U.S. patent application number 09/472197 was filed with the patent office on 2002-01-10 for communicating with a computer based on the offline purchase history of a particular consumer.
Invention is credited to BANKER, DAVID W, GARDENSWARTZ, WILL H, GOIDEL, MELISSA B.
Application Number | 20020004754 09/472197 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26812220 |
Filed Date | 2002-01-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020004754 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GARDENSWARTZ, WILL H ; et
al. |
January 10, 2002 |
COMMUNICATING WITH A COMPUTER BASED ON THE OFFLINE PURCHASE HISTORY
OF A PARTICULAR CONSUMER
Abstract
A method, system, and computer program product for delivering a
targeted advertisement. A first identifier, such as a cookie,
corresponding to the a first computer is received from the first
computer. A targeted advertisement is delivered to the first
computer in response to receiving the first identifier from the
first computer. The targeted advertisement is based on the observed
offline purchase history of a consumer associated with the first
identifier. The invention includes the delivery of a promotional
incentive for a consumer to comply with a particular behavioral
pattern. The behavioral pattern may be a predefined change in
purchase behavior or continuance of an established purchase
behavior. The targeted advertisements sent to consumers may be
changed and/or refined based on changes in consumers' purchase
history behaviors.
Inventors: |
GARDENSWARTZ, WILL H;
(ANNAPOLIS, MD) ; BANKER, DAVID W; (MT BALDY,
CA) ; GOIDEL, MELISSA B; (NEW YORK, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON SPIVAK MCCLELLAND
MAIER & NEUSTADT PC
FOURTH FLOOR
1755 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
|
Family ID: |
26812220 |
Appl. No.: |
09/472197 |
Filed: |
December 27, 1999 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09472197 |
Dec 27, 1999 |
|
|
|
09226174 |
Jan 7, 1999 |
|
|
|
6055573 |
|
|
|
|
60114462 |
Dec 30, 1998 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0235 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0268 20130101; G06Q 30/0224 20130101;
G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 30/0255 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
1. A method for delivering a targeted advertisement, comprising the
steps of: receiving from a first computer a first identifier
corresponding to the first computer and associated with an observed
offline purchase history of a consumer, said purchase history
including information of an offline purchase of a consumer
collected when the offline purchase transpired; and electronically
delivering the targeted advertisement to the consumer at the first
computer in response to receiving the first identifier from the
first computer.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
generating the first identifier corresponding to the first
computer; sending the first identifier to the first computer;
receiving a second identifier corresponding to the consumer from
the first computer; and associating the first identifier with the
consumer by linking the first identifier to the second identifier
corresponding to the consumer.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein a second computer performs the
steps of generating the first identifier and receiving the first
identifier from the first computer, and a third computer performs
the steps of receiving the second identifier from the first
computer and associating the first identifier with the consumer;
and wherein the method further comprises the step of: sending the
first identifier from the second computer to the third
computer.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:
classifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer a purchase
behavior classification based on at least one selected purchase
behavior criterion and the observed offline purchase history
corresponding to the second identifier; and selecting the targeted
advertisement to be delivered, based on the purchase behavior
classification assigned to the consumer.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of:
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an updated
purchase behavior classification based on at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an updated observed offline
purchase history corresponding to the second identifier; and
reselecting the targeted advertisement to be delivered, based on
the updated purchase behavior classification assigned to the
consumer.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the targeted advertisement is a
promotional incentive for the consumer to comply with a behavioral
pattern selected from the group consisting of: a predefined change
in purchase behavior and continuance of an established purchase
behavior; and wherein the method further comprises the step of:
delivering the promotional incentive to the first computer.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the behavioral pattern is defined
by a preselected amount of at least one specified product to be
purchased within a preselected time period.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:
presenting a reward available to a consumer in a preselected retail
store if the consumer complies with the behavioral pattern.
9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an updated
purchase behavior classification based on at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an updated observed offline
purchase history corresponding to the second identifier; and
reselecting the targeted advertisement to be delivered, based on
the updated purchase behavior classification assigned to the
consumer.
10. A method for delivering a targeted advertisement, comprising
the steps of: monitoring a consumer's offline purchase at a point
of sale when the offline purchase transpires; determining, using
information of the offline purchase collected during the monitoring
step, an advertisement to be delivered to the consumer; and
electronically delivering the advertisement to the consumer.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of electronically
delivering comprises: delivering a targeted advertisement via a
medium selected from the group consisting of: electronic mail
(e-mail), Internet banner, interactive television advertisement,
real time moving video, audio message, and online interstitial
advertisement.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the targeted advertisement is a
promotional incentive for the consumer to comply with a behavioral
pattern selected from the group consisting of: a predefined change
in behavior and continuance of an established behavior; and wherein
the method further comprises the step of: delivering the promotion
to the consumer.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the behavioral pattern includes
the consumer's purchase of a preselected amount of at least one
specified product within a preselected time period.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:
tracking offline purchases of the consumer after the targeted
advertisement is delivered; and delivering to the consumer a
progress report indicating the amount of the at least one specified
product that the consumer has purchased since the delivery of the
targeted advertisement.
15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:
tracking offline purchases of the consumer after the targeted
advertisement is delivered; and determining whether the consumer
has complied with the behavioral pattern based on the tracked
offline purchases.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:
rewarding the consumer for complying with the behavioral
pattern.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the rewarding step comprises:
presenting the consumer with the reward in a preselected retail
store.
18. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:
classifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer a purchase
behavior classification based on at least one selected purchase
behavior criterion and an observed offline purchase history, said
purchase history including information of the consumer's offline
purchase; and selecting the promotional incentive to be delivered,
based on the purchase behavior classification assigned to the
consumer.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an updated
purchase behavior classification based on the at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an updated observed offline
purchase history, said updated purchase history including
information of an additional offline purchase of the consumer; and
reselecting the targeted advertisement to be delivered, based on
the updated purchase behavior classification assigned to the
consumer.
20. A method for delivering targeted messages, comprising the steps
of: monitoring a consumer's offline purchase at a point of sale
when the purchase transpires; classifying the consumer by assigning
to the consumer a purchase behavior classification based on at
least one selected purchase behavior criterion and information of
the offline purchase collected during the monitoring step;
assigning to the consumer a personal identification number (PIN)
associated with the purchase behavior classification; and
delivering a targeted message to the consumer in response to
receiving the PIN from the consumer, based on the purchase behavior
classification associated with the PIN.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the step of delivering a
targeted message to the consumer comprises: delivering the targeted
message over a computer network to the consumer at a computer in
response to receiving the PIN from the consumer, based on the
purchase behavior classification associated with the PIN.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein the targeted message is
selected from the group consisting of: electronic mail (e-mail),
Internet banner, interactive television advertisement, real time
moving video, audio message, and online interstitial
advertisement.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein the targeted message is an
interactive voice response message and the step of delivering a
targeted message comprises: playing the interactive voice response
message over a telephone network to the consumer in response to
receiving the PIN from the consumer, based on the purchase behavior
classification associated with the PIN.
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising the steps of:
delivering the personal identification number to the consumer via a
medium selected from the group consisting of: the Internet and a
computer printout at a point of sale; and receiving the personal
identification number from the consumer as inputs selected from the
group consisting of: voice commands and touch tone commands.
25. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of:
repeating the steps of monitoring, classifying, and assigning a PIN
for additional consumers, each consumer receiving a unique PIN.
26. The method of claim 23, wherein the interactive voice response
message is a targeted advertisement and the step of playing an
interactive voice response message comprises: delivering a targeted
advertisement to the consumer based on the consumer's purchase
behavior classification.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the targeted advertisement is a
promotional incentive for the consumer to comply with a behavioral
pattern selected from the group consisting of: a predefined change
in purchase behavior and continuance of an established behavior;
and wherein the step of delivering the targeted advertisement
comprises: delivering the promotional incentive to the
consumer.
28. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an updated
purchase behavior classification based on the at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an additional offline purchase of
the consumer; and assigning to the consumer another PIN associated
with the updated purchase behavior classification.
29. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for
execution on a computer system, which when executed by a computer,
cause the computer system to perform method steps for delivering a
targeted advertisement, said method comprising the steps of:
receiving from a first computer a first identifier corresponding to
the first computer and associated with an observed offline purchase
history of a consumer, said purchase history including information
of an offline purchase collected at a point of sale when the
purchase transpired; and electronically delivering the targeted
advertisement to the consumer at the first computer in response to
receiving the first identifier from the first computer.
30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: generating the first identifier corresponding
to the first computer; sending the first identifier to the first
computer; receiving a second identifier corresponding to the
consumer from the first computer; and associating the first
identifier with the consumer by linking the first identifier to the
second identifier corresponding to the consumer.
31. The computer readable medium of claim 30, wherein a second
computer performs the steps of generating the first identifier and
receiving the first identifier from the first computer, and a third
computer performs the steps of receiving the second identifier from
the first computer and associating the first identifier with the
consumer; and wherein the computer readable medium further
comprising computer-executable instructions for causing the
computer system to perform the step of: sending the first
identifier from the second computer to the third computer.
32. The computer readable medium of claim 30, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps; of: classifying the consumer by assigning to the
consumer a purchase behavior classification based on at least one
selected purchase behavior criterion and the observed offline
purchase history corresponding to the second identifier; and
selecting the targeted advertisement to be delivered, based on the
purchase behavior classification assigned to the consumer.
33. The computer readable medium of claim 32, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: reclassifying the consumer by assigning to
the consumer an updated purchase behavior classification based on
at least one selected purchase behavior criterion and an updated
observed offline purchase history corresponding to the second
identifier; and reselecting the targeted advertisement to be
delivered, based on the updated purchase behavior classification
assigned to the consumer.
34. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the targeted
advertisement is a promotional incentive for the consumer to comply
with a behavioral pattern selected from the group consisting of: a
predefined change in purchase behavior and continuance of an
established purchase behavior; and wherein the computer readable
medium further comprises computer-executable instructions for
causing the computer system to perform the step of: delivering the
promotional incentive to the first computer.
35. The computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the
behavioral pattern is defined by a preselected amount of at least
one specified product to be purchased within a preselected time
period.
36. The computer readable medium of claim 35, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: presenting a reward available to a consumer
in a preselected retail store if the consumer complies with the
behavioral pattern.
