Patent Publication Number: US-6658323-B2

Title: Vending machine apparatus for encouraging participation in a marketing effort

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/635,111, filed Aug. 9, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,649 for “VENDING MACHINE METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION IN A MARKETING EFFORT”; which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/152,905, filed Sep. 14, 1998, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,059. The entire content of these applications is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to vending machines, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for encouraging vending machine customers to review a marketing promotion or to participate in a survey while making a purchase. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Customers are frequently inundated with unsolicited marketing promotions and attempts to solicit responses regarding their preferences or opinions in the form of a survey. Marketers are constantly searching for new techniques and promotions for encouraging customers to respond to such marketing promotions and surveys. For example, marketers frequently reward a prospective customer for reviewing a marketing promotion or for responding to a survey. While a number of marketers have successfully encouraged customers to participate in such marketing efforts, many customers nonetheless ignore such marketing efforts in view of their busy schedules, and the overwhelming number of similar marketing promotions to which they are exposed. 
     Frequently, the marketer and the prospective customer meet in a face-to-face environment. Thus, the reward can be offered and accepted, and the marketing promotion or survey can be implemented, as part of the same transaction. Increasingly, however, marketers are utilizing techniques which do not depend on face-to-face interaction, such as promotions delivered by means of a telemarketer, or techniques which eliminate a live person entirely, for example, where the marketing promotion is delivered by (or solicits responses using) an interactive voice response unit (IVRU) or a stand-alone kiosk. 
     Although the elimination of a live person from many marketing promotions has undoubtedly reduced costs, there have been a number of negative implications as well. For example, the absence of a live person makes it more difficult for the marketer to efficiently reward the prospective customer for participating in the marketing effort. In addition, without the pressure of a live person to encourage customer participation, many people find it easier to decline to participate in the marketing promotion. Furthermore, without the presence of a live person, there is no guarantee that an unscrupulous user will not use the system repeatedly, for example, until a prize is awarded, or to influence the results of a survey. Finally, when a marketing promotion is delivered by an interactive voice response unit (IVRU) or a stand-alone kiosk, in exchange for a reward, there is no guarantee that the customer is even paying attention. 
     The problems and costs associated with current methods for encouraging participation in a marketing promotion are not limited to marketers. Even from the customer&#39;s point of view, conventional techniques are unsatisfactory. Many customers are frustrated from participating in marketing efforts because promotional rewards cannot be supplied instantly. Rather, customers are often required to wait while promotional rewards are sent to them, usually via mail. In fact, if the incentives associated with participation were offered at times when customer could instantly realize the benefits of their earned reward, customers would be more likely to participate. 
     As apparent from the above deficiencies with conventional attempts to encourage customer participation in marketing efforts, a need exists for a method and system that allows a marketer to more efficiently and effectively deliver marketing promotions and solicit responses from customers about preferences or opinions. A further need exists for a system that rewards customers at a time when the customer is likely to be receptive. Yet another need exists for a vending machine that effectively utilizes time spent by a customer waiting for a vending machine transaction to be completed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally, according to one aspect of the invention, a vending machine method and apparatus are disclosed for encouraging vending machine customers to review a marketing promotion or to participate in a survey while making a purchase. According to another aspect of the invention, customers are immediately rewarded for providing responses about their preferences or opinions, or about the marketing promotion that was previously presented. 
     The present invention solves the above-identified problems by permitting customers to participate in a marketing promotion while making a purchase at a vending machine, and to receive a reward for such participation. The present invention recognizes that customers making a purchase at a vending machine are “captive audiences” for marketing opportunities. 
     Customers are rewarded for providing responses about their preferences or opinions in the form of a survey, or for reviewing a marketing promotion and correctly answering a question about the promotion. The reward may be, for example, a supplementary product, a discount on the customer&#39;s current purchase or a subsequent purchase, or a rebate. Another aspect of the invention ensures that the vending machine contains sufficient currency and products to meet the requirements of all active offers. In one implementation, the vending machine periodically or intermittently adjusts the “active” status of each reward offer to ensure that the vending machine contains a sufficient amount of each currency type for an active currency-based reward and a sufficient inventory of each product for an active product-based reward. 
