Patent Publication Number: US-2010124985-A1

Title: Method and System for Push Marketing

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/114,937, filed Nov. 14, 2008, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the fields of computer systems and data processing, wireless telecommunications, and in particular to marketing via mobile devices and/or gaming networks. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Hotels and casinos often offer both gaming and entertainment. Many show tickets go unused because patrons are unaware of the event, timing, or venue. Gaming establishments, while reluctant to move patrons from the gaming machines, like to have rewards points used and seats filled when possible, and using the customer&#39;s gaming payout credits to pay for a show, restaurant meals or other venue events is another way of keeping the gaming winnings within the casino. 
     It is one object of the invention to efficiently utilize an existing gaming infrastructure to enable push marketing of events, services, restaurant meals, merchandise and the like to a gaming patron. 
     SUMMARY OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Advantages of One or More Embodiments of the Present Invention 
     The various embodiments of the present invention may, but do not necessarily, achieve one or more of the following advantages: 
     the ability to market venues to patrons of a casino; 
     the ability to market spare capacity of venues to players of a casino; and 
     provide an incentive for departing patrons to remain at a casino; 
     provide a means for a casino patron to utilize reward points; and 
     the ability to generate goodwill with casino patrons by providing loyalty offers based on a patron&#39;s history at the casino. 
     These and other advantages may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a casino network which uses a marketing system to identify spare capacity at one or more venues associated with a casino. The marketing system may then provide offers to one or more patrons of the casino that invite the patrons to utilize the spare capacity. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for managing capacity at a venue in which offers to attend a venue that has spare capacity may be provided to selected players of a gaming network. The offers may be provided to the player(s) via gaming devices of the gaming network. The offers may be in relation to an entertainment event at a venue of a casino that comprises the gaming network. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for marketing an offer to a player of a gaming device at a casino. In the method, the offer of one or more tickets to a player for a venue at the casino having spare capacity may be triggered by a cash out event at a gaming device being played by the player. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a marketing system for marketing offers to patrons of a casino. The marketing system may comprise means for identifying a spare capacity at a venue associated with a casino and means for generating an offer in relation to the spare capacity. Means may be provided for selecting at least one patron within the casino and for providing the offer to the at least one patron. 
     The above description sets forth, rather broadly, a summary of one embodiment of the present invention so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. Some of the embodiments of the present invention may not include all of the features or characteristics listed in the above summary. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is substantially a schematic view of one embodiment of a casino network of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is substantially a schematic view of a gaming network; 
         FIG. 3  substantially depicts a method for managing capacity at a casino venue; and 
         FIG. 4  substantially depicts a method for marketing an offer to a player of a gaming device. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this application. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     To facilitate occupancy of unused capacity at a venue, the following embodiments of the invention provide for a push marketing service which utilizes any combination of a gaming network, a wired network, the Internet, and mobile communications devices. Existing infrastructure for gaming systems, such as video poker, KENO, and slot machines, may include stand-alone machines, machines with one-way communication networks, or two-way communication networks wired or wirelessly provided to the machine and maintained by the casino. In addition to this communications network, cell phones are considered to be ubiquitous and available to most patrons. 
     In  FIG. 1 , there is shown a casino, hotel or entertainment complex network in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. The term casino will be used herein for clarity and succinctness but it is to be understood that all similar premises are considered to be encompassed herein. The casino network  10  includes a host ticketing system  11  which controls and monitors the sale of tickets through various sales outlets (not shown) to events at venues associated with the casino, such as entertainment events at the casino, restaurant bookings, etc. The casino network  10  also includes a gaming network  13 , an example of which is shown in more detail in  FIG. 2 . 
     The gaming network  13  includes at least one gaming device  21  that is configured to allow players to place wagers and play a game. Multiple gaming devices  21  may be networked within an establishment or within several establishments as is known in the art. The specific nature of the gaming devices is not considered to be pertinent to the present invention and may include any well known gaming devices including slot machines, video slot machines, video poker machines, KENO machines, table games, etc. 