37. The computer readable medium of claim 34, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: reclassifying the consumer by assigning to
the consumer an updated purchase behavior classification based on
at least one selected purchase behavior criterion and an updated
observed offline purchase history corresponding to the second
identifier; and reselecting the targeted advertisement to be
delivered, based on the updated purchase behavior classification
assigned to the consumer.
38. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for
execution on a computer system, which when executed by a computer,
cause the computer system to perform method steps for delivering a
targeted advertisement, said method comprising the steps of:
monitoring a consumer's offline purchase at a point of sale when
the offline purchase transpires; determining, using information of
the offline purchase collected during the monitoring step, an
advertisement to be delivered to the consumer; and electronically
delivering the advertisement to the consumer.
39. The computer readable medium of claim 38, wherein the step of
electronically delivering comprises: delivering a targeted
advertisement via a medium selected from the group consisting of:
electronic mail (e-mail), Internet banner, interactive television
advertisement, real time moving video, audio message, and online
interstitial advertisement.
40. The computer readable medium of claim 38, wherein the targeted
advertisement is a promotional incentive for the consumer to comply
with a behavioral pattern selected from the group consisting of: a
predefined change in behavior and continuance of an established
behavior; and wherein the computer readable medium further includes
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the step of: delivering the promotion to the consumer.
41. The computer readable medium of claim 40, wherein the
behavioral pattern includes the consumer's purchase of a
preselected amount of at least one specified product within a
preselected time period.
42. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the computer
readable medium further includes computer-executable instructions
for causing the computer system to perform the steps of: tracking
offline purchases of the consumer after the targeted advertisement
is delivered; and delivering to the consumer a progress report
indicating the amount of the at least one specified product that
the consumer has purchased since the delivery of the targeted
advertisement.
43. The computer readable medium of claim 41, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: tracking offline purchases of the consumer
after the targeted advertisement is delivered; and determining
whether the consumer has complied with the behavioral pattern based
on the tracked offline purchases.
44. The computer readable medium of claim 43, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the step of: rewarding the consumer for complying with the
behavioral pattern.
45. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the rewarding
step comprises: presenting the consumer with the reward in a
preselected retail store.
46. The computer readable medium of claim 40, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: classifying the consumer by assigning to the
consumer a purchase behavior classification based on at least one
selected purchase behavior criterion and an observed offline
purchase history, said purchase history including information of
the consumer's offline purchase; and selecting the promotional
incentive to be delivered, based on the purchase behavior
classification assigned to the consumer.
47. The computer readable medium of claim 46, further comprising
computer5 executable instructions for causing the computer system
to perform the steps of: reclassifying the consumer by assigning to
the consumer an updated purchase behavior classification based on
the at least one selected purchase behavior criterion and an
updated observed offline purchase history, said updated purchase
history including information of an additional offline purchase of
the consumer; and reselecting the targeted advertisement to be
delivered, based on the updated purchase behavior classification
assigned to the consumer.
48. A computer readable medium containing program instructions for
execution on a computer system, which when executed by a computer,
cause the computer system to perform method steps for delivering
targeted messages, said method comprising the steps of: monitoring
a consumer's offline purchase at a point of sale when the purchase
transpires; classifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer a
purchase behavior classification based on at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and using information of the offline
purchase collected during the monitoring step; assigning to the
consumer a personal identification number (PIN) associated with the
purchase behavior classification; and delivering a targeted message
to the consumer in response to receiving the PIN from the consumer,
based on the purchase behavior classification associated with the
PIN.
49. The computer readable medium of claim 48, wherein the step of
delivering a targeted message to the consumer comprises: delivering
the targeted message over a computer network to the consumer at a
computer in response to receiving the PIN from the consumer, based
on the purchase behavior classification associated with the
PIN.
50. The computer readable medium of claim 49, wherein the targeted
message is selected from the group consisting of: electronic mail
(e-mail), Internet banner, interactive television advertisement,
real time moving video, audio message, and online interstitial
advertisement.
51. The computer readable medium of claim 48, wherein the targeted
message is an interactive voice response message and the step of
delivering a targeted message comprises: playing the interactive
voice response message over a telephone network to the consumer in
response to receiving the PIN from the consumer, based on the
purchase behavior classification associated with the PIN.
52. The computer readable medium of claim 51, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: delivering the personal identification number
to the consumer via a medium selected from the group consisting of:
the Internet and a computer printout at a point of sale; and
receiving the personal identification number from the consumer as
inputs selected from the group consisting of: voice commands and
touch tone commands.
53. The computer readable medium of claim 51, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: repeating the steps of monitoring,
classifying, and assigning a PIN for additional consumers, each
consumer receiving a unique PIN.
54. The computer readable medium of claim 51, wherein the
interactive voice response message is a targeted advertisement and
the step of playing an interactive voice response message
comprises: delivering a targeted advertisement to the consumer
based on the consumer's purchase behavior classification.
55. The computer readable medium of claim 54, wherein the targeted
advertisement is a promotional incentive for the consumer to comply
with a behavioral pattern selected from the group consisting of: a
predefined change in purchase behavior and continuance of an
established behavior; and wherein the step of delivering the
targeted advertisement comprises: delivering the promotional
incentive to the consumer.
56. The computer readable medium of claim 55, further comprising
computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to
perform the steps of: reclassifying the consumer by assigning to
the consumer an updated purchase behavior classification based on
the at least one selected purchase behavior criterion and an
additional offline purchase of the consumer; and assigning to the
consumer another PIN associated with the updated purchase behavior
classification.
57. A system for delivering a targeted advertisement, comprising:
means for receiving from a first computer a first identifier
corresponding to the first computer and associated with an observed
offline purchase history of a consumer, said purchase history
including information of an offline purchase of the consumer
collected at a point of sale when the purchase transpired; and
wherein the means-for delivering comprises: means for
electronically delivering the targeted advertisement to the
consumer at the first computer in response to receiving the first
identifier from the first computer.
58. The system of claim 57, further comprising the steps of: means
for generating the first identifier corresponding to the first
computer; means for sending the first identifier to the first
computer; means for receiving a second identifier corresponding to
the consumer from the first computer; and means for associating the
first identifier with the consumer by linking the first identifier
to the second identifier corresponding to the consumer.
59. The system of claim 58, further comprising: a second computer
that includes the means for generating the first identifier and
receiving the first identifier from the first computer; a third
computer that includes the means for receiving the second
identifier from the first computer and associating the first
identifier with the consumer; and means for sending the first
identifier from the second computer to the third computer.
60. The system of claim 58, further comprising: means for
classifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer a purchase
behavior classification based on at least one selected purchase
behavior criterion and the observed offline purchase history
corresponding to the second identifier; and means for selecting the
targeted advertisement to be delivered, based on the purchase
behavior classification assigned to the consumer.
61. The system of claim 60, further comprising the steps of: means
for reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an
updated purchase behavior classification based on at least one
selected purchase behavior criterion and an updated observed
offline purchase history corresponding to the second identifier;
and means for reselecting the targeted advertisement to be
delivered, based on the updated purchase behavior classification
assigned to the consumer.
62. The system of claim 60, wherein the targeted advertisement is a
promotional incentive for the consumer to comply with a behavioral
pattern selected from the group consisting of: a predefined change
in purchase behavior and continuance of an established purchase
behavior; and wherein the system further comprises: means for
delivering the promotional incentive to the first computer.
63. The system of claim 62, wherein the behavioral pattern is
defined by a preselected amount of at least one specified product
to be purchased within a preselected time period.
64. The system of claim 63, further comprising: means for
presenting a reward available to a consumer in a preselected retail
store if the consumer complies with the behavioral pattern.
65. The system of claim 62, further comprising: means for
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer em updated
purchase behavior classification based on at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an updated observed offline
purchase history corresponding to the second identifier; and means
for reselecting the targeted advertisement to be delivered, based
on the updated purchase behavior classification assigned to the
consumer.
66. A system for delivering a targeted advertisement, comprising:
means for monitoring a consumer's offline purchase at a point of
sale when the offline purchase transpires; means for determining,
using information of the offline purchase collected by the means
for monitoring, an advertisement to be delivered to the consumer;
and means for electronically delivering the advertisement to the
consumer.
67. The system of claim 66, wherein the means for electronically
delivering comprises: means for delivering a targeted advertisement
via a medium selected from the group consisting of: electronic mail
(e-mail), Internet banner, interactive television advertisement,
real time moving video, audio message, and online interstitial
advertisement.
68. The system of claim 66 wherein the targeted advertisement is a
promotional incentive for the consumer to comply with a behavioral
pattern selected from the group consisting of: a predefined change
in behavior and continuance of an established behavior; and wherein
the system further comprises: means for delivering the promotion to
the consumer.
69. The system of claim 68, wherein the behavioral pattern includes
the consumer's purchase of a preselected amount of at least one
specified product within a preselected time period.
70. The system of claim 69, wherein the system further comprises:
means for tracking offline purchases of the consumer after the
targeted advertisement is delivered; and means delivering to the
consumer a progress report indicating the amount of the at least
one specified product that the consumer has purchased since the
delivery of the targeted advertisement.
71. The system of claim 69, further comprising: means for tracking
offline purchases of the consumer after the targeted advertisement
is delivered; and means for determining whether the consumer has
complied with the behavioral pattern based on the tracked offline
purchases.
72. The system of claim 71, further comprising: means for rewarding
the consumer for complying with the behavioral pattern.
73. The system of claim 72, wherein the means for rewarding
comprises: means for presenting the consumer with the reward in a
preselected retail store.
74. The system of claim 68, further comprising: means for
classifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer a purchase
behavior classification based on at least one selected purchase
behavior criterion and an observed offline purchase history, said
purchase history including information of the consumer's offline
purchase; and means for selecting the promotional incentive to be
delivered, based on the purchase behavior classification assigned
to the consumer.
75. The system of claim 74, further comprising: means for
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an updated
purchase behavior classification based on the at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an updated observed offline
purchase history, said updated purchase history including
information of an additional offline purchase of the consumer; and
means for reselecting the targeted advertisement to be delivered,
based on the updated purchase behavior classification assigned to
the consumer.
76. A system for delivering targeted messages, comprising: means
for monitoring a consumer's offline purchase at a point of sale
when the purchase transpires; means for classifying the consumer by
assigning to the consumer a purchase behavior classification based
on at least one selected purchase behavior criterion and using
information of the offline purchase collected by the means for
monitoring; means for assigning to the consumer a personal
identification number (PIN) associated with the purchase behavior
classification; and means for delivering an interactive voice
response message to the consumer in response to receiving the PIN
from the consumer, based on the purchase behavior classification
associated with the PIN.
