Patent Publication Number: US-2009228359-A1

Title: Method and system for advertising on a self-service order station

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/066,415 entitled “GIFT CARD KIOSK,” filed on Feb. 20, 2008. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/077,431, entitled “GIFT CARD KIOSK,” filed Mar. 19, 2008, Patent Cooperation Treaty Application PCT/US08/03615, entitled “GIFT CARD KIOSK,” filed Mar. 19, 2008; U.S. Provisional Application 60/918,799, entitled “GIFT CARD KIOSK,” filed Mar. 19, 2007; and Provisional Application 61/066,415 are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a method and system for advertising to consumers on a self-service order station, such as a gift card or photograph kiosk. 
     2. Description of the Background 
     Gift cards are generally displayed in racks at convenience stores and other retail stores. These display racks are bulky and require a substantial amount of space in the store. In some instances, gift cards may be distributed through card dispensers that allow a consumer to purchase a pre-valued and pre-printed card. At other times, the gift card value may be added to a magnetic stripe on the card at the time of purchase. Some other dispensers may allow a consumer to add certain content that is printed onto the card at the time of purchase. However, such card dispensers have traditionally offered the purchaser limited opportunity to exercise creativity in the creation of a customized gift card and, likewise, have offered little assistance to purchasers to help them select and customize a gift card so that it might be specifically tailored for the intended recipient of the card. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a system and method for advertising on a self-service order station, such as a gift card kiosk or a photographic order fulfillment kiosk. With regard to a first aspect of a particularly preferred embodiment, the system comprises a self-service order station with a processing unit configured to execute a computer software program that enables the display of advertisements to a consumer who is utilizing the self-service order station. The self-service order station is capable of displaying advertisements on a user interface. The advertisements may be presented to the customer in various locations within the user interface and in different formats. In some instances, a single retailer may display one or more of its advertisements exclusively. In other instances, multiple advertisements from more than one retailer may be displayed simultaneously. 
     With regard to another aspect of a particularly preferred embodiment, a further embodiment of the present invention provides a self-service order station management system. The system enables control of one or more self-service order stations by a control center. The control center may provide advertisement information to each individual self-service order station it controls. The control center may also provide other information to be placed on the product being purchased. For example, the control center may provide stripe information to be encoded on a gift card being purchased at the self-service order station. A further embodiment provides a system of controlling multiple self-service order station networks by a central server. The central server may be in communication with the control centers of one or more self-service order station networks. The central server may provide further information to each control center for each self-service order station. Other and additional objects of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of this entire specification. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         FIG. 1  is a graphical depiction of an exemplary self-service order station in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2   a  is a graphical depiction of a first exemplary user interface suitable for use with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2   b  is a graphical depiction of a second exemplary user interface in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2   c  is a graphical depiction of a third exemplary user interface in accordance with the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  a diagram of a method of advertising in a self-service order station in accordance with another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a graphical depiction of a self-service order station network in accordance with another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a graphical depiction of two self-service order station networks connected to a central server in accordance with yet another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention summarized above and defined by the enumerated claims may be better understood by referring to the following description, which should be read in conjunction with the claims and accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers are used for like parts. This description of an embodiment, set out below to enable one to build and use an implementation of the invention, is not intended to limit the invention, but to serve as a particular example thereof. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the conception and specific embodiments disclosed as a basis for modifying or designing other methods and systems for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent assemblies do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. 
     In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a self-service order station  100  is provided. The self-service order station may be a gift card kiosk, a photographic kiosk, and other devices that allow a consumer to place and retrieve orders for specific products. The self-service order station  100  comprises a user interface  112 ; a product delivery apparatus  108 ; and a processing unit  104 . The product delivery apparatus may be a device such as a photographic printer, a gift card printer, and a card printer; a magnetic stripe encoding apparatus, and other such devices, which allow the self-service order station  100  to deliver a product to the consumer using the self-service order station. The processing unit  104  is communicatively connected with the user interface  112  and the product delivery apparatus  108 . The self-service order station  100  may also include a payment processing mechanism  120 , a media reader  116 , and a media storage device  105 , which are also communicatively connected to the processing unit  104 . The processing unit  104  may be configured to execute a computer software program, which enables a method for the presentation of advertisements to a consumer on the user interface  112 . The computer software program may be located directly on the processing unit  104 , a media storage device  105 , or any other location accessible to the processing unit  104  that allows the execution of the method set forth herein for advertising on the self-service order station  100 . 