     The gaming devices  21  may be configured to receive bills, casino tokens, credit cards or many other forms of payment. Similarly, winnings may be paid by tokens, tickets, credit or through other facilities of the gaming establishment. In particular, the gaming devices  21  may be configured to receive and interact with a Player Identity (ID) card that identifies a player and a player account of the player. A player uses their player id card by inserting the card into the gaming device at the commencement of game play. Gaming credits won or lost during play on the gaming device may be credited or debited to the player&#39;s account. 
     The gaming devices  21  can be controlled by one or more gaming controllers  22  that can operate the gaming devices  21 , including providing game outcomes, game updates and configurations, control of bonus games, community games, progressive jackpots etc. 
     The gaming devices  21  typically include a display  23  which can display various gaming information, such as amount of gaming credits available, gaming outcomes and information from the gaming controller  22 . In an embodiment of the present invention, the gaming device displays may also be configured to display offers from a marketing system, received via the gaming controller  22 , as will be described in greater detail below. The gaming devices may also include printers (not shown), such as for printing cash out vouchers, gaming receipts and the like. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 1 , a customer database  14  communicates with the gaming network  13 , e.g. a gaming controller  22  ( FIG. 2 ). The customer database  14  may store registered details of patrons including name, address and mobile phone number, player ID card number, etc. The customer database  14  may also store player account details, such as current gaming activity, current gaming device ID and patronage history including current gaming credits and rewards points earned by the customer. Reward points may be earned through a customer&#39;s patronage of a casino including accommodation, meals, entertainment as well as playing of gaming devices. Rewards may be linked, transferred or otherwise associated with loyalty and/or reward programs of third parties. 
     In one embodiment, the casino network  10  further includes a marketing server system  12  that communicates with the ticketing system  11  and with the gaming network  13 . A cellular network  15  may also be provided within the casino premises for communicating with gaming patrons via a patron&#39;s mobile phone device  17 . 
     As mentioned above, a casino or the like may include a number of venues that may be managed through discrete or integrated capacity management systems, such as the ticketing system  11 . A method for managing capacity at a venue of the casino, hotel, entertainment complex and the like will now be described with reference to the flowchart  100  of  FIG. 3 . At step  101 , the ticketing system  11  determines a spare capacity for a venue, e.g. by deducting the number of tickets sold for an event or performance at the venue from the total number of tickets available. The ticketing system  11  may report the spare capacity to the marketing system  12 . If the spare capacity meets certain threshold requirements then an offer may be generated that invites casino patrons to attend the event (step  102 ). Threshold requirements may include that a particular number or percentage of tickets remain unsold at a predetermined time prior to the event, e.g. 30 minutes, or a particular percentage of tickets will likely remain unsold based on a ticket sales projection up to the time of the event. The marketing system then determines one or more players of the gaming network  13  to whom the offer may be provided (step  103 ). Particular methods for selecting the gaming patrons will be described in more detail below. At step  104 , the offer is provided to the selected players. 
     With reference again to  FIG. 1 , the marketing server  12  may have an external source or timer for trigger events  16  or periodically polls the ticketing system  11  for the availability of tickets about to go on “unsold” status. It is also in communication with the customer database  12  to update the rolls of which customers would be marketing targets. 
     In one embodiment, as the time for an entertainment or other event draws near, the marketing system  11  takes count of unsold seats from the entertainment ticketing server  12  and selects patrons of the casino to fill the spare capacity. Patrons may be selected based on their location within the casino and/or with respect to the venue, based on the activity at a gaming device, based on patronage history etc. For example, the marketing system  12  may interact with the gaming controller  22  of the gaming network  13  to determine those registered patrons that are currently gaming, e.g. have inserted their player id cards into a gaming device or are otherwise registered at a gaming table. In an alternative embodiment, patrons that are within the casino but are not actively gaming may be selected for the receipt of offers. In an alternative embodiment, patrons may be selected for offers as they finish playing on a gaming device, for example when a cash out event is detected at a gaming device. 