77. The system of claim 76, wherein the means for delivering a
targeted message to the consumer comprises: means for delivering
the targeted message over a computer network to the consumer at a
computer in response to receiving the PIN from the consumer, based
on the purchase behavior classification associated with the
PIN.
78. The method of claim 77, wherein the targeted message is
selected from the group consisting of: electronic mail (e-mail),
Internet banner, interactive television advertisement, real time
moving video, audio message, and online interstitial
advertisement.
79. The method of claim 76, wherein the targeted message is an
interactive voice response message and the means for delivering a
targeted message comprise: means for playing the interactive voice
response message over a telephone network to the consumer in
response to receiving the PIN from the consumer, based on the
purchase behavior classification associated with the PIN.
80. The system of claim 79, further comprising: means for
delivering the personal identification number to the consumer via a
medium selected from the group consisting of: the Internet and a
computer printout at a point of sale; and means for receiving the
personal identification number from the consumer as inputs selected
from the group consisting of: voice commands and touch tone
commands.
81. The system of claim 79, further comprising: means for repeating
the steps of monitoring, classifying, and assigning a PIN for
additional consumers, each consumer receiving a unique PIN.
82. The system of claim 79, wherein the interactive voice response
message is a targeted advertisement and the means for playing an
interactive voice response message comprises: means for delivering
a targeted advertisement to the consumer based on the consumer's
purchase behavior classification.
83. The system of claim 82, wherein the targeted advertisement is a
promotional incentive for the consumer to comply with a behavioral
pattern selected from the group consisting of: a predefined change
in purchase behavior and continuance of an established behavior;
and wherein the means for delivering the targeted advertisement
comprises: delivering the promotional incentive to the
consumer.
84. The system of claim 83, further comprising: means for
reclassifying the consumer by assigning to the consumer an updated
purchase behavior classification based on the at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and an additional offline purchase of
the consumer; and means for assigning to the consumer another PIN
associated with the updated purchase behavior classification.
85. A memory for storing information for delivering a targeted
advertisement, comprising a data structure including: a field for
storing a first identifier corresponding to a first computer
associated with a consumer; and a field for storing a second
identifier associated with said first identifier and corresponding
to an observed offline purchase history of the consumer, said
purchase history including information of an offline purchase of
the consumer collected at a point of sale when the offline purchase
transpired.
86. The memory of claim 85, wherein the first identifier comprises:
a cookie number; and wherein the second identifier comprises: a
shopper card identification code of the consumer.
87. A memory for storing information for delivering a targeted
advertisement, comprising a data structure including: a field for
storing a first identifier corresponding to a first computer and
associated with an observed offline purchase history of a consumer,
said purchase history including information of an offline purchase
of the consumer collected at a point of sale when the offline
purchase transpired; and a field for storing a purchase behavior
classification based on at least one selected purchase behavior
criterion and the observed offline purchase history of the
consumer.
88. The memory of claim 87, wherein the first identifier comprises:
a cookie number.
89. A memory for storing information for delivering a targeted
message, comprising a data structure including: a field for storing
a first identifier corresponding to an targeted message and a
purchase behavior classification based on at least one selected
purchase behavior criterion and the observed offline purchase
history of the consumer, said purchase history including
information of a purchase of the consumer collected at a point of
sale when the purchase transpired; and a field for storing a
personal identification number corresponding to the consumer.
90. The memory of claim 89, wherein the targeted message comprises:
an interactive voice response message.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. ______, filed Dec. 30, 1998
(Attorney Docket No. 7791-0045-25 PROV), which is incorporated
herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to the use of a
computer network, and more specifically to a method, system, and
computer program product for communicating with a computer
associated with a particular consumer, based on the consumer's
offline purchase history.
[0004] As used herein, the term "online" refers to activity having
at least one aspect that is performed over a computer network,
whereas the term "offline" refers to customer activity that is
generally not performed over a computer network. For example, using
a computer to buy books over the Internet is an online purchase,
whereas buying groceries in a grocery store is an offline
purchase.
[0005] 2. Discussion of the Background
[0006] With the proliferation of computer networks such as the
Internet, mcre and more households are able to access wide
varieties of information quickly and easily with their home (or
work) computers. The increasing number of ordinary consumers who
are now accessing the Internet has opened up a new avenue through
which commercial entities can deliver their advertisements to
consumers. Through computer networks such as the Internet,
advertisers are able to display banners to computer users for
purposes of generating brand name recognition, distributing
promotional information, etc.
[0007] As evidenced by the numerous amount of literature in the
field, skilled computer programers have developed and refined a
variety of methods for accessing, manipulating, and disseminating
database information over computer networks such as the Internet.
Thus, various methods of storing, delivering, and displaying
information are well-known in the field of computer networking.
Similarly, standard protocols and architecture have been developed
to communicate over wide area networks (WANs); for example, TCP/IP
protocols and architecture have been developed for communication
over the Internet. Moreover, various languages such as Java
Database Connectivity (JDBC) have been developed for performing
database operations over computer networks. The design and
implementation of various methods of database networking and
Internet communications are described in Liu et al., "Managing
Internet Information Services," O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.,
1994; Comer, "Internet Working with TCP/IP Volume I: Principles,
Protocols, and Architecture," 2.sup.nd ed., Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1991; Comer and Stevens, "Internet Working with TCP/IP Volume II:
Design, Implementation, and Internals," Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1991;
Comer and Stevens, "Internet Working with TCP/IP Vol. III:
Client-Server Programming and Applications," Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1993; Khoshafian et al., "A Guide to Developing Client/Server SQL
Applications," Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc.; Hamilton et al.,
"JDBC Database Access with Java, A Tutorial and Annotated
Reference," Addison-Wesley Pub. Co.,. 1997; and Francis et al.,
"Professional Active Server Pages 2.0," Wrox Press Ltd., 1998; each
of which is incorporated herein by reference.
[0008] Currently, advertisers are able to implement a limited form
of targeted advertising over the Internet. This is accomplished by
sending a block of data, such as a "cookie," from a remote host or
server (i.e., a Web server) maintained by an advertiser to a
computer (i.e., a client system) that has access to the remote
server via the World Wide Web. A cookie, as used in network and
Internet communication, is a block of data or state object that a
Web server stores on a client system. When the client system
accesses a Web site within a limited range of domain names, the
client system automatically transmits a copy of the cookie to the
Web server that serves the Web site. The cookie may include a
unique cookie number corresponding to the client system. Thus, the
cookie can be used to identify the client system (by identifying
the Web browser) and to instruct the server to send a customized
copy of the requested Web page to the Web browser.
[0009] Since cookies are also used to track a consumer's online
activity, a Web server can deliver targeted advertisements to a
consumer's Web browser, based on the consumer's online activity.
For example, if a cookie tracks the various IP addresses accessed
by the consumer's computer, the Web server can deliver ad banners
to the consumer's Web browser based on the IP addresses the Web
browser has accessed. Thus, the cookie can be used to record the
online activity of a consumer, and information regarding the
consumer's tastes and tendencies can be inferred from the
consumer's online activity. Using this inference, an advertiser can
try to target specific advertisements to specific computer
consumers, based on the record of the computer consumers' online
activities. That is, the advertiser can try to expose the computer
consumers to advertisements designed to appeal to their particular
tastes and interests.
[0010] The targeted advertisement can be implemented in several
manners. For example, the advertiser can generate Internet banners
that contain targeted ads and are visible to the consumer when the
consumer accesses the advertiser's server, and/or the advertiser
can automatically generate e-mail messages and send them to the
consumer if the advertiser has the consumer's e-mail address.
[0011] The disadvantage of generating advertisements based on
online activity resides in the fact that a consumer's actions on
the Internet (which are known to advertisers because of the cookie
sent to the consumer's computer) may not be strongly related to the
consumer's preferences as a consumer in the offline world. Thus, a
consumer's activity on the Internet, including online purchases and
access to various Web sites, may not reflect what the consumer will
buy at a shopping mall or supermarket. For example, just because
the consumer has accessed a large number of IP addresses
corresponding to fly fishing Web pages, there is no indication that
the consumer prefers one brand of diet soda over any other.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a
novel method, system, and computer program product for delivering
targeted advertisements to a consumer based on his or her offline
purchase history.
[0013] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
novel method, system, and computer program product for associating
a consumer's offline purchase history with a particular computer
used by the consumer.
[0014] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
novel method, system, and computer program product for providing
advertisers with information relating to consumers' observed
offline purchase histories without divulging to the advertisers the
proprietary information of another, such as the consumers' customer
identifications (CIDs).
[0015] These and other objects are achieved according to the
present invention by providing a novel method, system, and computer
program for delivering a targeted advertisement. The targeted
advertisement is selected based on a demonstrated purchase behavior
of the consumer including an actual, monitored, or observed offline
purchase history associated with the consumer. The targeted
advertisement is then electronically delivered to a computer
associated with the consumer. Thus, with the present invention it
is unnecessary to make inferences about the consumer's offline
purchase behavior in selecting the targeted advertisement because
the targeted advertisement has been selected based on the observed
offline purchase history of the consumer.
[0016] In an embodiment of the invention, the computer sends a
first identifier to an advertiser. The first identifier is
preferably a cookie or any other type of identification information
which identifies the computer or consumer. The first identifier is
also associated with the consumer's observed offline purchase
history which permits targeted advertisements to be delivered to
the computer in response to receiving the first identifier from the
computer. Accordingly, the targeted advertisement may be sent at
times when the computer is known to be online. Further, the
targeted advertisements may be sent to the computer from various
locations and/or devices, including any device capable of receiving
the first identifier and identifying the computer.
[0017] In another embodiment of the invention, the consumer
provides a second identifier to a registration server. The second
identifier is preferably a CID, a bar code, or other string of
characters or digital information that identifies the consumer. The
registration server associates the first and second identifiers by
linking the first identifier and the second identifier in a memory.
With this embodiment, it is not necessary that the advertiser
delivering the targeted advertisements be provided with the second
identifier since the registration server use the first identifier
to identify the consumer to the advertiser. Thus, if the second
identifier is proprietary, it does not have to be shared with the
advertiser for the advertiser to deliver targeted advertisements to
the consumer.