     Another aspect of the invention ensures that buyers are committed to making a purchase, before offering a reward to a customer. Thus, the present invention discourages an unscrupulous customer from repeatedly collecting rewards or influencing the results of a survey without making a purchase. The actual marketing promotion presented to a customer can be based on the customer&#39;s current or previous product selection(s) or purchase history. 
     A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the present invention, will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a vending machine in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of the vending machine of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a table illustrating the inventory management database of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a table illustrating the currency storage database of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a table illustrating the offer rules database of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 6 is a table illustrating the offer content database of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 7 is a table illustrating the customer response database of FIG. 2; 
     FIGS. 8A and 8B, collectively, are a flowchart describing an exemplary offer registration process implemented by the vending machine of FIG. 2; 
     FIGS. 9A through 9C, collectively, are a flowchart describing an exemplary offer management process implemented by the vending machine of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 10 is a flow chart describing an exemplary currency-based offer verification process implemented by the vending machine of FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 11 is a flow chart describing an exemplary product-based offer verification process implemented by the vending machine of FIG.  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Vending machines are well known devices employed at various locations to store and dispense a vast array of merchandise, including beverages, snacks, video tapes and children&#39;s toys, in response to a customer request and appropriate payment. Vending machines provide numerous benefits to customers and operators alike. Vending machines typically provide customers with the convenience of self-service and twenty four-hour access. Likewise, operators benefit from the ability of vending machines to make automated sales of merchandise to customers, often at unconventional locations and times of day, without substantial labor costs. In addition, vending machines provide a convenient mechanism for product manufacturers to introduce and test new products. The benefits of vending machines to each level of the chain of commerce will continue to encourage their utilization by customers, operators and product manufacturers alike. However, the time that customers spend at a vending machine making a selection, providing payment and receiving a selected product, has not been effectively utilized. Applicants have recognized that such customer time may be utilized to participate in a marketing promotion, as described below. 
     A vending machine  100  in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 (perspective view) and FIG. 2 (schematic block diagram). As used herein, the term “vending machine” refers to any automatic sales machine that allows payment to be exchanged for goods such as food products dispensed from snack or beverage machines, pub currency dispensed from automatic teller machines (ATMs), coins dispensed from pay telephones or slot machines, or the like. According to a feature of the present invention, the vending machine  100  encourages customer participation in marketing promotions presented by the vending machine  100 . The term “marketing promotion” includes, without limitation, traditional advertising and attempts by marketers to solicit responses from customers regarding their preferences or opinions in the form of a survey. When a vending machine is embodied as a public telephone, the public telephone can administer the questions while being connected, for example, to a central server. Questions can be presented to a customer using an interactive voice response unit (IVRU) and answers can be obtained from the customer using voice recognition technology or keypad entry. 
     The vending machine  100  provides an immediate reward to the customer for participation in marketing promotions. In one embodiment, customers are rewarded for providing responses about their preferences or opinions in the form of a survey. In another embodiment, customers review a marketing promotion, and are then rewarded for correctly answering a question about the promotion. 
     According to a further feature of the present invention, the vending machine  100  ensures that buyers are committed to making a purchase by requiring the receipt of payment for a product before offering a reward to a customer. In this manner, unscrupulous customers are discouraged from repeatedly collecting rewards without first making a purchase. Thus, the present invention facilitates the cost-effective distribution of rewards. In addition, unscrupulous customers are discouraged from repeatedly attempting to influence the results of a survey. Thus, the present invention increases the integrity of marketing surveys. Furthermore, the actual marketing promotion presented to the customer can be based on the customer&#39;s current or previous product selection(s) or purchase history. 