     In one embodiment, selection of patrons to receive an offer may be based on “game play history” which may include amount won, amount lost, hours spent actively gaming, total amount wagered, etc. 
     A person skilled in the art will recognize that a combination of selection methods may be used. For example, a patron may be selected because they within the casino but are not currently gaming and have a strong gaming history, a large number of redeemable rewards points, etc. 
     When the marketing system  12  selects the available patrons to whom an offer will be provided, the marketing system  12  begins polling the database  14  to determine the best contact method for the selected patrons based on their current status in the system and which type of terminal they might have access to. A selected patron may be notified of an offer by various means including through a gaming device on which the patron is currently active, via SMS/MMS, by an announcement, or via a display within the casino or elsewhere on the premises. 
     The player database  14  and/or the gaming controller(s)  22  of the gaming network  13  may be used to determine the current gaming status of patrons within the casino. For example, when a player inserts their player id card into a gaming device or scans their card at a table game, the player database  14  or gaming controller  22  may be updated to indicate that the patron is currently active on that gaming device (or table). When the player cashes out, e.g. by selecting a cash out button on the gaming device and/or withdrawing their player ID card, the player database  14  and/or gaming controller  22  may be updated to reflect that the patron is no longer actively gaming. 
     If the patron is at a gaming device  21  of the gaming network  13 , the device  21  may be instructed by the marketing system  12  to provide an offer to the patron by displaying the event information on the display  23  of the gaming device. The display of the offer may advise the patron of the current time and the time of the event, the venue, and the any cost or value of the offer (possibly free or discounted). The display may also prompt the patron to accept the offer, such as by selecting a particular button of the gaming device  21 . Other choices, such as payment via rewards points or by deducting the price from the machine&#39;s winnings total, may be presented. If the patron accepts the offer through the gaming device, the gaming device  21  interfaces with the marketing system  12  and/or ticketing system  11  to indicate the acceptance of the offer and to update the ticket availability. The value of the offer may be deducted from the patron&#39;s available gaming credits or from the patron&#39;s reward points, depending on any options selected by the patron through the gaming device  21 . Otherwise, or additionally, the patron may be instructed to text or call via his mobile device  17  to a specific or short SMS number, to complete the transaction. Other payment options might include credit card information on file, will-call at the event window, or billing directly through the mobile service provider. Once the transaction is complete, the marketing system  12  and/or ticketing system  11  may instruct the gaming device  21  to print out tickets that reflect the offer acceptance. The tickets may be tickets for direct entry to an event at a venue, or may be in the form of vouchers, coupons or a user code that would gain them access to the tickets at another terminal, such as a redemption desk, kiosk, restaurant, or the will-call ticketing at the event venue. In another embodiment, a secondary device, screen, or printing device could be attached to a gaming device  21  to provide the offer, response, and fulfillment capability. 
     If the patron is at a restaurant, table game, or other venue where no display is present, the offer information may be sent via text, SMS, MMS or similar messaging system to their mobile device  17  through the cellular network  15 . 
     In one embodiment, the push marketing may be in the form of a contest, such that acceptance of an offer, e.g. through a gaming device or by texting into a special number, results in a lottery type of play for the unused event tickets, meals, hotel accommodations, merchandise, etc. This allows for a greater number of patrons to be allocated into the contact stream without overselling the spare capacity. 
     For lottery type winners an SMS to the mobile device would notify winning patrons and provide the user code for redeeming the tickets or merchandise. Ticketing might then be provided by a bar code printer on the gaming terminal, a code sent to the mobile device via SMS, or will-call at the event. Notification to a winning patron may also be provided to a gaming device on which the patron is currently active, as described above. 
     Another methodology includes providing a rewards channel where the patron, when in the area of the casino, registers his phone with the channel service, such that GPS information from the phone may be read. This service may be a collaboration between multiple casinos and hotels, and when a patron is near the casino or event venue and unsold seats are available the wireless device may relay the ticket offer to the patron. 