[0018] In yet another embodiment of the invention, the consumer is
classified by assigning to the consumer a purchase behavior
classification. The purchase behavior classification is based on
selected purchase behavior criterion and the consumer's observed
offline purchase history. The targeted advertisement is selected
based on the purchase behavior classification assigned to the
consumer. Thus, an advertiser can select targeted advertisements to
deliver based on the consumer's purchase history classifications,
and the consumer's observed offline purchase history does not have
to be provided to the advertiser for the advertiser to deliver
targeted advertisements. Preferably, one or more classifications
are stored as data fields in a single record corresponding to the
consumer. This record is generically called a "targeted ad
profile."
[0019] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the
targeted advertisement is a promotional incentive generically
termed a "value contract." The value contract offers the consumer a
reward for complying with a given type of behavior. This behavior
may be a predefined change in behavior or continuance of an
established behavior. Preferably, the behavior is defined as a
minimum number of purchases that must be made within a
predetermined time period. Accordingly, it is possible to deliver
promotional incentives that are targeted based on the observed
offline purchase history of consumers. Further, the delivery of
promotional incentives to certain consumers may be avoided.
Consumers for which delivery is to be avoided may include consumers
who already comply with the behavior or consumers whose purchase
histories demonstrate a reluctance to remain loyal to a particular
brand. Once a consumer wins a reward, the reward is preferably
presented to the consumer in a retail store. Thus, the reward
provides an incentive for the consumer to visit the retail
store.
[0020] In another embodiment, the consumer is reclassified by
assigning to the consumer an updated purchase behavior
classification. The updated purchase history behavior criterion is
based on the selected purchase behavior criterion and the
consumer's updated observed offline purchase history. The targeted
advertisement (e.g., a value contract) to be delivered is
reselected based on the updated purchase behavior classification.
Accordingly, the targeted advertisements delivered to the consumer
can be updated to reflect changes in the consumer's behavior.
Moreover, the effect of different marketing strategies may be
monitored by tracking consumers' responses to being presented with
different advertisements.
[0021] In yet a further embodiment of the invention, the consumer
in a particular purchase history classification receives a unique
personal identification number (PIN) based on his or her purchase
behavior classification. The consumer receives the PIN from a
computer generated printout at a cash register, in an e-mail, or
off of a personalized Web page, for example. The consumer is also
provided with a telephone number of an interactive voice response
(IVR) provider. If the consumer telephones the IVR provider and
provides his or her PIN to the IVR provider, then a targeted
message, such as an IVR message, is initiated. PINs may also be
received from a computer operated by the consumer, in which case
targeted messages are delivered to the consumer over a computer
network. The targeted messages correspond to the purchase behavior
classifications of consumers and include targeted advertisements,
promotional offers, and/or instructions on how to receive a reward.
If desired, consumers are rewarded for providing their PINs and
receiving targeted messages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of
the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the
same becomes better understood by reference to the following
detailed description when considered in connection with the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for
associating a consumer's computer with his offline purchase history
and delivering targeted advertisements to the consumer over a
computer network;
[0024] FIG. 2(a) is a drawing of a data structure for storing the
offline purchase history of a particular consumer in the purchase
history database 8 of FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 2(b) is a drawing of a data record for recording
purchase information associated with a single purchase in the data
structure of FIG. 2(a);
[0026] FIG. 3 is a drawing of a data structure for storing a table
of first identifiers (cookie numbers) associated with second
identifiers (CIDs) in the registration server 14 of FIG. 1;
[0027] FIG. 4(a) is a drawing of a targeted ad profile implemented
as a data structure and stored in the advertiser's server 18 of
FIG. 1;
[0028] FIG. 4(b) is a drawing of a data structure for storing a
unique personal identification number in association with a
CID.
[0029] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the general process for
implementing the present invention with the system of FIG. 1;
[0030] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing how the purchase history
database may be populated with the observed offline purchase
histories of consumers;
[0031] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing how consumers may register
according to the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing how registered consumers may
be classified according to their observed offline purchase
histories;
[0033] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing how targeted advertisements
may be delivered to registered consumers;
[0034] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing how a value contract may be
implemented in accordance with the present invention; and
[0035] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing how the present invention may
be used to send targeted interactive voice response messages to
consumers;
[0036] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a general purpose computer
system 100 that can be programed to perform the special purpose
function(s) of one or more of the devices shown in the system of
FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0037] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference
numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the
several views, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, a system
illustrative of the present invention is shown. The system includes
stores 2, 4, 6; a purchase history database 8; a first computer 10;
a telephone 11; a second computer 12; a registration server 14; an
analytics unit 16; an advertiser's server 18; a wide area network
(WAN) such as the Internet 20; various computers linked to the
Internet 20. such as Web servers 22, 24, and computers 26, 28, for
example; and an interactive voice response (IVR) provider 29.
[0038] Each customer or consumer is provided with a customer
identification (CID) that identifies the particular consumer. The
CID can be any identifier that is scanned, read, or otherwise
entered into a computer system at checkout. Preferably, the CID is
represented as a bar code so that it can be quickly scanned at
checkout, although any other type of machine-readable (or
non-machine readable) implementations for storing or displaying
identifications may be used, including magnetic strip and computer
or memory chips on a card (e.g., smart cards). Examples of possible
CIDs are credit card numbers, debit card numbers, social security
card numbers, driver's license numbers, checking account numbers,
street addresses, names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers,
frequent customer card numbers, shopper card identifications
(SCIDs), or shopper loyalty card numbers issued by one of the
stores 2, 4, and/or 6, although any suitable form of identification
may be used.
[0039] The stores 2, 4, 6 may be any retail location, point of
sale, or other location in which offline transactions are made by
consumers. The stores 2, 4, 6 record purchase data for the
consumers that present their CIDs at checkout. The purchase data
includes information such as the location of the purchase, the
items purchased, the price of each item purchased, and CID. The
purchase information can be stored electronically in a general
purpose computer in each of the stores 2, 4, 6 and sent to the
purchase history database 8 periodically, in real time, or at any
other time when it is desirable to update the purchase history
database 8.
[0040] The purchase history database 8 may be implemented using any
desired structure including any type of computer connected to any
type of storage device including magnetic disks such as one or more
hard disk drives, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, memory
chips, or other desired storage devices. The purchase history
database 8 stores purchase data received from the stores 2, 4, 6.
The purchase data may be stored in separate master records for each
consumer, as described below with reference to FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,832,457, 5,649,114, 5,430,644, and 5,592,560
describe techniques for collecting consumer purchase information
and for storing such information in a purchase history database 8.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,832,457, 5,649,114, 5,430,644, and 5,592,560 and
all references cited therein are incorporated herein by reference.
Additionally, techniques for collecting consumer purchase
information and for storing such information in a purchase history
database 8 are described in other patents owned by Catalina
Marketing and/or Catalina Marketing International. Each patent
owned by Catalina, Catalina Marketing, and/or Catalina marketing
international is incorporated herein by reference.
[0041] The first and second computers 10, 12, the registration
server 14, the advertiser's server 18, Web servers 22, 24, and
computers 26, 28 may each be implemented as a general purpose
computer (e.g., the computer 100 of FIG. 12). The first and second
computers 10, 12, the registration server 14, the advertiser's
server 18, Web servers 22, 24, and computers 26, 28 may be
appropriately programmed to communicate with one another over a
wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet 20.
[0042] The first and second computers 10, 12 may be any computer
that one or more consumers can access, such as home or office
computers. The first and second computers 10, 12, may also be
implemented as interactive television sets or other structure
suitable for receiving interactive advertisements. Interactive
television systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,847,700,
5,721,583, and 5,552,735. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,847,700, 5,721,583, and
5,552,735 and all references cited therein are incorporated herein
by reference. The first and second computers 10, 12 may be
programmed with any suitable Web browser software that permits the
first and second computers 10, 12 to retrieve Web pages via the
Internet 20 from remote computers or servers such as the
advertiser's server 18 and/or the registration server 14. The Web
browser software may also be used to transmit registration
information provided by a consumer to a remote computer such as the
advertiser's server 18 and the registration server 14.
[0043] The registration server 14 is a Web server programmed to
receive, store, and/or transmit various type of information,
including registration information, purchase behavior information,
and information for identifying consumers, although the
registration server may also be implemented using any type of
computer. The registration server 14 may additionally be programmed
to generate records that link various types of registration
information received from consumers and the advertiser's server
18.
[0044] The analytics unit 16 may be implemented using any desired
structure such as a computer programmed to analyze purchase data
(e.g., master records) received from the purchase history database
8. Thus, the analytics unit 16 may be programmed to receive
purchase behavior criteria from a remote computer (e.g., the
registration server 14 and/or the advertiser's server 18) and apply
those criteria to the purchase data in the purchase history
database 8 to classify consumers into one or more purchase behavior
classifications. As shown, the analytics unit 16 communicates
directly with the purchase history database 8, the registration
server 14, and the IVR provider 29; however, the analytics unit 16
may also be connected to other remote computers (e.g., the
advertiser's server 18) directly, via the Internet 20, or through
any network.
[0045] The advertiser's server 18 may be a Web server programmed to
send and receive registration information to and from a remote
computer such as the first computer 10. The advertiser's server 18
may also be programmed to exchange information with the
registration server 14, to associate a remote computer with one or
more registered consumers, and to deliver targeted advertisements
over the Internet to remote computers such as the first and second
computers 10, 12. Different types of targeted advertisements,
include Internet banners, real time moving videos, video
information, animation information, audio information, online
interstitial advertisements, electronic mailings (e-maits),
interactive television advertisements, and any other type of
message, recording, and/or display.
[0046] The Internet 20 includes various networks and gateways for
linking together various computer networks and computers such as
the first and second computers 10, 12, Web servers 22, 24, and
computers 26, 28. The advertiser's server 18, the Web server 22,
and/or the Web server 24 may be appropriately programmed with
server software for delivering Web pages to remote clients or
computers such as the first and second computers 10, 12. The Web
servers 22, 24 may be any servers connected to the Internet 20,
including servers that are maintained by one or more advertisers
and programmed to deliver targeted advertisements to consumers via
the Internet 20. Likewise, the computers 24, 26 may be any server
or client with access to the Internet 20. Thus, the computers 26,
28 may be home computers on which consumers may register with the
registration server 14 or Web servers programmed to function
similar to the registration server 14 or the advertiser's server
18.
[0047] The IVR provider 29 is any system that includes at least one
computer programmed to store and play IVR messages to consumers.
The IVR provider 29 exchanges information with the analytics unit
16. Consumers use a telephone 11, for example, to provide inputs to
the IVR provider and receive IVR messages from the IVR provider.