     The present invention contemplates the distribution of various types of rewards, including a supplementary product, a discount on a subsequent purchase, or a rebate for the customer&#39;s current purchase. In accordance with the present invention, product-based rewards can be dispensed using the item dispensers of the vending machine  100  and currency-based rewards can be awarded using the change dispenser of the vending machine  100 . In one implementation, a third party desiring to perform a survey can subsidize the cost of the survey reward, in exchange for the survey results. Thus, currency-based and discount-based rewards can be said to subsidize the customer&#39;s purchase. 
     According to another feature of the present invention, the vending machine  100  ensures that the vending machine  100  contains sufficient currency and products to meet the requirements of all active offers, as discussed below. In one illustrative implementation, the vending machine  100  periodically or intermittently adjusts the “active” status of each reward offer to ensure that a vending machine  100  contains a sufficient amount of each currency type for currency-based rewards and a sufficient inventory of each product for product-based rewards, corresponding to each “active” offer. 
     The vending machine  100  may be embodied using conventional hardware and software, such as Vendo Model 392140004, commercially available from Vendo, Inc., of Fresno, Calif., as modified herein to carry out the functions and operations described below. Generally, vending machine  100  includes an input device  110  for receiving input from a customer including a product selection and an answer to one or more marketing questions. In addition, input device  110  may be used for receiving input from an operator during stocking or maintenance of the vending machine  100 . Although input device  110  is illustrated as including a set of alpha-numeric keys for providing input to vending machine  100 , input device  110  could include a selector dial, a set of buttons associated with a respective set of item dispensers, a microphone input to a speech recognition device, or any other input device commonly employed by a vending machine designer. In addition, vending machine  100  may include more than one input device  110 . For example, vending machine  100  may include an exterior input device  110  for receiving customer input and an interior input device (not shown) for receiving operator input. 
     In addition, a vending machine, such as vending machine  100 , typically includes several mechanisms for receiving payment and dispensing change, including a card reader  120 , a coin acceptor  125 , a bill validator  130 , and a change dispenser  135 . The card reader  120  may be embodied as a conventional reader for reading data from a credit, debit or chip-based “smart” card or other stored value card, and it may cooperate with conventional remote point-of-sale credit card processing equipment (not shown) to validate card-based purchases through a conventional card authorization network. Customer information obtained by the card reader  120  can be used in conjunction with a customer database (not shown), for example, to select an appropriate marketing promotion based on a customer&#39;s purchase history. Coin acceptor  125 , bill validator  130 , and change dispenser  135  communicate with a currency storage apparatus  140  and may each be conventional devices such as models AE-2400, MC5000 or TRC200,commercially available from Mars Electronics, Inc., of West Chester, Pa. or model 9300-L, commercially available from Coin Acceptors, Inc., of St. Louis, Mo. Coin acceptor  125  and bill validator  130  receive and validate currency that is stored by currency storage apparatus  140 . Of course, two or more of the card reader  120 , coin acceptor  125 , bill validator  130 , change dispenser  135  and currency storage apparatus  140  can be integrated in a single device. The coin acceptor  125  and bill validator  130  can include analog-to-digital data conversion so that currency data can be digitized and stored. In this manner, as discussed below, the vending machine  100  can ensure that it has a sufficient amount of each currency type for all active offers having currency-based rewards. 
     Generally, card reader  120 , coin acceptor  125 , bill validator  130 , and change dispenser  135  communicate with, and are controlled by, a CPU  175 . A communication port  180  is optionally provided for establishing communications between the vending machine  100  and a central server (not shown) or one or more additional vending machines  100  via a network (not shown). In this manner, a plurality of vending machines can be managed remotely to process and store data associated with surveys and marketing promotions. 
