Interactive consumer product promotion method and match game
US 5791991 A
บทคัดย่อ
An interactive consumer product promotion method and match game includes a database which is accessed for an information screen displayed on an interactive electronic terminal, such as a personal computer, interactive television, in-store kiosk, etc. The displayed information screen typically includes a listing of popular consumer product categories, such as "Detergents"; "Cereals"; "Motor Oil"; "Cookies"; "Crackers"; etc. along with a matrix of spaces representing a match game such as Bingo or Keno. In each space in the displayed matrix a symbol is displayed. The game is played by comparing selected consumer product categories with preselected spaces on the matrix to detect matches and corresponding prizes. Coupons and/or rebate offers for products with the selected categories are downloaded for printing by the consumer. A personalized rebate form can be printed which allows the consumer to collectively submit multiple register receipts and/or UPC codes for selected products, via mail or electronic scanning, in order to secure a single combined electronic or mailed rebate payment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to an interactive product promotion method and a match game associated therewith. More particularly, the product promotion method includes accessing a database from a remote interactive electronic display via the Internet or other electronic link. A screen display of a list of product categories along with a representation of the match game is accessed and displayed on the interactive display. Selected categories are used to generate printed product promotion information at the site of the interactive display as well as being used in the match game to determine instant winners.
II. Description of The Related Art
In marketing of consumer products, particularly in the United States, it has long been common for manufacturers to offer discount coupons, either by direct mail or by inserts in newspapers and magazines. Such coupons can be used while purchasing the product to receive a direct price reduction from the retail merchant. A disadvantage of this approach is the requirement for the consumer to clip and maintain a coupon file, accounting for expiration dates, differences among vendors, etc. and to be able to access the correct coupon at the point of sale. It takes a somewhat dedicated shopper to take full advantage of this type of discount coupon, thus limiting the effective advertising audience for the manufacturers. In addition, the merchant has the inconvenience and cost associated with collecting the coupons and forwarding them to the manufacturers to, in turn, recoup the discounts.
Another common marketing approach has been to attach refund offers directly to the product, or to display them alongside the product on a retail shelf, which refunds can be mailed in to the manufacturer, along with a proof of purchase, to get a refund or rebate on the product. Some retail merchants provide a central bulletin board where all of the rebate forms are placed, requiring interested consumers to look through all of the forms to locate the one or ones in which they are interested. In addition to this time consuming search for relevant refund offers, there are several additional disadvantages of this rebate approach. Members of "discount or rebate clubs" will often take an entire booklet of refund forms from a display for trade or sale within the club, thus totally disrupting the manufacturer's promotional scheme. The forms must be printed and distributed by the manufacturers to participating retailers, which represents a significant ongoing cost. Often manufacturers can supply only the largest retailers with refund forms, which diminishes the effectiveness of promotions by virtually eliminating small merchants from the marketing effort. Consumers often do not know of the existence of the refund until he or she actually examines the product or the display in the store. Furthermore, since rebates are typically for nominal amounts, such as $.50 to $2.00, for example, the postage costs to mail in these forms for a rebate are often prohibitive if the consumer is asked to bear them or, if the manufacturer uses prepaid postage, the postage will dramatically increase the promotional costs. The requirement to hand print many envelopes, one for each offer and to send in a separate proof of purchase, typically a store receipt, with each offer causes additional inconvenience. Lastly, the physical distribution of coupons or rebate offers by free standing inserts, newspapers, magazines and direct mail offers uses substantial valuable resources, e.g. paper, ink, electricity, petroleum products and other chemicals. Furthermore, estimates are that fewer than 5 percent of unsolicited coupons and rebate offers are ever redeemed.
Yet another marketing strategy, more popular in the 1950's and 1960's, was the trade stamp approach, in which certain participating retail merchants gave trading stamps to customers at the point of sale. The customers then placed the stamps into books and used the books of stamps to redeem prizes selected from catalogs at stamp redemption centers. This type of promotion is more retail merchant oriented than product oriented, since stamps were typically awarded for all purchases made from the participating merchant. Thus, manufacturers did not usually use trading stamps for specific product promotion. Furthermore, the logistics of maintaining stamp booklets and the requirement to physically exchange the filled booklets at a redemption center were unduly burdensome to the ultimate consumer.
Meanwhile, match games of chance, such as Bingo and Keno are becoming more and more popular world wide, and particularly in the United States. Bingo parlors are proliferating, both as charity fund raisers and as legal for-profit ventures. Also, currently at least 30 state and provincial lotteries have adopted a bingo card format for their instant prize winner lottery cards. These cards are typically "Scratcher Bingo" games in which a caller's card and as many as four separate bingo squares are displayed. The player scratches off the play spaces which match numbers on the caller's card, attempting a traditional bingo match of vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines or four corners. The game cards can take a full 10 to 15 minutes to complete and are popular due to the hands-on participation required. Typically a player has a chance to win multiple prizes from a single card via the multiple bingo squares. Keno, although less well known, is proliferating as well with the expansion of legal gambling facilities.
It is apparent that, with recent proliferation in personal computers, the availability of on-line services and the Internet, and the increasing popularity of match games, such as Bingo and Keno, a more desirable and convenient method of promoting the sale of consumer products should be developed. Such a promotion method should limit, or even eliminate, the requirement for paper coupons and should allow manufacturers an opportunity to promote specific products without altering product containers or attaching special coupons to the products or store shelves. The method should also allow consumers to personally select product categories and products within the selected categories for refund or discount information in advance of their shopping trip, and, to be effective, the method should generate consumer interest and excitement by the use of a match game format for the selected product categories. Finally, the method should save valuable natural resources by specifically targeting rebate and coupon offers only to those consumers who actively solicit such offers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an interactive consumer product promotion method and match game in which a database is accessed for an information screen which is displayed on an interactive electronic terminal, such as a personal computer, interactive television, in-store kiosk, etc. The displayed information screen typically includes a listing of popular consumer product categories, such as "Detergents"; "Cereals"; "Motor Oil"; "Cookies"; "Crackers"; etc. An instruction set informs the consumer to select a predetermined number of categories for which he or she desires information on available refunds or discounts. Simultaneously displayed on the screen is a matrix of spaces representing a match game such as Bingo or Keno. In the case of Bingo, a Bingo card matrix is displayed and in each space in the displayed matrix a covering symbol is displayed, or, alternatively, a mosaic picture or message can be displayed by combining multiple spaces. A computer associated with the database randomly generates a map of product categories which are associated with respective individual spaces but which are "hidden" by the covering symbols or mosaic. After all of the product categories are selected by the consumer, the database checks each selected category to determine if it is one of the ones randomly mapped to the matrix of spaces. If the selected category is one of those mapped to the matrix of spaces, that particular space is revealed as a match by displaying, for example, the product category number in the space. In the case of Keno, the screen display includes a representation resembling a conventional Keno number field. Selected product category numbers are then used as Keno numbers against a randomly generated sampling of the Keno number field.
In either game format, the participating consumer is directed to choose a certain number of categories, eight out of 100, for example, and each selection is compared against the Bingo matrix or the Keno field for matches. In the case of a Bingo game, if the selected categories match to make a complete line horizontally, vertically or diagonally, an "X