The telephone 111 is any device suitable for sending inputs (such
as voice or touch tone commands) and receiving IVR messages.
[0048] It is emphasized that the system of FIG. 1 is for exemplary
purposes only, as many variations of the hardware used to implement
the present invention will be readily apparent to one having
ordinary skill in the art. For example, the analytics unit 16 may
incorporate the purchase history database 8. As another example,
the registration server 14 may incorporate the advertiser's server
20. To implement these variations as well as other variations, a
single computer (e.g., the computer 100 of FIG. 12) may be
programmed to perform the special purpose functions of two or more
of any of the devices shown in FIG. 1. On the other hand, two or
more programmed computers may be substituted for any one of the
devices shown in FIG. 1.
[0049] The present invention stores information relating to each
consumer's observed offline purchase history and identifying
information corresponding to each consumer in one or more memories
such as a hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, and/or
RAM, for example. The stored information may include the purchase
history, CID, cookie number, and targeted ad profile for each
consumer. One or more databases may store the information used to
implement the present invention. The databases are organized using
data structures (e.g., records, tables, arrays, fields, and/or
lists) contained in a memory such as a hard disk, floppy disk,
optical disk, or RAM, for example.
[0050] FIG. 2(a) shows a master record 30 for storing purchase
information for a particular CID corresponding to a particular
consumer. A separate master record 30 for each CID is maintained in
the purchase history database 8. The master record 30 may be
implemented as a data structure that includes a field 31 for
storing the consumer's CID as well as a table 32 for identifying
and describing each purchase made by the consumer. The table 32 may
include one or more linked lists, for example, or an array of
purchase record.
[0051] FIG. 2(b) shows an exemplary purchase record 33 which may be
implemented as part of the master record 30. The purchase record 33
includes a field 34 for indicating the shelf keeping unit (SKU)
which is a distinct product such as "one 2 liter bottle of Brand Z
soda," a field 35 for the universal product code (UPC) which is
usually seen as a bar code on a product, a field 36 for the
location of the purchase, a field 37 for the price per SKU, and a
field 38 for the date of purchase. Additional fields and/or columns
may be added to the purchase record 33 as desired. Preferably, the
master record 30 and/or the purchase record 33 contain at least the
information used by the analytics unit 16 to identify or classify
consumers, as will be described below with reference to FIG. 8.
[0052] FIG. 3 illustrates an association table 40 for storing
information that associates a computer with a particular consumer
and master record. The association table 40 may be implemented as a
data structure including a list 42 of first identifiers linked to a
list 44 of second identifiers. As shown, the list 42 is a list of
cookie numbers. Each cookie number corresponds to a cookie that has
been sent to a computer as a result of a consumer registering
online with the registration server 14 (described below with
reference to FIG. 7). Accordingly, each cookie number identifies a
single Web browser run on a computer that was used by a consumer to
register. The list 44 is a list of CIDs, each of which corresponds
or is linked to the adjacent cookie number in the list 42. Each CID
in the list 44 is also stored in the purchase history database 8 in
a master record. Thus, the association table 40 links a Web browser
(via the cookie number) with a master record (via the CID) for a
consumer who used the Web browser to register online. The
association table 40 may be stored in the registration server 14 or
any other suitable storage device including any of the devices
shown in FIG. 1 (e.g., the registration server 18). As technology
progresses, cookies may become associated with individuals and not
directly correspond to a Web browser, and the invention includes
the use of identification methods other than conventional
cookies.
[0053] The association table 40 may contain additional lists and/or
fields. Fcr example, it may be desirable for the association table
40 to include a field that identifies the association table 40 if
multiple association tables are generated and stored. Preferably,
the association table 40 stores at least one list of identifiers
which are also stored in the purchase history database 8 and which
identify registered consumers.
[0054] FIG. 4(a) is an exemplary targeted ad profile 446 for
storing information relating to a consumer's purchase behavior
classification. The targeted ad profile 446 may be a data structure
that includes a record having a field 448 for identifying the
consumer. As shown, the field 448 stores the cookie number
associated with the consumer. The targeted ad profile 446 may
include additional fields for storing the consumer's purchase
behavior classification with regard to one or more purchase
behavior criterion. The targeted ad profile 446 includes three
fields, 449a, 449b, and 449c, for three purchase behavior
classifications: Brand Z loyalty, Heavy Snacker, and Healthy
Household, respectively. Each purchase behavior classification may
be given any score (e.g., an integer), a describer (e.g., "Brand Z
loyalist" or "Heavy Brand Z User"), flag ("1" or "0"), or rank
(e.g., "50.sup.th out of 50,000) that the consumer has received
based on selected purchase behavior criteria which are discussed
below with reference to FIG. 8.
[0055] The targeted ad profile 446 is preferably generated by the
analytics unit 16 or another device in close proximity to the
purchase history database 8. However, the targeted ad profile may
be generated by any suitable device including any of the other
devices shown in FIG. 1 (e.g., the registration server 14). If
desired, multiple targeted ad profiles may be generated for each
consumer. Also, the targeted ad profiles may be updated as often as
de sired to capture consumers' behavioral changes, i.e., changes in
purchase behavior classifications.
[0056] FIG. 4(b) shows a data structure 460 that includes a field
470 for storing information identifying a particular targeted
message such as an IVR message stored in the IVR provider 29. An
IVR message includes one or more recorded voice messages that are
played for a consumer. Different messages may be played in response
to inputs received from the consumer over a telephone network. The
input may include information that is delivered orally or by touch
tone. For example, the IVR message may begin by playing the
consumer a message that states, "Speak or press `1` if you prefer
brand X over brand Y; speak or press `2` if you prefer brand Y, but
would be willing to try brand X." Thus, a single IVR message may
include numerous sequences and/or variations of recordings to be
played to the consumer, and the input received from the consumer at
each prompt determines which particular recordings of the IVR
message are played to the consumer.
[0057] The data structure 460 also includes a field 480 for storing
a list of PINs associated with the IVR message stored in field 470.
The PINs may include numbers but should not be limited to numbers
and may include, if desired, alphabetic, typographic, or any type
of identifying information including CIDs, telephone numbers,
cookie numbers, any personal attribute such as voice, fingerprint,
or facial characteristics, and random strings of alphanumeric
characters. The data structure 460 is generated in the analytics
unit 16 and sent to the IVR provider 29 so that the IVR provider 29
can receive a PIN from a consumer and play the corresponding IVR
message. Multiple data structures such as the data structure 460
can be generated so that different IVR messages correspond to
different lists of PIN numbers. Each IVR message is associated with
a particular purchase history classification so that each consumer
hears an IVR message that reflects his or her offline purchase
history.
[0058] The data structures embodied by the present invention
include the data structures shown in FIGS. 2(a), 2(b), 3, 4(a), and
4(b) and described above. Alternatively, any other desired manner
of implementing the data structures embodied by the present
invention may be equivalently implemented so that the desired
functionality and corresponding practical application are
achieved.
[0059] FIG. 5 is a flowchart that shows the general process for
implementing the invention. Each of the steps of FIG. 5 includes
two or more substeps which are described below with reference to
FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9.
[0060] Referring back to FIG. 5, the purchase history database 8 is
populated with the actual, monitored, or observed offline purchase
histories of consumers in step 500. Further details of this step
are described below with respect to FIG. 6. The offline purchase
histories are organized into master records, each corresponding to
a CID or other identifier associated with a particular
consumer.
[0061] In step 502, each consumer registers online using a
computer. As a result of the registration process, each computer is
associated with the offline purchase history of the consumer that
used the computer to register. Further details of step 502 and the
registration process are set forth below in the description of FIG.
7.
[0062] In step 504, the registered consumers are classified by
assigning each consumer a purchase behavior classification. The
purchase behavior classification is assigned to each consumer
according to predefined purchase behavior criteria applied to the
consumer's observed offline purchase history. Further details of
this step are set forth in the description of FIG. 9.
[0063] In step 506, targeted advertisements are electronically
delivered to the respective computers of registered consumers. The
targeted advertisements are selected based on the purchase behavior
classification assigned in step 504. Thus, a first consumer using
the first computer 10 may receive an advertisement different from
the one received by a consumer using the second computer 12. The
difference in the advertisements will be, at least in part, caused
by differences in the first and second consumer's respective
purchase behavior classifications. Further details of step 506 are
described with respect to FIG. 506.
[0064] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the process of step 506 of FIG. 5
and shows how consumers' offline purchase histories are observed,
recorded, and updated. After starting, in step 50, the consumer's
offline purchase information is obtained. This information is
obtained in the preferred embodiment by a computer used to
implement a sale or sales transaction to a user and may utilize a
general purpose computer or point of sale terminal. If a point of
sale terminal is used, the purchase history may be obtained using
an optical scanner which scans a bar code, UPC code, or SKU on the
purchased product.
[0065] In step 51, the consumer's observed offline purchase
information is received in the purchase history database 8. The
observed offline purchase information can be delivered from the
stores 2, 4, 6, to the purchase history database 8 via any suitable
means, such as an electronic communications network or physical
delivery of computer diskettes, tapes, or other portable media
containing the purchase information, for example.
[0066] In step 52, a master record corresponding to the consumer is
created based on the offline purchase information received in step
51. The master record contains at least one identifier, such as the
consumer's CID, that distinguishes the consumer's master record 30
from other master records in the purchase history database 8. Steps
50, 51, ,and 52 may be repeated as necessary to generate master
records for additional consumers, as well as to update existing
master records by appending new information to an existing master
record.
[0067] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing how the registration process
of step 504 is performed. In step 54, the consumer uses Web browser
software on the first computer L 0 to initiate the registration
process. Registration is initiated by the consumer's selection of a
button or other graphic image on a Web page associated with the
advertiser's server 18.
[0068] Then, in step 56, the advertiser's server 18 sends a cookie
to the first computer 10. A cookie is a block of data, a state
object, or identification information. The cookie sent to the first
computer 10 includes a unique identifier, such as a cookie number
or other string of characters, that is stored on the first computer
10 and at the advertiser's server 18. When the Web browser running
on the first computer 10 accesses the advertiser's server 18, the
Web browser sends a copy of the cookie, including the cookie
number, back to the advertiser's server 18. In this manner the
advertiser's server recognizes the cookie as being sent from a
particular Web browser program associated with a particular
consumer. Since the same cookie may be sent to, and recognized by,
any server within a predefined range of domain names, other
servers, such as Web servers 22, 24, may receive and recognize the
cookie (as well as the cookie number) stored in the first computer
10 if the other servers have domain names in the requisite range.
