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18  may be equipped with a card embosser (not shown), or promotional association system  10  may utilize a direct or network attached card embosser (e.g., printer/embosser  50 ) and may issue an instruction to membership system  48  to emboss a membership card (not shown). Such a membership card (not shown) may contain the identity of patron  12  and may contain an account number. The membership card (not shown) may also contain additional pieces of information, such as a control number, a card number, a privilege level, and the date/time it was generated. Such a membership card (not shown) may also have a magnetic strip or bar code, and account/membership data may be encoded within the magnetic strip or bar code. 
     Processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may also include associating  124  a Personal Identification Number (i.e., PIN) with the account or membership card (not shown). If a PIN is associated  124  with a membership card (not shown), it may be a newly generated  120  membership card (not shown) as discussed above or it may be a previously existing membership card (not shown). In either case, patron  12  may select a PIN and manually enter it into stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18  through, e.g., a keypad (not shown) or touch screen (not shown). Alternatively, promotional association system  10  may generate a PIN at random. The PIN may be used to confirm that a future user either is patron  12  or is an authorized user of the account. For example, at a later date the membership card (not shown) may be swiped in a card reader and the user may be asked to enter their PIN as confirmation (e.g., by membership system  48 ) that the user of the membership card (not shown) is either patron  12  or is authorized to use the account or membership. 
     Although promotional association system  10  has been described as generating  120  a membership card (not shown) and associating  122  a PIN, it is understood that neither is generally required nor is either dependent upon the other. Even in the case of a new account, a membership card (not shown) does not necessarily need to be generated  120  by promotional association system  10 , nor does a PIN necessarily need to be associated  124  with the account/membership card (not shown). Accordingly, for either a new or existing account, a membership card (not shown) may be generated  120  without associating  124  a PIN, and a PIN may be associated  124  without generating  120  a membership card (not shown). 
     As discussed above, processing  110  at least a portion of identity  42  may include defining membership data  46 . Examples of information contained within membership data  46  may include but are not limited to: identity  42 , other identifying information of patron  12 , account numbers/identifiers, membership card numbers/identifiers, and Personal Identification Numbers. Promotional association system  10  may store membership data  46  (e.g., on any of storage devices  20 ,  22 ,  28 ) for subsequent retrieval and/or future processing. Additionally, promotional association system  10  may immediately, or at some future time, provide all (or a portion of) membership data  46  to a membership system (e.g., membership system  48 ) or a promotions system (e.g., promotions system  52 ). 
     Promotional association system  10  (i.e., client-side promotional association system  10 C and/or server-side promotional association system  10 S) may associate  126  patron  12  with a group. The association  126  may be achieved by associating  126  the account or identity  42  with the group. Promotional association system  10  may retrieve information about a group from a promotions system (e.g., promotions system  52 ), which may maintain a promotions database (not shown) or a group management database (not shown). Such group information may include but is not limited to: group identification number, group name, date/time information, or location information. Alternatively, promotional association system  10  may be manually configured with such group information by e.g., employee  44 . 
     A group may refer to a group of patrons who have something in common. Groups may be defined according to the needs and decisions of marketing and/or business concerns. Examples of groups may include but are not limited to: patrons who arrive together on the same transportation means (e.g., via a bus); patrons who respond to, accept, or otherwise participate in some offer (e.g., a promotional advertisement); and patrons who respond to, attend, or participate in some promotional event (e.g., a promotional weekend Texas Hold&#39;em poker competition). 
     For example and as discussed above, a group of patrons (including patron  12 ) may arrive on a particular bus together (e.g., bus  14 ). As another example, a group of patrons (including patron  12 ) may each arrive on different days or at different times, each to redeem their copy of a particular coupon or voucher (not shown). Further, a group of patrons (including patron  12 ) may each go to a particular location on the same day and at the same time for a raffle, drawing or other promotional event. It may be desirable to associate  126  each of these patrons with the group. Accordingly, promotional association system  10  may be utilized to effectuate this association  126 . 
     While promotional association system  10  has been described as associating  126  patron  12  (e.g., via the account and/or all or a portion of identity  42 ) with a particular group, it is understood that patron  12  may be associated  126  with multiple groups. For example, patron  12  may participate in multiple promotional events, on the same day or over a period of time, or patron  12  may arrive with a bus group on more than one occasion. Accordingly, this disclosure should not be interpreted as limiting patron  12  to being associated  126  with only one group. 
     Associating  126  patron  12  with the group may include defining group association data  54 . Examples of information contained within group association data  54  may include but are not limited to: an account identifier, record number, all or a portion of identity  42 , event identifiers (e.g., group identification number, group name, etc.), company name(s), cost/financial data, location, and date/time information. Promotional association system  10  may store group association data  54  (e.g., on any of storage devices  20 ,  22 ,  28 ) for subsequent retrieval and/or future processing. Additionally, promotional association system  10  may immediately, or at some future time, provide all (or a portion of) group association data  54  to a membership system (e.g., membership system  48 ) or a promotions system (e.g., promotions system  52 ). 