     The CPU  175  also communicates with one or more item dispensers  160 - 161  and one or more displays  150 - 151  for presenting product information and various marketing promotions to customers. Displays  150 - 151  may be embodied, for example, as a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) or a light emitting diode (“LED”) display. Display  150 - 151  may provide a static message, a scrolling message or a motion video so as to provide extensive product and promotional information using a relatively small display area. Display  150 - 151  may also optionally present product selection information, such as “Selection A 1 =Diet Cola.” The CPU  175  may activate item dispensers  160 - 161  after a customer has purchased an item, causing the item to be transferred to a receptacle (not shown). In an alternate implementation, the display  150 - 151  can be substituted with any known output device including, for example, audio speakers. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the vending machine  100  also includes a data storage device  170 . As discussed further below in conjunction with FIGS. 3 through  7 , the data storage device  170  includes an inventory management database  300 , a currency storage database  400 , an offer rules database  500 , an offer content database  600  and a customer response database  700 . Generally, the inventory management database  300  stores information on the available inventory and price of each product sold by the respective vending machine  100 . The currency storage database  400  stores information on the quantity of each currency type currently available in the vending machine  100 . The offer rules database  500  stores criteria information that determines whether a customer should be offered a particular reward for his or her participation in a marketing promotion. The offer content database  600  contains the marketing promotion and related information associated with each offer. The customer response database  700  stores information including the different responses that customers provide to questions asked in connection with a marketing promotion. The customer response database  700  may also record the location of the vending machine  100 , or demographic information obtained about the purchaser, for example, from a customer database (not shown). 
     In addition, as discussed further below in conjunction with FIGS. 8 through 11, the data storage device  170  includes processing instructions for executing an offer registration process  800 , an offer management process  900 , a currency-based offer verification process  1000  and a product-based offer verification process  1100 . Generally, the offer registration process  800  facilitates the entry of new offers by an operator of vending machine  100 . The offer management process  900  communicates and administers the offering of rewards to customers at the time of the transaction. The currency-based offer verification process  1000  adjusts the “active” status of each offer to ensure that a vending machine  100  contains a sufficient amount of each currency type for currency-based rewards corresponding to each “active” offer. The product-based offer verification process  1100  adjusts the “active” status of each offer to ensure that a vending machine  100  contains a sufficient inventory of each product for product-based rewards corresponding to each “active” offer. 
     DATABASES 
     As will be understood by those skilled in art, the tabular illustrations and accompanying descriptions of the databases  300 ,  400 ,  500 ,  600 ,  700  presented herein are exemplary arrangements for stored representations of information to illustrate the principles of the invention. A number of other arrangements and informational content may be employed, as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the inventory management database  300  typically includes a plurality of records, such as records  305 ,  310 ,  315  and  320 , each associated with a different product. For each product identified by an item dispenser identifier in field  330 , the inventory management database  300  includes a description of the product in field  335 , and indicates the available inventory and price of the product in fields  340  and  345 , respectively. As discussed further below, the inventory management database  300  is queried each time a customer selects an item to purchase, to determine if the customer has deposited enough currency to purchase the selected item. In addition, the inventory management database  300  is queried to verify that there is sufficient inventory to fulfill a request. After each purchase of an item, the available inventory field  340  may be updated so that the vending machine  100  does not make offers to award certain products that are below a predefined inventory level. For example, the vending machine  100  may offer a free trial sample of a given new product unless there are less than 5 such products remaining in the inventory of the vending machine  100 . 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the currency storage database  400  maintains a plurality of records, such as records  405 ,  410  and  415 , each associated with a different currency type. For each currency type identified in field  430 , the currency storage database  400  indicates the current quantity available in the vending machine  100 . The currency storage database  400  may be updated each time currency is deposited into or dispensed out of the vending machine  100 . If the vending machine  100  does not contain sufficient currency to make an offer that has an associated currency reward, the vending machine  100  will temporarily suspend the offer by setting the offer status to “inactive” in the offer rules database  500  (discussed below). 