In an alternate embodiment, instead of identifying the Web browser
program, the identification information may be used to identify the
computer of a consumer and/or the consumer himself.
[0069] In step 58, the cookie number is sent from the advertiser's
server 18 to the registration server 14. The cookie number may be
sent from the advertiser's server 18 to the registration server 14
by placing the cookie number in a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
statement. Thus, a cookie can be assigned when a first Web page
provided by the advertiser's server 18 is requested by the first
computer 10. The first Web page can contain a link to a second Web
page provided by the registration server 14. When the consumer
selects the link to the second Web page, the cookie number can be
placed in the URL statement for the second Web page, and thus sent
to the registration server 14.
[0070] In step 60, the consumer's Web browser jumps to a
registration Web page served by the registration server 14. Then,
in step 62, the consumer registers online with the registration
server 14 and, in the process, provides the registration server 14
with information, including an identifier found in the master
record 30 (e.g., the consumer's CID). The consumer may supply the
registration server 14 with information about the consumer to
generate an online profile for the consumer. The online profile may
include information such as the consumer's name CID, e-mail
address, product/brand preferences, demographic information, work
address, home address, whether the consumer has any babies, and
whether the consumer has any pets such as a cat, dog, bird, or
fish. Preferably, the online profile includes at least one item of
information that is stored (or is to be stored) in the purchase
history database 8. While referred to as an online profile, the
profile may be generated or obtained on an offline basis, such as
by filling out a card in a grocery store, for example. Other forms
of registration may include a consumer entering registration
information at a kiosk in the grocery store after scanning the bar
code or alternatively swiping the magnetic strip of his or her
shopper loyalty card through a magnetic strip reading device. The
profile preferably includes information of how to transmit by
computer information to the consumer, such as the consumer's e-mail
address, IP (Internet protocol) address, or any information which
may be used to electronically send information to the consumer,
including, for example, through a paging device or a portable
computer.
[0071] In step 64, the registration server 14 stores the cookie
number received from the advertiser's server 18 and the CID
received from the first computer 10 in memory and links the cookie
number to the CID. Accordingly, an association between the
consumer, the consumer's CID, and the first computer 10 results.
Once the cookie number and CID are linked, the registration server
14 can use a cookie number to locate a particular master record in
the purchase history database 8 based on the CID linked to that
cookie number. Further, the registration server 14 can use a cookie
number to identify a particular consumer to an advertiser without
divulging the consumer's CID.
[0072] Accordingly, after steps 54 through 64 have been performed,
the consumer has completed registration with the system. Additional
consumers may register in the same manner as described in steps 54
through 64 so that a list of cookie numbers and associated CIDs is
generated for the registered consumers. The list of cookie numbers
and the list of CIDs may be stored in the fields 35 and 36,
respectively, of the association table 40 of FIG. 3.
[0073] Different servers, such as Web servers 22, 24, including the
registration server 14, may be programmed to perform the same
function as the advertiser's server 20, and thus, servers other
than the advertiser's server 20 may be used to initiate
registration in steps 54 through 58. Accordingly, the registration
server 14 may store one or more association tables corresponding to
different lists of cookie numbers generated by different servers in
steps 54 through 58. Preferably, the master records for each
consumer continue to be updated after registration to track the
consumers' offline purchases and changes in purchase behavior.
[0074] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing how consumers are classified
into one or more purchase behavior classifications based on their
observed offline purchases and corresponds to step 506 of FIG. 5.
In step 66, the advertiser's server 18 sends to the registration
server 14 selected purchase behavior criteria and a list of cookie
numbers corresponding to consumers who have registered through the
advertiser's server 18. The purchase behavior criteria may be
selected using any suitable technique for classifying consumer's
observed purchase behavior. Possible techniques for determining
purchase behavior criteria include pattern classification, cluster
analysis, the use of criteria arbitrarily set by a marketing
expert, and/or any other method of classifying consumers into one
or more behavioral groups based on their observed offline purchase
history. For example, the criterion for a class of "heavy Brand Z
drinkers" may be defined as any consumer who has purchased Brand Z
at least twice a year in the last month. As another example, the
criterion for a class of "Brand Z loyalists" may be defined as any
consumer who has purchased Brand Z at least once a month for the
last nine months. Regardless of how different criteria are
determined, the criteria are preferably based on information
derived from marketing research. The purchase behavior criteria do
not necessarily have to originate from the advertiser's server 18,
but may originate from any suitable remote device such as the
computer 26, the Web server 24, and/or the registration server
18.
[0075] In step 68, the registration server 14 generates a list of
CIDs corresponding to the cookie numbers received from the
advertiser's server 18. Thus, step 68 is a matching step in which
the registration server identifies a subset of the total number of
CIDs to be analyzed in the purchase history database 8. The
registration server 14 may use the association table 40 generated
in step 64 to identify the CIDs that correspond to the cookie
numbers received in step 66.
[0076] Next, in step 70, the registration server 14 sends to the
analytics unit 16 the purchase behavior criteria received in step
66 and the list of CIDs generated in step 68.
[0077] In step 72, the analytics unit 16 analyzes the master
records corresponding to the list of CIDs to classify the
respective consumers into one or more purchase behavior
classifications based on the purchase behavior criteria.
[0078] In step 74, the analytics unit 16 sends to the registration
server targeted ad profiles for each consumer identified in step
68. Each of the targeted ad profiles includes the consumer's CID
and the purchase behavior classification(s) corresponding to that
CID. The targeted ad profiles may be stored in a table such as an
array or table of records, linked lists, or other suitable data
structure.
[0079] In step 75, the registration server 14 modifies the targeted
ad profiles received from the analytics unit 16 so that the CID for
each targeted ad profile is replaced with the corresponding cookie
number. To perform this function, the registration server uses the
association table 40 to identify the cookie number corresponding to
each CID.
[0080] In step 76, the registration server 14 sends the modified
targeted ad profiles received from the analytics unit 16 to the
advertiser's server 20. As discussed above, each targeted ad
profile contains the cookie number and the purchase behavior
classification(s) associated with a particular consumer.
Information, including targeted ad profiles, received from the
analytics unit 16 by the registration server 14 may sent to the
advertiser's server 20 via any appropriate method, for example,
over the Internet 18 or physically delivered on a portable computer
readable medium.
[0081] Accordingly, in steps 66 through 76, the actual or observed
purchase history of the consumers in the purchase history database
8 is analyzed, based on selected purchase behavior criteria, to
identify a list of cookie numbers corresponding to consumers who
meet the preselected purchase behavior criteria. Steps 66 through
76 may be repeated as necessary so that any number of servers
maintained by various advertisers can provide the analytics unit 16
with purchase behavior criteria and cookie numbers of registered
consumers (step 66) and receive targeted ad profiles or other
purchase behavior information from the analytics unit 16 (step
76).
[0082] As demonstrated by the process shown in FIG. 8, advertisers
who maintain servers other than the registration server 14 may be
provided with targeted ad profiles without being provided with any
of the data stored in the purchase history database 8, including
CIDs, the consumers' identities, and their observed purchase
histories. Thus, if the operator of the registration server 14 is
contractually bound to the stores 2, 4, 6 to maintain the
consumers' CIDs in secrecy, then the invention may still be
practiced without violating the contract and without transmitting
the CID.
[0083] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing how targeted advertisements
are electronically delivered to consumers and corresponds to step
506 of FIG. 5. In step 78, the consumer who was registered by the
system in steps 54 through 64 uses the Web browser running on the
first computer 10 to make a URL request to a Web site served by
advertiser's server 18. Since the advertiser's server 18 has a
domain name in the range specified by the cookie sent in step 56,
the Web browser will send a copy of the cookie, including the
cookie number, to the advertiser's server 18 along with the URL
request.
[0084] In step 80, the advertiser's server 18 matches the cookie
number received from the first computer 10 to the modified targeted
ad profile associated with the cookie number. Then, in step 80, the
advertiser's server 18 delivers an advertisement to the first
computer 10 based on at least one of the purchase behavior
classifications stored in the targeted ad profile. In addition to
the advertiser's server 18, any host computer or server (for
example, Web servers 22, 24, the registration server 14, and/or
computers 26, 28) having a domain name within the requisite range
defined by the cookie may be programmed to perform steps 78 through
82.
[0085] Steps 78 through 82 may be repeated every time a registered
consumer uses his or her computer to send a URL request for a Web
site served by a Web server that has taken part in the registration
process (steps 54 through 76) in the same manner as the
advertiser's Web server 18. As noted above, a consumer's online
activities may not reveal, or may even contradict, a consumer's
offline purchase behavior. The present invention overcomes many of
the drawbacks of conventional online advertising by delivering
targeted advertisements that are based on what consumers are known
to have purchased offline, i.e., their observed offline purchase
histories.
[0086] Thus, in steps 78 through 82, targeted advertisements are
delivered online to the consumer based on the consumer's observed
or actual offline purchase behavior. Further, it is not necessary
to provide an advertiser with the data in the purchase history
database 8 for the advertiser to deliver targeted advertising based
on the consumer's observed offline purchase history.
[0087] Any variety of targeted advertisements can be delivered to
the home computer 12 of the consumer. For example, the
advertisements might be for product offers that are only good at
stores, such as stores 2, 4, 6, that provide purchase information
to the purchase history database 8. In this manner, retail
locations, such as stores 2, 4, 6, that are willing to provide
purchase data to the purchase history database 8, are rewarded by
having their stores' names explicitly mentioned in the targeted
advertisements delivered to the consumer. Moreover, if the banner
ads are only good at stores where the consumer is known to shop
(based on the information in the master record associated with the
consumer), then participating stores can be assured that the
targeted advertisements will not tie used to encourage the consumer
to shop at competing stores. For example, the master records for a
first consumer and a second consumer show that the first consumer
prefers to shop at store 4 and the second consumer prefers to shop
at store 6. The analytics unit 16 may be programmed to place the
first and second consumers in different purchase behavior
classifications, based on their preferred store (among other
things). Accordingly, the classifications can be used by the
advertiser's server 18 to deliver targeted promotions or coupons
that are only recognized at the store where each consumer prefers
to shop.