     As shown on  FIGS. 2   a  through  2   c,  the method executed by the processing unit  104  places advertisements  210  from various retailers at various locations on the user interface  112  that do not interfere with the messages  215  and sample product (e.g., sample gift card or photograph)  220  being displayed to the consumer for the purchase of a particular product. In  FIG. 2   a,  for example, an advertisement  210  may be presented to the consumer on the right hand side of the user interface  112 . An advertisement  210  may also be displayed across the top or bottom of the user interface  112 . In some instances, the advertisement  210  may be utilized as the background of the user interface  112 , as shown on  FIG. 2   b.  When an advertisement  210  is displayed as the background to the user interface  112 , the sample product  220  is displayed in the foreground. The user interface  112  may display more than one advertisement  210 , as shown on  FIG. 2   c.  The location of the advertisement  210  may be determined from attributes assigned to the advertisement  210 . The attributes may be selected by the retailer or individual who purchased the advertisement space. 
     Advertisements may be presented to the customers in a variety of forms. The advertisement may consist of a traditional fixed presentation, a banner, a logo, or other non-animated media. The advertisements may also consist of animated media such as traditional television commercials, short videos, viral videos, animated cartoons, or other animated media the retailer may choose for display to the consumer. It is contemplated that some of these advertisements may be silent in nature and others may include sound. Silent animated advertisements may include closed captions and/or subtitles in different languages. 
     The method executed by the processing unit  104  is provided in  FIG. 3 . At a first step  300 , an advertisement is configured for display on the user interface  112 . The configuration of the advertisement consists of assigning specific attributes to the file that contains the particular advertisement  210  to be displayed. The attributes assigned to the advertisement may include, for example, the retailer, the type of advertisement (animated or fixed), preferred location, mode of display (exclusive or non-exclusive), frequency in which the advertisement may be displayed to customers, and other attributes that allow the processing unit  104  determine when, where, what, and how often a particular advertisement may be displayed. 
     At a second step  305 , the advertisement file is stored at a location that is accessible to the processing unit  104 . For example, the advertisements may be included on a database that is loaded onto a media storage device  105  within the self-service order station  100 . The advertisement  210  may also be placed at a remote storage location accessible to the processing unit  104  through a network, such as a local area network or a global network, such as the Internet. At another step  310 , the processing unit  104  accesses the storage location where the advertisement  210  is stored and retrieves the advertisement  210 . The processing unit  104  may then display the advertisement  210  on the user interface  112  in accordance with the previously assigned attributes as shown at steps  315   a,    315   b,  or  315   c.    
     The processing unit  100  may be configured to present advertisements  210  in a random  315   a,  semi-random  315   b,  or predetermined order  315   c.  In a random  315   a  selection pattern, the processing unit  104  selects an advertisement to be presented to the consumer through a randomization algorithm where the advertisement  210  is selected from the list of advertisements by chance. In the semi-random  315   b  step, the processing unit  104  may initially select one of the advertisements randomly and then select the remaining advertisements in the order they appear on the list of advertisements. Alternatively, the attributes assigned to each advertisement may be weighed to cause the processing unit  104  to select a particular advertisement  210  more or less frequently than other advertisements  210 . In a predetermined order  315   c  step of the present invention, the processing unit  104  is directed to select and display advertisements in the particular order that the advertisements have been placed on the advertisement database, or in such other pre-defined order as may be desired. 
     With regard to another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the processing unit  104  may display only one advertisement  104  to a particular customer during the customer&#39;s interaction with the self-service order station  100 . Alternatively, the processing unit  104  may present a new advertisement or a set of advertisements after a pre-determined time period or when the user interface  112  provides additional viewing screens to the customer. For example, one advertisement  210  may be presented upon selection of the type of a product/gift card, and a second advertisement may be presented with the preview of the product/gift card that a particular customer is purchasing. 