     Referring to FIG. 5, the offer rules database  500  maintains a plurality of records, such as records  510  and  515 , each associated with a different offer. For each offer identified in field  530 , the offer rules database  500  indicates the criteria in field  535  that must be satisfied before the offer may be extended to a customer, as well as the offer status and offer type in fields  540  and  545 , respectively. In addition, for each offer, the offer rules database  500  includes the message that is presented to the customer in field  550 , and the corresponding reward type and reward description in fields  555  and  560 , respectively. The offer rules database  500  stores criteria information that determines whether a customer should be extended a particular offer and corresponding reward for his or her participation in a marketing promotion. It is noted that the criteria recorded in field  535  allows the purchase of different products to trigger different survey questions or marketing promotions. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, the offer content database  600  maintains a plurality of records, such as records  605  and  610 , each associated with a different offer. For each offer identified in field  630 , the offer content database  600  indicates the offer type in field  635  and the content of the offer in field  640 . In addition, the offer content database  600  specifies the question associated with the offer in field  645 , with the possible response and correct response set forth in fields  650  and  655 , respectively. The content field  640  is used in the “marketing promotion” embodiment to store the actual “sales pitch” content data. Alternatively, the content field  640  may store a pointer to a file within the data storage device  170  that stores the actual “sales pitch” content data to be presented to the customer, as set forth in record  610 . The question recorded in field  645  may be an attempt to solicit responses regarding customer preferences in connection with a survey (record  605 ), such as questions regarding alternative locations for additional vending machines or alternative products for a given vending machine, or a question regarding a presented “sales pitch” to confirm that the customer was paying attention (record  610 ). The correct response field  655  records the correct response that must be provided by the customer to confirm that the customer paid attention to the “sales pitch.” 
     Referring to FIG. 7, the customer response database  700  maintains a plurality of records, such as records  705  and  710 , each associated with a different customer response. For each response, the customer response database  700  indicates the associated offer in field  730 , as well as the date and time of the offer and the actual response in fields  735  and  740 , respectively. The responses stored in the customer response database  700  allow operators and product manufacturers to evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing promotion and to obtain information about customer preferences or opinions. Since marketing data is often considered to be sensitive information, the customer response database  700  is preferably stored in a secure portion of the data storage device  170 . In one embodiment, an operator must enter a personal identification number (PIN) or other password to access the data contained in the customer response database  700 . 
     PROCESSES 
     As previously indicated, an offer registration process  800 , shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, facilitates the entry of new offers by an operator of vending machines. The offer registration process  800  can be executed remotely, for example, from a central server (not shown) or by an operator when a vending machine  100  is restocked. The offer registration process  800  initially receives a request from an operator during step  804  to adjust the inventory of a vending machine  100 . The operator&#39;s authentication is verified during step  808 , before the item identifiers and corresponding inventory data (including available inventory and price) are received during step  812 . It is noted that the item identifiers and corresponding inventory data could also be obtained automatically, for example, using bar code scanners and product sensors in the vending machine  1100 , or by “uploading” data, for example, from a hand-held personal data assistant (PDA), to vending machine  1100  using a conventional or wireless communication channel, such as an infrared channel. 
     The item identifiers and corresponding inventory data are stored in the inventory management database  300  during step  816 . According to the offer registration process  800 , the vending machine  1100  receives a request during step  820  to enter a new record corresponding to a new offer in the offer rules database  500  and offer content database  600 . The data corresponding to the new offer is received during step  824 , including an offer identifier, an offer type, an offer message, associated content (if applicable), question, possible answer choices, correct answer choice (if applicable), reward type and reward description. 