     Promotional association system  10  may also issue  128  a promotional credit. It may be desirable to issue  128  a promotional credit for use by patron  12  as a benefit of being associated  126  with the group. The promotional credit may be a promotional dollar amount or an incentive or entitlement redeemable at the establishment. Examples of promotional credits may include but are not limited to: an amount of money to be credited for expenditures, an entitlement to a gift, or the privilege of participating in a promotional event. The promotional credit may be associated with the account or with the group. 
     Promotional association system  10  (i.e., client-side promotional association system  10 C and/or server-side promotional association system  10 S) may issue  128  such a promotional credit by e.g., providing details of the promotional credit to membership system  48  either included within membership data  46 , or alternatively in a separate data structure or protocol. Membership system  48  may maintain a database (not shown) of promotional credits. Alternatively, promotional association system  10  may provide details of the promotional credit to promotions system  52  either included within group association data  54  or in a separate data structure or protocol. In another embodiment, promotional association system  10  may store the details of a promotional credit and provide them, or an approval or authorization to redeem them, at a future time when patron  12  desires to redeem the promotional credit. 
     As mentioned above, promotional association system  10  may store membership data  46  for future processing and/or for providing  130  to membership system  48 . For example, server-side promotional association system  10 S may store membership data  46  on storage device  28  coupled to server computer  24 . The stored membership data  46  may include, but is not limited to: all or a portion of identity  42 , account identifier data (e.g., account number), associated membership card(s) data, associated PINs (in clear or encrypted form), promotional credit information, or any other information that is desired/required by local procedure(s), such as the identity of the authorized user (e.g., employee  44 ), date and time data, control/validation data, and the identity of stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18 . Further, server-side promotional association system  10 S may provide  130  all (or a portion of) membership data  46  to membership system  48  either immediately or at some future time. 
     Promotional association system  10  may provide  130  all (or a portion of) membership data  46  to membership system  48  through any of a number of different interfaces and mechanisms. For example, stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18  (i.e., the device that executes client-side promotional association system  10 C) or server computer  24  (i.e., the computer that executes server-side promotional association system  10 S) may transmit all (or a portion of) membership data  46  to the device where membership system  48  is executed. This transmission may occur via a cabled interface (e.g., a local area network, an RS-232 interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, or an IEEE 1394 interface) or, alternatively, via a wireless interface (e.g., wireless communication channel  36  between wireless access point  34  and handheld device  18 ) in conjunction with e.g., network  26 . 
     Also as discussed above, promotional association system  10  may store group association data  54  for future processing and/or for providing  132  to promotions system  52 . For example, server-side promotional association system  10 S may store group association data  54  on storage device  28  coupled to server computer  24 . The stored group association data  54  may include, but is not limited to: account identifier data (e.g., account number), record numbers, all or a portion of identity  42 , event identifiers (e.g., group identification number, group name, etc.), promotional credit information, company name(s), cost/financial data, location, date/time information, or any other information that is desired/required by local procedure(s), such as the identity of the authorized user (e.g., employee  44 ), control/validation data, and the identity of stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18 . 
     Further, server-side promotional association system  10 S may provide  132  all (or a portion of) group association data  54  to promotions system  52  either immediately or at some future time. Promotional association system  10  may provide  132  all (or a portion of) group association data  54  to promotions system  52  through any of a number of different interfaces and mechanisms. For example, stationary device  16  and/or handheld device  18  (i.e., the device that executes client-side promotional association system  10 C) or server computer  24  (i.e., the computer that executes server-side promotional association system  10 S) may transmit all (or a portion of) group association data  54  to the device where promotions system  52  is executed. This transmission may occur via a cabled interface (e.g., a local area network, an RS-232 interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, or an IEEE 1394 interface) or, alternatively, via a wireless interface (e.g., wireless communication channel  36  between wireless access point  34  and handheld device  18 ) in conjunction with e.g., network  26 . 
     It will be understood that membership system  48  and promotions system  52  are not themselves part of promotional association system  10 . Accordingly, references to membership system  48  and promotions system  52  are for the convenience of referring to the functionalities as discussed herein. It is beyond the scope of this disclosure to completely define such systems or their architecture. In particular, the functionalities of membership system  48  and promotions system  52  may be consolidated into a single system (not shown) or may be distributed across multiple platforms. Further, the functionalities described may be implemented within other systems, or the systems may be known by other names. Accordingly, nothing in this disclosure should be interpreted as limiting the functionalities of promotional association system  10  based upon this reference in the disclosure to membership system  48 , promotions system  52 , or the functionalities of either. 
     It will be understood that the processes and functions described herein as part of promotional association system  10  may be executed anywhere and on any device or system, consolidated or distributed, capable of performing the processes and functions recited. Specifically, either of client-side promotional association system  10 C or server-side promotional association system  10 S, or their constituent parts and equipment, may be incorporated together into fewer systems or devices, or incorporated into other systems and devices (e.g., membership system  48  or promotions system  52 ), or may be separated and distributed across multiple systems and devices beyond that shown. 
     A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.