     If only a certain number of offers are available a heuristic score is assigned to each patron, and beginning with those with the highest score, offers are made through the gaming network, mobile network, or both. The heuristic score could also be used to modify the base price of the offer to customize it to the score of individual patrons. For example, a player with a greater patronage history, as determined by reward points, amounts wagered, amounts spent in accommodation, or the like, may be provided with a more greatly discounted offer. 
     If a lottery approach is used, the offer may be transmitted to all available patrons or to all patrons who meet a selection criteria. Selection criteria may include a location of the patron, hours of game play, amount wagered in total, amount wagered within a recent timeframe, amount lost wagering, amount won wagering, etc. 
     The offers may be transmitted via SMS, MMS, an application within the wireless device, synthesized or recorded voice messages, or a link to an Internet page accessible by the mobile device. The patron may then respond to the offer through the same communications link or through another, including the gaming system itself via the gaming network  13 . 
     In another embodiment, all of the functionality could be contained within one networking system, such as the ticketing or gaming network, and all offer, response, and fulfillment capability could be contained within that network and its associated devices. 
     In another embodiment, all of the functionality could be contained within a server for the mobile device network, providing offers on any triggered event or communication from driver systems, and all offer, response, and fulfillment capability could be hosted on the mobile device. 
     In another embodiment, GPS information from the registered mobile device could be used to push the event driven time critical marketing information to the patrons closest to the venue, or other criteria based on positioning, for example as the patron is exiting the casino. 
     In another embodiment the offer could be triggered by a gaming device conditional, for example, as a choice between a jackpot won on the machine paying out in cash or in the event tickets. 
     In one embodiment, an offer to attend spare capacity at a venue is made to a patron upon detection of a cash out event. As shown in the flowchart  200  of  FIG. 4 , the detection of a cash out event (step  201 ) at a gaming device  21  causes the gaming device  21 , the gaming controller  22  and/or the marketing system  12  to determine whether the patron satisfies any criteria that qualify the patron to receive an offer (step  202 ). If the patron meets any set criteria, the gaming device  21  then interfaces with the marketing system  12  to determine whether any venues of the casino are reporting a spare capacity (step  203 ), such as for an entertainment event, restaurant booking, accommodation, etc. If a spare capacity is present, the marketing system generates an offer to the patron (step  204 ) and provides the offer through the gaming device  21  (step  205 ). The patron may accept and redeem the offer, including any payment required, by any of the methods described above. 
     The cash out event may include such events as the dollar amount in the gaming device currently being played reaching zero, the patron pressing the “cash out” button, or the patron removing their rewards card (player ID card) from the gaming device. Cash out events can also include likely or imminent cash out events including when the balance of the player&#39;s account or the available number of gaming credits at the gaming device drops below some threshold value, such as 20 credits. 
     In one embodiment, offers to fill spare capacity at the casino venues may only be provided if spare capacity exists for an imminent event, such as an event occurring within a predetermined time (e.g. one hour) of the cash out event. Such an embodiment has an advantage that it provides an incentive to keep the patron in the casino when the patron has finished gaming. 
     The term “within the casino” as used throughout this specification is to be interpreted broadly and can generally include patrons who are within venues associated with the casino, such as nearby restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues and the like as well as recreational complexes around the casino, such as golf courses, amusement parks, swimming pools, etc. 
     In one embodiment, the casino may be provided with a series of display devices throughout the premises. Such display devices can display various casino related information as will be apparent to a person skilled in the art. When an offer is to be provided to a selected patron, the system may determine what region of the casino the selected patron is located in. The system may then select one or more of the display devices in that region and may push the offer to the selected display devices. A patron&#39;s position may be determined from GPS data of the patron&#39;s mobile device or may be selected from a player&#39;s identity at a gaming device, e.g. via a player ID card inserted into a gaming device. Multiple patrons may be provided with an offer on a single display device or devices of a region. Instead of locating the patron(s) to whom an offer will be made and selecting the display devices accordingly, the offer may be displayed on all available display devices. In order to accept an offer, a patron may be required to present themselves at a ticket booth, venue etc or may be required to respond by SMS message to a number presented in the offer. 
     Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given.