     The reward type corresponding to the new record is determined during step  828  (FIG.  8 B), before a test is performed during step  832  to determine if all conditions necessary to fulfill the reward are met. If it is determined during step  832  that all conditions necessary to fulfill the reward are not met, an appropriate message is output to the operator during step  836 . For example, if a vending machine  100  does not contain sufficient currency for currency-based rewards, or sufficient product inventory for product-based rewards, messages of “insufficient currency to fulfill reward” or “insufficient product to fulfill reward” should be displayed to the operator, respectively. The operator may optionally be given an opportunity to correct the conditions necessary to fulfill the reward. It is noted that after offers are initially entered in the databases  500  and  600 , the currency-based offer verification process  1000  and product-based offer verification process  1100  are periodically or intermittently executed to ensure that the vending machine  100  contains sufficient currency and products to meet the requirements of all active offers, as discussed below. 
     If, however, it is determined during step  832  that all conditions necessary to fulfill the reward are met, then the offer data is stored in new records of the offer rules database  500  and offer content database  600 , as appropriate, during step  840 . The offer status in the offer status field  540  of the offer rules database  500  is set to “active” during step  844 . The operator is then prompted to enter the next offer data record during step  852 . 
     A test is performed during step  856  to determine if the operator wishes to enter another record. If it is determined during step  856  that the operator wishes to enter another record, then program control returns during step  860  to step  824 , and continues in the manner described above. If, however, it is determined during step  856  that the operator does not wish to enter another record, then program control terminates during step  870 . 
     As previously indicated, an offer management process  900 , shown in FIGS. 9A through 9C, communicates and administers the offering of rewards to customers at the point-of-sale. The offer management process  900  initially receives payment and an item selection from a customer via input device  110  during step  904 . Thereafter, the offer management process  900  retrieves available inventory corresponding to the selected item from the inventory management database  300  during step  908 . 
     A test is performed during step  912  to determine if sufficient inventory exists in the vending machine  100  to dispense the selected item. If it is determined during step  912  that sufficient inventory does not exist to dispense the selected item, then the transaction is processed in a conventional manner during step  916 . If, however, it is determined during step  912  that sufficient inventory exists in the vending machine  100  to dispense the selected item, then the price corresponding to the selected item is retrieved from field  345  of the inventory management database  300  during step  920 . 
     A test is performed during step  924  to determine if the payment received from the customer is greater than or equal to the price retrieved from the inventory management database  300 . If it is determined during step  924  that the payment received is not sufficient, then the transaction is processed in a conventional manner during step  916 . If, however, it is determined during step  924  that the payment received is sufficient, then the offer management process  900  searches the offer rules database  500  during step  928  for an offer having criteria satisfied by the current transaction. 
     A test is performed during step  932  (FIG. 9B) to determine if an active offer record exists in the offer rules database  500  having criteria satisfied by the current transaction. If it is determined during step  932  that an active offer record does not exist in the offer rules database  500  having criteria satisfied by the current transaction, then the transaction is processed in a conventional manner during step  936 . If, however, it is determined during step  932  that an active offer record exists in the offer rules database  500  having criteria satisfied by the current transaction, then the offer message is retrieved from field  550  of the offer rules database  500  during step  940  and output using the output device  150 - 151  during step  944 . 
     A test is performed during step  948  to determine if the offer is accepted by the customer. If it is determined during step  948  that the offer is not accepted by the customer, then the transaction is processed in a conventional manner during step  936 . If, however, it is determined during step  948  that the offer is accepted by the customer, then the content of the offer is output to the customer from the appropriate record of the offer content database  600  (if applicable) during step  952 . 
     Thereafter, a question and possible answers are provided to the customer during step  956  (FIG. 9C) from the question field  645  of the offer content database  600 . The customer response is received during step  960  via the input device  110 . A test is performed during step  964  to determine if the offer type is a “survey.” If it is determined during step  964  that the offer type is not a “survey,” then the received customer response is compared during step  968  to the correct response stored in field  655  of the offer content database  600 . 