[0088] One type of targeted advertisement that can be delivered in
step 82 is a value contract. The value contract is a promotional
incentive in which the consumer is offered a reward for complying
with a particular behavioral pattern such as a predefined change in
behavior or the continuance of an established behavior. Any type of
reward may be offered. The reward may be "points" which may
correspond to, or be redeemed for, cash, cash equivalents, frequent
flier miles, minutes of long distance time, minutes of Internet
service provider time, coupons, discounts, prizes, or free
products, for example. The registration server 14 (or any other
suitable server) may be programmed to serve customized Web pages to
consumers's computers. Such customized Web pages may display such
information as a consumer's accumulated points and the various
prizes, rewards, etc. that can be "purchased" with the points. The
reward may also be an e-mail message with a password for a Web page
full of coupons and customized according to the consumer's observed
offline purchase history, for example. The e-mail may also have a
link that the consumer can select to start the Internet software on
his or her computer and request a customized Web page of
coupons.
[0089] As discussed above, the value contract may be a promotional
incentive for consumers to change existing behavior or continue an
established behavior, as determined from the consumer's offline
purchase histories. Thus, in order for a consumer to fulfill a
value contract and receive a reward, the consumer may be required
to purchase a preselected amount of a specified product within a
predetermined amount of time. The "amount" of product may be
measured by volume, weight, cost, shelf keeping unit (i.e., number
of products), or any combination thereof. For example, the value
contract may require a consumer to purchase at least 5 pounds of
Brand X cheese for a total cost of at least $25 dollars to receive
the reward. As another example, a consumer may be required to
purchase a total of 10 Brand X cheese products for a total cost of
at least $30 to receive the reward.
[0090] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing how a value contract may be
implemented. In step 1000, the analytics unit 16 searches the
purchase history database 8 for consumers whose master records
indicate that they are eligible for receiving a value contract
offer. The eligibility of each consumer may depend on any desired
factor(s) including the purpose of the contract, whether the
consumer's observed offline purchase history meets certain
criteria, and the consumer's response to previously delivered
targeted advertisements including value contracts. As an example,
assume the value contract will reward consumers who buy Brand Z
soda twice a week. In this case, it may not be desirable to offer
the value contract to consumers who are known Brand Z fanatics,
i.e., consumers whose observed offline purchase histories indicate
that they need no incentive to purchase large quantities of Brand Z
soda. Therefore, the criteria used to determine the eligibility of
consumers may be "any consumers who have made less than twelve
purchases of Brand Z soda in the last six weeks," for example. As
another example, the criterion may be "any consumers who made less
than ten purchases of Brand Z soda, but more than 10 purchases of
Brand X soda in the last six weeks."
[0091] In step 1002, the value contract is delivered to the
eligible consumers. Step 1002 is analogous to step 506 in FIG. 5.
Therefore, step 1002 may be performed by the advertiser's server 18
or another computer programmed to deliver targeted advertisements,
e.g., the registration server 14. The value contracts may be
delivered by e-mail, Internet banners, or any other suitable
technique. In a preferred embodiment, the consumer can use a
computer to check a particular Web page on which all value
contracts for which the consumer is eligible are displayed. In this
embodiment, the value contracts may be Internet banners which are
automatically sent to the consumer's computer by a Web server upon
recognizing the consumer's computer or upon the consumer's entry of
a password, for example.
[0092] In step 1004, the analytics unit updates each consumer's
progress toward fulfilling the value contract based on the purchase
history of the consumer in the purchase history database 8. The
progress may be determined by monitoring the purchases by a
particular consumer. The consumer may be identified by a frequent
shopper or loyalty card, credit or debit card number, checking
account number, or using any other identification. Each time a
consumer whose identification can be determined makes a purchase,
the items purchased along with the consumer's ID are stored in the
purchase history database 8.
[0093] In step 1006, the registration server 16 determines whether
each consumer is to be provided with a progress report which
indicates the consumer's progress toward fulfilling the value
contract. The progress reports may be provided automatically or may
be requested individually by any eligible consumer. For example,
e-mails or telephone messages could be automatically generated and
sent to the consumers informing them of their progress. Consumers
could also be kept abreast of their progress by actively accessing
a personalized Web page, calling a predetermined telephone number,
and/or by computer generated printout at a point of sale, for
example. If the consumer is not to be provided with his or her
progress report, then the process proceeds to step 1008. If the
consumer is to be provided with his or her progress report, then
the process proceeds to step 1009.
[0094] In step 1009 the registration server 14 or other suitable
device (e.g., a computer in the store 4) delivers the progress
report to the consumer. The progress report may be printed at
checkout, delivered as an Internet banner by a server that can
recognize the consumer's computer, delivered by e-mail, and/or any
other suitable method. The message may also offer encouragement,
e.g., "Only two more to go. You're almost there!" The consumer may
also be provided with ways to check his or her progress toward
fulfilling or completing a value club contract by calling a toll
free number, checking a particular Web page, suppling his or her
CID to a computer terminal in a retail store, and/or any other
suitable method. After the consumer is provided with a progress
report, the process returns to step 1006.
[0095] In step 1008, the analytics unit 16 determines, for each
consumer, whether the consumer has fulfilled the value contract.
This determination is based on the progress check performed for
each consumer in step 1004. If the consumer has not fulfilled the
value contract, the process proceeds to step 1012. If the consumer
has fulfilled the value contract, the process proceeds to step
1010.
[0096] In step 1010, the registration server 14 presents the
consumer with a reward for fulfilling the value contract. Delivery
of the reward may be conditioned on the behavior of the consumer.
For example, acceptance of the reward may require that the consumer
to visit a specified retail location such as a specific grocery
store. Accordingly, the value contract can be implemented to
provide the consumer with an incentive to visit selected locations.
The locations may be selected on the consumer's preestablished
shopping habits (e.g., the grocery store that the consumer
frequents most often), as determined from the master record
corresponding to the consumer in the purchase history database 8.
After step 1010, the process proceeds to step 1014.
[0097] In step 1012, the analytics unit 16 determines whether the
value contract offer is still good or open. If the offer is still
open, the process returns to step 1004. If the offer is no longer
good (for example, if the time for fulfilling the contract has
expired), then the process proceeds to step 1014.
[0098] In step 1014, the registration server 14 determines whether
a new value contract should be offered to consumers who were
offered the original value contract in step 1002. This
determination may be based on such factors as the consumer's
response to the original value contract, the consumer's response to
other value contracts in the past, and the consumer's observed
offline purchase behavior over a certain period of time. Step 1012
is analogous to step 1000 in that criteria may be used to determine
wether consumer who were offered the original value contract should
be offered a new value contract. If a new value contract is not
offered, then the process ends. If a new value contract is offered,
the process returns to step 1002 and the new value contract is
delivered.
[0099] The conditions of each new value may be different for each
consumer who was offered the original value contract. Preferably,
the new value contracts are altered for each consumer as each
consumer's behavior changes over time. For example, a consumer who
has only purchased Brand X soda once in the last six weeks may be
offered a first value contract that rewards the consumer for
purchasing over two liters of Brand X soda within the next six
weeks. If the consumer complies, i.e., the consumer buys over two
liters of Brand X soda within six weeks, the consumer may be
offered a second value contract that rewards the consumer for
purchasing over three liters of Brand X soda within six weeks. If
the consumer complies with the second contract, the consumer may be
offered a third value contract that rewards the consumer for
purchasing six liters of Brand X soda within six weeks.
[0100] Thus, as a consumer demonstrates increasing loyalty toward a
particular product, the terms of the contract may require that the
consumer buy the product more frequently. Likewise, the reward,
i.e., the consideration for fulfilling the value contract, may be
varied as the consumer's purchase behavior changes. For example,
the consumer may be offered a first value contract that requires
three purchases of Brand Z cereal, any size, within three weeks. If
the consumer complies with the terms of the contract, he or she may
be given a ten dollar credit at a particular store. Then, the
consumer may be offered a second value contract that requires three
purchases of Brand Z cereal within three weeks, but only offered a
five dollar credit. If the consumer does not comply with the second
value contract, then the consumer may be offered a third value
contract that offers an eight dollar reward. The third value
contract may also be a modification of the second value contract,
e.g., an Internet banner informing the consumer that he or she only
has to buy two items of Brand Z cereal to win the five dollar
reward. Accordingly, a value contract's reward and/or requirements
may be altered to encourage the consumer to continue to engage in
desirable behavior and/or to change undesirable behavior. The value
contracts, as well as any other targeted advertisements, are
preferably updated and/or refined as often as possible to reflect
changes in the consumers' observed purchase behaviors over
time.
[0101] When used as a targeted advertisement, the value contract
provides an efficient way to deliver promotional incentives to
consumers for whom the promotional incentives will be more
meaningful. That is, consumers who already demonstrate desirable
purchase behavior, based on their respective master record and/or
targeted ad profiles, can be provided with different offers and
incentives than consumers who demonstrate purchase behavior which
an advertiser wishes to change. It may be undesirable to offer a
value contract to consumers who need no reward incentives to comply
with the requirements of the value contract, i.e., consumers whose
purchase histories indicate that they would fulfill the
requirements of the contract without a reward. Also, it may be
undesirable to continue to offer rewards to "switchers," i.e.,
consumers who will buy a particular brand to fulfill certain value
contracts but fail to develop a loyalty for that particular brand.
The loyalty of a consumer toward a particular brand may be gauged
by the consumer's reaction to different incentives-the more loyal
the consumer, the smaller the incentive needed to influence the
consumer. To encourage continuance of a desired behavior, brand
loyalists may be delivered targeted advertisements that provide
small rewards for continued loyalty and/or messages that
acknowledge and thank the consumer for his or her brand loyalty. On
the other hand, consumers who repeatedly resist value contract
offers may be offered increasingly higher rewards. Further,
consumers who continue to comply with value contracts may be
offered decreasingly lower awards.
[0102] FIG. 11 is a flowchart that shows a process for sending
targeted messages to consumers based on their offline purchase
history. Such messages may include interactive voice response (IVR)
messages which, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 4(b),
include one or more recordings to be played to a consumer based on
inputs received from the consumer over a telephone network.
Further, the messages may be audio, visual, or audiovisual messages
to be played and/or displayed to a consumer over a computer network
such as the Internet 20 based on inputs received from the consumer
over the computer network. Messages delivered to the consumer over
the computer network may take any appropriate form, including any
of the various types of targeted advertisements discussed above
(e.g., banner ads, interstitial ads, real time moving videos). The
targeted messages delivered over a computer network may have
interactive components similar to the IVR messages, such that the
message has different branching options to be played in response to
receiving different inputs from the consumer over a computer
network.