     In another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processing unit  104  may execute instructions that allow a particular advertisement  210  to be presented to the customer multiple times, either consecutively or randomly and for pre-determined lengths of time. The advertisement may have an attribute that is recognized by the processing unit  104  and allows for the selection of advertisements to be shown exclusively for a specified number of consecutive displays. For example, a retailer may purchase the number of times their advertisement will be displayed to consumers in a consecutive basis and such attribute may be assigned to the particular advertisement for display. Alternatively, the attribute may determine the length of time an advertisement may remain on the user interface as the costumer is placing his or her order. 
     In one additional aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, multiple advertisements  210  from more than one retailer may be displayed on the user interface  112  at the same time. Alternatively, the advertisement  210  may contain an exclusive attribute and may not be displayed with any other advertisements  210 . If there are one or more exclusive advertisements  210 , the advertisements  210  may be displayed at the user interface  112  on an alternative basis. For example, one exclusive advertisement  210  from a retailer may be presented to a consumer when the consumer begins to utilize the self-service order station  100 . A second exclusive advertisement  210  from the same or a different retailer may be presented when the user interface  112  display changes. 
     The retailer may have the ability to select the section of the user interface  112  where the retailer prefers to display the advertisement  210  and such selection may be included as an attribute of the file recognized by the processing unit  104 . Multiple advertisements  210  may be located on a similar location on the user interface. Advertisements may be displayed on the right side of the screen arranged in a column with a first advertisement being displayed at the top of the screen and a second advertisement below the first, as shown on  FIG. 2   c.  This pattern may continue for more than two advertisements. Multiple advertisements may also have different sizes or be of uniform size. In some cases, the advertiser may have the opportunity to purchase an advertisement that is larger than the others presented on the user interface  112  or present the advertisement  210  in a more prominent position. The advertisement  210  may be given a specific attribute that directs the processing unit  104  to display the advertisement  210  in the specific manner assigned to that particular attribute. 
     With regard to another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the invention, advertisements  210  may be displayed according to categories available to the product/gift card purchaser. When selecting a product/gift card for purchase, customers may be presented with a number of categories from which to choose the type of product/gift card the customer would like to purchase. For example, the customer may be presented with a selection from boys, girls, women, or men. When the customer selects one of those options, further options are provided such as a number of retailers available at the self-service order station  100  for purchasing a product/creating a gift card. Each advertisement  210  may be assigned attributes in order to allow grouping of the advertisements  210  by the categories available to customers through the self-service order station  100 . The advertisement&#39;s  210  attributes allow delivery of advertisements  210  that may be of particular interest to the consumer utilizing the self-service order station  100 . As the consumer makes selections from the user interface  112  for specific categories, advertisements  210  related to those categories may be presented to the consumer as described previously. This function allows retailers to target their advertisements  210  to specific types of consumers, who are likely to be reached by the advertisement  210 , and maximizes the retailer&#39;s benefit for placing an advertisement  210  on the self-service order station  100 . The categories may include product characteristics, demographic characteristics, and any other characteristic a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize as beneficial for delivering appropriate advertisements to potential consumers. 
     The self-service order station  100  may be enabled to allow a consumer to select an advertisement  210  that has been presented to the consumer. When a consumer selects an advertisement  210 , a product/gift card  220  associated with that advertisement  210  is presented on the user interface  112 . For example, if a consumer selects an advertisement  210  from Retailer A, a gift card for that retailer may be displayed to the consumer for customization. 
     In a further aspect of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the self-service order station  100  may be assigned a discrete identifier. The discrete identifier may, for example, allow the processing unit  104  to identify where the self-service order station is located. In addition, a database of advertisements may be created. Each advertisement on the database may be assigned a second discrete identifier. It is contemplated that some advertisements may have the same identifier. For example, sports advertisements for a specific team may be assigned a specific second discrete identifier and advertisements for retailers in a specific locality may share the same second discrete identifier. When selecting an advertisement to be presented to the consumer, the processing unit may select advertisements whose second discrete identifiers are similar to the discrete identifier of the self-service order station  100 . 