     A test is performed during step  972  to determine if the received answer choice was correct. If it is determined during step  972  that the received answer choice was not correct, then it is assumed that the customer did not pay attention to the marketing promotion, and program control terminates. If, however, it is determined during step  972  that the received answer choice was correct, then the reward type is retrieved from field  555  of the offer rules database  500  during step  976 , the reward is fulfilled during step  980 , and the product is dispensed during step  984 , before program control terminates during step  996 . 
     If, however, it is determined during step  964  that the offer type is a “survey,” then the indicated answer choice is stored in a new record of the customer response database  700 , during step  990 , together with an offer identifier and the date and time of the response (obtained, for example, from a system clock, not shown). Thereafter, the reward type is retrieved from field  555  of the offer rules database  500  during step  976 , the reward is fulfilled during step  980 , and the product is dispensed during step  984 , before program control terminates. It is noted that a product reward can be dispensed using the item dispensers  160 - 161 , a cash rebate can be awarded using the change dispenser  135  and a product discount can be applied to the current purchase or a subsequent purchase. 
     As previously indicated, the currency-based offer verification process  1000 , shown in FIG. 10, is periodically or intermittently executed to adjust the “active” status of each offer to ensure that a vending machine  100  contains a sufficient amount of each currency type for currency-based rewards corresponding to each “active” offer. Alternatively, the currency-based offer verification process  1000  can be executed by the offer management process  900  at the time of each purchase to determine the instantaneous currency status before any offer is extended to a customer. As shown in FIG. 10, the currency-based offer verification process  1000  initially identifies a record in the offer rules database  500  during step  1010  having a “currency rebate” reward type in the reward type field  555 . 
     The rebate amount is retrieved from field  560  of the offer rules database  500  during step  1020 , and the currency combination(s) necessary to fulfill the reward is determined during step  1030 . For each necessary currency type, the current count is retrieved from field  435  of the currency storage database  400  during step  1040 . 
     A test is performed during step  1050  to determine if there is a sufficient count of necessary currency type(s) to fulfill the reward. If it is determined during step  1050  that there is a sufficient count of necessary currency type(s) to fulfill the reward, then program control terminates during step  1070 . If, however, it is determined during step  1050  that there is not a sufficient count of necessary currency type(s) to fulfill the reward, then the offer status in field  540  of the offer rules database  500  is set to “inactive” during step  1060 , before program control terminates during step  1070 . In this manner, the inactive offer will not be communicated to customers. 
     In implementations where the vending machines are embodied, for example, as public telephones, automated teller machines (ATMs) or slot machines, the currency-based offer verification process  1000  ensures that offers are only presented to customers of such public telephones, ATMs, or slot machines having sufficient currency or casino chips to dispense the appropriate reward. 
     As previously indicated, the product-based offer verification process  1100 , shown in FIG. 11, is periodically or intermittently executed to adjust the “active” status of each offer to ensure that a vending machine  100  contains a sufficient inventory of each product for product-based rewards corresponding to each “active” offer. Alternatively, the product-based offer verification process  1100  can be executed by the offer management process  900  at the time of each purchase to determine the instantaneous inventory status before any offer is extended to a subsequent customer. As shown in FIG. 11, the product-based offer verification process  1100  initially identifies a record in the offer rules database  500  during step  1110  having a “free product” reward type in the reward type field  555 . 
     The product description, such as product name, is retrieved from field  560  of the offer rules database  500  during step  1120 , and the available inventory of the product is retrieved during step  1130  from the available inventory field  340  of the inventory management database  300 . A test is performed during step  1150  to determine if there is a sufficient inventory of the product to fulfill the reward. If it is determined during step  1150  that there is sufficient inventory of the product to fulfill the reward, then program control terminates during step  1170 . If, however, it is determined during step  1150  that there is not a sufficient inventory of the product to fulfill the reward, then the offer status in field  540  of the offer rules database  500  is set to “inactive” during step  1160 , before program control terminates during step  1170 . In this manner, the inactive offer will not be communicated to customers. 
     It is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shown and described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and that various modifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.