[0103] In step 1100 of FIG. 11, the observed offline purchase
history for each consumer is generated. This step may be
implemented similar to step 500 in FIG. 5 so that master records
are generated for each consumer in the purchase history database
8.
[0104] Referring back to FIG. 11, consumers are registered in step
1102. Registration may occur online or offline. Online registration
may be implemented similar to steps 54 through 64 in FIG. 7. The
registration process includes the registration server 14 storing
registration information provided by the consumer. The registration
information may include the consumer's CID, e-mail address, home
address, office address, a cookie number associated with the
consumer, telephone number and/or any other information that may be
used to deliver targeted messages to the consumer based on his or
her offline purchase history.
[0105] In step 1104, the analytics unit 16 classifies registered
consumers by assigning each consumer a purchase history
classification based on his or her offline purchase history. Step
1104 may be implemented similar to step 504 in FIG. 5. Each
purchase history classification corresponds to a targeted message,
and thus, each consumer is associated with a targeted message. If
the targeted messages are IVR message, then they may be stored in
the IVR provider 29, for example. If the targeted messages are to
be delivered over a computer network such as the Internet 20, then
the targeted messages may be stored on any computer connected to
the Internet 20, for example, the advertiser's server 18.
[0106] In step 1106, the analytics unit 16 assigns a unique PIN to
each consumer. Accordingly, each targeted message is associated
with a list of PINs for all of the consumers in the purchase
history classification that corresponds to that targeted message. A
record, such as the data object 460 of FIG. 4(b), links the list of
PINs for each purchase history classification with the
corresponding targeted message, for example. Alternatively, a
single PIN is assigned to a group of consumers, preferably having
common features, e.g., a common purchase history classification.
PINs may be generated and assigned pseudo-randomly, randomly,
serially, or in any other suitable manner including those set forth
in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/059,371, filed Apr. 14,
1998, and entitled "Method and System for using a Frequent Shopper
Card as a Phone Calling Card." U.S. pat. application Ser. No.
09/059,371 and all references cited therein are incorporated herein
by reference. Alternatively, PINs may be based upon an existing
number, such as a telephone number or a cookie number corresponding
to a consumer.
[0107] In step 1108 of FIG. 11, the PINs are delivered to the
consumers from the registration server 14 using the registration
information obtained in step 1102. The PINs may be delivered via
any suitable medium, such as a computer printout at the point of
sale in one of the stores 2, 4, 8, e-mail, regular mail, an
Internet banner, interactive TV, a personalized Web page, or a
computer generated telephone message, for example. If the PINs are
already known to the consumers (for example, if the PINs correspond
to the consumers' telephone numbers), then the step of delivering
PINs to consumers can be omitted. Each consumer is also provided
with instructions for contacting a source of targeted messages or
targeted message source. As shown in FIG. 1, the targeted message
source is any computer connected to the Internet 20 (e.g.,
advertiser's server 18) and/or the IVR provider 29. However, the
targeted message source may be any appropriate system for storing
and delivering targeted messages. Thus, the instructions for
contacting the targeted message source may include a Web site or a
telephone number, for example, for establishing a connection
between the targeted message source and the consumer. These
instructions may be provided in step 1108 or separately.
[0108] If the targeted messages are IVR messages, a consumer may
use telephone 11 to dial the IVR provider 29, and input his or her
PIN over the telephone via touch tone, dual-tone multi-frequency
(DTMF), voice recognition, or any other suitable method. If the PIN
is the consumer's telephone number, then the IVR provider 29 may
include caller identification hardware to automatically recognize
the PIN as the consumer's telephone number. On the other hand, if
the targeted messages are delivered to the consumer over a computer
network such as the Internet 20, the consumer uses a computer such
as the first computer 10 to access a Web site identified in the
instructions for contacting the targeted message source. Thus, the
instructions may provide the consumer with a URL for the Web site
hosted by the advertiser's server 18. If the PIN is a cookie number
previously assigned to the consumer's computer, then the cookie
number may be automatically sent to the targeted message source as
the PIN so that the consumer does not have to manually enter the
PIN.
[0109] In step 1110, the source of the targeted messages (e.g., IVR
provider 29 or advertiser's server 18) receives a PIN from a
consumer and the targeted message (e.g., an IVR message or a real
time moving video) corresponding to that PIN is initiated. If the
targeted message is an interactive message, such as an IVR message
or an interactive real time moving video, then the targeted message
has several different variations, depending on the input from the
consumer. For example, an interactive targeted message may begin by
sending the following recording to the consumer: "Press 1 if you
prefer Brand X over Brand Y. Press 2 otherwise." After the consumer
inputs a 1 or a 2, the next recorded message that the consumer
hears will depend on whether the source of the targeted messages
receives a 1 or a 2 from the consumer.
[0110] Alternatively, the targeted message may not have any
variations, but may be a message in which the consumer is not given
any branching options.
[0111] The targeted messages may include targeted advertisements,
including promotional offers designed to induce the consumer to
engage in a particular pattern of behavior. Thus, the value
contract, discussed above with reference to FIG. 10 may be offered
in an IVR message or a real time moving video. Also, different
value contracts could be offered by the same interactive targeted
message through different branching options, depending on which
inputs are received from the consumer.
[0112] In step 1112, the consumer receives a reward for providing
his or her PIN to the targeted message source. The reward may be
any of the rewards discussed above for the value contract,
including points that accumulate and can be redeemed for a prize.
For example, a consumer may receive 10 points each time he or she
provides his or her PIN and participates in an IVR message. As
another example, the rewards can be delivered as coupons appearing
on a personalized Web page, Internet banner, e-mail, regular mail,
etc. The targeted messages can also be used to ask asks consumers
how and where they would prefer to receive and/or redeem their
reward, e.g., at home by e-mail, in retail store X at a kiosk, in
retail store Y at a checkout counter. Further, the rewards can be
conditioned on the consumer's behavior; for example, the consumer
is informed that the reward will only be received once the
consumer's shopper card is presented at the checkout counter of
retail store Z.
[0113] To ensure that consumers do not use the same PIN over and
over again to receive a reward, each PIN is preferably only usable
once. Once a PIN expires or is used, the process may return to step
1106 to assign new PINs. Alternately, old PINs can be reset by the
registration server 16 so that the PINs become usable again. It is
also to be noted that step 1112 may be skipped if no reward is
necessary to induce consumers to receive targeted messages, or if
for any other reason it is undesirable to reward the consumers.
This may be the case where the consumers receive information that
is valuable to them in the targeted message in step 1110. Thus, a
targeted message itself can be structured as a reward, for example,
by offering the consumers a value contract or any other information
that may be of value to the consumer, including a promotion or
information of a discount.
[0114] Accordingly, steps 1100 through 1112 may be implemented to
engage in different targeted messages with different
classifications of consumers. Since the classifications are based
on the offline purchase history of the consumers, the targeted
messages can be targeted based on the consumers offline tastes and
preferences. If the targeted messages are interactive messages, the
flexibility of the interactive messages permits each different
message to be tailored based on the inputs received from consumer,
further enhancing the degree to which advertisements and offers can
be targeted.
[0115] This invention may be conveniently implemented using a
conventional general purpose computer or micro-processor programmed
according to the teachings of the present invention, as will be
apparent to those skilled in the computer art. Appropriate software
can readily be prepared by programmers of ordinary skill based on
the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to
those skilled in the software art.
[0116] FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a computer 100 for
implemeriting the method of the present invention. A computer 100
implements the method of the present invention, wherein the
computer housing 102 houses a motherboard 104 which contains a CPU
106, memory 108 (e.g., random access memory (RAM), dynamic ram
(DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), flash RAM,
read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM
(EPROM), and electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM)), and other
optional special purpose logic devices (e.g., application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs)) or configurable logic devices (e.g.,
generic array of logic (GAL) or reprogrammable field programmable
gate array (FPGA)). The computer 100 also includes plural input
devices (e.g., a keyboard 122 and a mouse 124) and a display card
110 for controlling a monitor 120. In addition, the computer system
100 further includes a floppy disk drive 114; other removable media
devices (e.g., a compact disc 119, a tape, and a removable
magneto-optical media (not shown)); and a hard disk 112, or other
fixed, high density media drives, connected using an appropriate
device bus (e.g., a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus, an
enhanced integrated device electronics (IDE) bus, or an ultra
direct memory access (DMA) bus). Also connected to the same device
bus or another device bus, the computer 100 may additionally
include a compact disc reader 118, a compact disc reader/writer
unit (not shown), or a compact disc jukebox (not shown). Although
compact disc 119 is shown in a CD caddy, the compact disc 119 can
be inserted directly into CDROM drives which do not require
caddies. In addition, a printer (not shown) also provides printed
listings of master records, targeted ad profiles, lists of
identifiers (e.g., CIDs and corresponding cookie numbers), and any
other data stored and/or generated by the computer 100.
[0117] As stated above, the system includes at least one computer
readable medium or memory programmed according to the teachings of
the invention and for containing data structures, tables, records,
or other data described herein. Examples of computer readable media
are compact discs 119, hard disks 112, floppy disks, tape,
magneto-optical disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, Flash EPROM), DRAM,
SRAM, SDRAM, etc. Stored on any one or on a combination of computer
readable media, the present invention includes software for
controlling both the hardware of the computer 100 and for enabling
the computer 100 to interact with a human user (e.g., a consumer).
Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers,
operating systems and user applications, such as development tools.
Such computer readable media further includes the computer program
product of the present invention for performing all or a portion
(if processing is distributed) of the processing performed in
implementing the invention. The computer code devices of the
present invention can be any interpreted or executable code
mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpreters,
dynamic link libraries, Java classes, and complete executable
programs. Moreover, parts of the processing of the present
invention may be distributed for better performance, reliability,
and/or cost.
[0118] The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of
application specific integrated circuits or by interconnecting an
appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will be
readily apparent to those skilled in the art.
[0119] Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the
present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For
example, a consumer may provide his or her email address during
registration so that targeted advertisements may be delivered to
the consumer electronically via e-mail. Additionally, the consumer
may register online or offline at any suitable location (such as
one of the stores 2, 4, or 6) by providing his or her email address
and any additional information, if needed, to associate the
consumer's e-mail address with the consumer's master record in the
purchase history database. Further, purchase history information
may be stored in one or more databases other than the purchase
history database 8. It is therefore to be understood that within
the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced
otherwise than as specifically described herein.
* * * * *