Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Discount or incentive
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-24
2001-01-09
Trammell, James P. (Department: 2764)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Discount or incentive
C705S016000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173267
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for promoting or advertising a product, brand, service or company and, specifically, to a method for fulfillment of a promotional contest.
2. Description of the Related Art
Products offered for sale are often promoted by contests or sweepstakes. The possibility of winning a prize in the contest brings the product or company to the attention of potential customers and may prompt them to purchase the product. Contests thereby increase sales of the product or other products of the company and related products of other manufacturers as customers are driven to participate in the contest. The contest may be conducted so as to require the participants to submit personal information to the company or to the contest promoter. This personal information is useful to the company or promoter in determining the demographics of the customer base.
A company or promoter conducting a contest to promote a product must provide so-called fulfillment for the contest. Fulfillment refers to receiving the contest entries, checking the entries to determine which of the entries are winners, and recording the personal information about the participants and statistical information on the contest itself. These tasks becomes quite burdensome, particularly if the fulfillment tasks are performed by the company since additional personnel are required to assume these duties. Separate companies are often hired for contest fulfillment. This represents a considerable expense to the company hoping to promote its product. These costs reduce the benefits of running the contest, namely increased profits from higher sales.
Fulfillment is also required for rebates offered upon the purchase of a product. The purchaser of the product may, for example, be required to send a copy of the sales receipt, a portion of the product package, and personal information to the company to receive a rebate payment to effectively reduce the purchase price of the product. The burden on a seller of a popular product to fulfill these rebate requests is great, often resulting in delays that frustrate and anger the purchasers of the product, which counteracts the benefits of the goodwill generated by the rebate offer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for fulfillment of contests which reduces costs to the contest promoter and speeds up access to information gathered from the contest participants.
Another object of the invention is to provide secure self fulfillment of sweepstakes promotions.
Yet another object is to provide immediate responses to the contest participants on their winning status.
A further object of the invention is to provide a direct link between an internet based promotion, specifically a world wide web (WWW) based promotion, and a seller of the promoted product or service.
Another object of the invention is to provide useful information on the product with a goal of building brand loyalty.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention are provided by a method for sweepstakes fulfillment which provides an in-store delivery mechanism tied directly to the product and which directs purchasers or others to an internet site, such as a world wide web sweepstakes site. The in-store delivery mechanism is, for example, a card or other article available in a store, and in one embodiment is a card in a product package. Purchasers of the product retrieve the card from the product package and are directed to contact the world wide web sweepstakes site to learn if they are winners of the sweepstakes. While in contact with the world wide web site, the purchasers are asked to input information. The requested information includes a code or password or other unique information which is printed on or otherwise on the in-store delivery mechanism, as well as personal information of the purchaser. A promoter of the sweepstakes, specifically a server computer of the promoter, receives this information and determines whether the purchaser is among one or more winners of the sweepstakes from the code or other unique information. The purchaser is notified while connected to the world wide web site of his or her winning status. The purchaser may also obtain coupons or discounts, receive rebates, or play games such as a game promoting the product while visiting the web site. The winning status of the purchaser is confirmed by instructing the limited number of winning purchasers to forward their original cards to the promoter for verification.
Meanwhile, the server computer of the promoter has collected the personal information of the purchaser and accumulates this personal information into a database with personal information of other purchasers. The promoter of the sweepstakes or contest thereby obtains demographic data on the purchasers of the product without the expense of additional personnel or of hiring an outside service to perform this task. The sweepstakes entries are checked for winning status without the use of additional personnel to review each entry, providing a further cost savings. For the purchaser, the benefit is immediately knowing whether the entry is a winning entry or not.
The principles of the present method are applicable to a wide variety of contests and promotions. For example, present method may be used for many types of contests, including those offering product or service discounts or free merchandise. The present method may be used at trade shows to attract attention to a display or booth. The purchaser may instead be a potential purchaser of the product or service, whom it is hoped will make a purchase of the product or service. The card need only provide the purchaser information toward an electronic fulfillment site and a code, and my be a label, playing piece, coupon, booklet or other product insert or package component. The card may be printed in or carried in a product catalog or advertisement. The card may be provided in a magazine or newspaper as well. The card may instead be available in a point of sale display or for pickup in a store or other retail location or even available electronically, such as over the internet.
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Quarles & Brady
Trammell James P.
Young John Leonard
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