     The self-service order station  100  may be connected to a network, as shown in  FIG. 4 . The network may include one or more self-service order stations  100  communicatively connected to a control center  400 . It is contemplated that a self-service order station  100  provider may link all of its self-service order stations  100  to its own network. For example, one Retailer A may connect some or all of its self-service order stations  100  to that retailer&#39;s control center  400 . The self-service order stations  100  connected to the control center  400  may be located at the same physical location (e.g., store) or at different physical locations (e.g., different stores in different cities). Alternatively, it is contemplated that multiple self-service order station providers/retailers may connect their self-service order station  100  networks to a larger network controlled by a central server  500 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . For example, multiple retailers may allow a third party to manage the retailers&#39; self-service order stations  100 . The third party may allow a number of retailers to connect their self-service order station  100  networks to the third party&#39;s central server  500 . The control center  400  of the different networks may be connected to the central server  500 . The network preferably allows the self-service order stations to be remotely updated. For example, the network may allow self-service order stations  100  for gift cards to be connected with one or more payment processors for obtaining the required information to be placed on a gift card&#39;s magnetic stripe. The network also allows the self-service order stations  100  to maintain up to date information from the retailers. For example, the network may be utilized to update the advertisement database for each self-service order station  100 . 
     Each self-service order station on a network may be given a discrete and specific identification. The discrete identification may be an identification number, an alphanumeric identification, an alphabetic identification, or any other type of identification understood by those skilled in the art to provide a discrete identifier for each self-service order station  100 . Each self-service order station  100  may also be identified by an Internet Protocol (IP) Address or other identification methods that provide reliability and security. Similarly, the control center  400  and the central server  500  may also be assigned specific identification characteristics that may be recognized by each self-service order station  100 , control center  400 , or central server  500 , for enhanced security and communication. 
     The independent network control centers  400  and/or the central server  500  may utilize a consumer card content management software that allows retailers to control what is provided on each individual self-service order station  100 . The consumer card content management software allows the retailer to determine what advertisements may be presented to the consumers purchasing cards, the content of the cards, and the available fonts, pictures, symbols and media that may be included on the cards. 
     The consumer card content management software may also allow the retailers to isolate individual self-service order stations  100  for specific purposes. For example, a retailer may provide special products/gift cards to consumers in the region where the self-service order station  100  is located. A retailer may limit sale of cards for a specific sports team to self-service order stations  100  in the city where the team is located. The retailer may also provide special cards made available in a particular region for a particular event. The consumer card content management software allows retailers to control what each self-service order station presents to consumers down to the individual self-service order station at the store. 
     Additionally, the consumer card content management software implemented by the processing unit  104  may allow the retailers to maintain data on use of the self-service order stations. Retailers may maintain information about the number of products/cards purchased through the self-service order station  100 , the values of the cards provided, other information regarding card sales, the number of adds presented to consumers, the number of instances in which the consumer selected a card consistent with an advertisement provided during card selection, and other statistical data of interest to the retailer or self-service order station provider. The retailer may also obtain information about the types of cards sold, the categories most often utilized, demographic information about the purchasers to the extent it is collected during the purchasing process, and the type of advertisements provided to those costumers. Furthermore, the retailer or self-service order station provider may capture information regarding how many times a potential costumer began to utilize the self-service order station but ultimately did not purchase a gift card from the self-service order station. The retailer may utilize this information to determine how to best utilize the self-service order stations, which locations are more conducive to the use of the self-service order stations, and overall management of the self-service order stations and the cards available at a specific self-service order station. The information may be stored in a specific database for that particular purpose. The database may be stored on the self-service order station&#39;s  100  media storage device  105  or on the network at a location accessible to the processing unit  104  and a retailer. 
     The invention has been described with references to a preferred embodiment. While specific values, relationships, materials and steps have been set forth for purposes of describing concepts of the invention, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the basic concepts and operating principles of the invention as broadly described. It should be recognized that, in light of the above teachings, those skilled in the art can modify those specifics without departing from the invention taught herein. Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certain modifications of the concept underlying the invention, various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with such underlying concept. It is intended to include all such modifications, alternatives and other embodiments insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof. It should be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth herein. Consequently, the preferred embodiments described herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.