Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Discount or incentive
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-10
2002-04-16
Gravini, Stephen (Department: 2162)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Discount or incentive
Reexamination Certificate
active
06374228
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to advertisement displays, and more particularly, to a rebate advertising system and method in use with moving objects.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In today's modern world of fierce competition and bustling economics, companies and retailers are increasingly pressured to connect with every potential consumer so that profits and sales can be maximized. Fortunately, our current technological state of communications provides advanced methods for advertising as well as transmitting information about various products and services to the public. For example, mass-printed publications, radio, television, billboards, posters, etc. open avenues of contact that were once not imaginable.
Despite the success of the commercial world, there are several inherent limitations to the methods used in modern advertising. Mainly, the advertisement world of today functions within much of the same constraints as in the antiquated past. For example, companies are still mostly limited to the approach of purchasing a commercial ‘spot’ on a television show or in a magazine, etc. Indeed, advertisement has not evolved from this methodology, because there are few other ways to generate a system where consumer ‘ratings’ or ‘subscription size’ can be gauged to as to set a fair advertisement fee.
Yet, there is a myriad of potential ‘consumer space’ for advertisers to grab if only the appropriate technology to overcome the above-mentioned problem existed. Namely, if there were a new method for charging advertisers, perhaps advertisements could obtain a broader exposure to the consumer. Such exposure or ‘consumer space’ could include the actual consumer as well as the entire individual consumer market as opposed to the professional advertising means, as mentioned above.
Furthermore, the present method used to charge for advertisement does not function effectively with moving objects, such as cars. This is because there is no set number of viewers or other criteria to gauge the effectiveness and/or worth of the advertisement. For example, one car could remain parked in a garage for the majority of a given day, while another drives around a heavily populated area. Moreover, there is no way of verifying if the driver does indeed display the advertisement on his or her car.
Thus, what is needed is a method of advertising via a system that enables companies to utilize the myriad of other potential commercial space. Such a system would preferably create advertising techniques that go outside the constraints in existence today.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus a general object of the present invention to provide a rebate advertisement system that enables companies to advertise with moving objects, among other things.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a rebate advertising system, wherein advertisers provide advertisement displays to be affixed on vehicles or other devices, and the vehicle operator or other user receives a rebate or discount when the advertisement display is detected in a participating retail or service establishment.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an advertisement display is affixed to the rear portion of a vehicle. The advertisement display comprises an advertisement portion for displaying advertisements or other images and an identification portion for providing identification to one or more predetermined individuals or entities. Such identification could include the owner of vehicle, for example, as well as the advertiser or any other needed information.
A commercial entity, such as a gas station or any other participating retail or service establishment, is configured with a detector means for detecting and or communicating with the advertisement display and in turn connected to a commercial entity computer via a connection means in order to connect to the database computer system.
Database computer system comprises a database computer, which is connected to a database via a connection means. The database stores information about the vehicle and the advertisement display and instructs the participating commercial entity establishment if and how to provide the rebate.
The advertisement display, according to one embodiment of the invention, is a bumper sticker that is attachably or detachably affixed to the body of a vehicle. In this embodiment, the identification portion could be a bar code or other computer scannable code, so that a device such as the detector means of the commercial entity can electronically or otherwise detect one or more identification codes from the advertisement display. Illustratively, a vehicle can drive into a gas station, for example, wherein a scanner at the gas pump or other location identifies the presence of a particular bumper sticker advertisement. Then, in response to a particular identification code and subsequent communication with database computer system, a predetermined response, such as a cash discount toward the purchase of gas at the gas station is provided. Such a rebate could be provided automatically at the pump or via a printed coupon or other methodology that provides a similar corresponding benefit in response to the advertisement.
In this manner, for example, a vehicle could register for and obtain an advertisement display, for the display of advertisement on the vehicle's bumper, and be compensated via a commercial entity discount or other benefit, in exchange for affixing the bumper sticker on the vehicle.
The above description sets forth rather broadly the more important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be understood, and in order that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for the purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.
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Cars in Chicago Soon Will Be Equipped With Two Horns—And That's No Bull; PRNewswire dated Apr. 7, 1993.*
Wagner's “Meats” The Challenge; Convenience Store News dated Mar. 27, 1995.*
Sonata Press Release dated Jul. 13, 2000 www.sonata.com.
Gravini Stephen
Sofer & Haroun LLP
LandOfFree
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