Method and apparatus for creating a database of individuals for permission-based marketing and communications purposes
First Claim
1. A method of collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
- issuing a plurality of event access documents, said event access documents providing access to an event, each of said event access documents having a unique value provided thereon;
providing notice to a plurality of attendees attending said event that the unique value provided on one or more of said event access documents may be used to collect a prize and instructing said attendees to visit a specified website to determine prize eligibility;
collecting information from each of said attendees visiting said specified website, said information comprising contact information for the website visiting attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the website visiting attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the website visiting attendee;
storing at least a part of the collected information; and
informing each of the website visiting attendees of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the website visiting attendee entitles that website visiting attendee to collect a prize.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for creating lists of names, addresses, such as e-mail addresses, and other information for individuals who have granted permission for one or more organizations to contact them. A plurality of attendees attend an event using an event access document having a unique value thereon to gain access to the event. Attendees are urged by various means of communication to visit a particular web site, or other similar facility capable of collecting the information desired by a sponsor. In exchange for providing a minimum amount of information regarding the attendee, the site or facility will determine if the attendee has been awarded a prize or other item of value, based on the unique value provided by that attendee.
27 Citations
108 Claims
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1. A method of collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
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issuing a plurality of event access documents, said event access documents providing access to an event, each of said event access documents having a unique value provided thereon;
providing notice to a plurality of attendees attending said event that the unique value provided on one or more of said event access documents may be used to collect a prize and instructing said attendees to visit a specified website to determine prize eligibility;
collecting information from each of said attendees visiting said specified website, said information comprising contact information for the website visiting attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the website visiting attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the website visiting attendee;
storing at least a part of the collected information; and
informing each of the website visiting attendees of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the website visiting attendee entitles that website visiting attendee to collect a prize. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 91, 92)
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17. A method of collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
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providing a website accessible over an electronic network;
collecting information from each of a plurality of event attendees visiting said website, said event attendees having attended an event and having used an event access document having a unique value provided thereon to gain access to said event, said information including contact information for the event attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the event attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee;
storing at least a part of said information for each said event attendee; and
informing each of said event attendees of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee entitles the event attendee to collect a prize. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An apparatus for collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
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one or more servers, said one or more servers hosting a website accessible over an electronic network, said website having one or more registration web pages for collecting information from each of a plurality of event attendees, said event attendees having attended an event and having used an event access document having a unique value provided thereon to gain access to said event, said information including contact information for the event attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the event attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee;
a database provided in said one or more servers, said database storing at least a part of said collected information and an indication for each of said unique values of whether the unique value corresponds to a prize;
said one or more servers informing each of said event attendees of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee corresponds to a prize. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 75, 76)
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48. A method of collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
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collecting information from each of a plurality of event attendees over an electronic network, said event attendees having attended an event and having used an event access document having a unique value provided thereon to gain access to said event, said information including contact information for the event attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the event attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee;
storing at least a part of said information for each said event attendee; and
informing each of said event attendees over said electronic network of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee entitles the event attendee to collect a prize. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. An apparatus for collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
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one or more servers accessible over an electronic network, said one or more servers being adapted to collect information from each of a plurality of event attendees, said event attendees having attended an event and having used an event access document having a unique value provided thereon to gain access to said event, said information including contact information for the event attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the event attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee;
a database provided in said one or more servers, said database storing at least a part of said collected information and an indication for each of said unique values of whether the unique value corresponds to a prize;
said one or more servers informing each of said event attendees over said electronic network of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the event attendee corresponds to a prize. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78)
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79. A method of collecting contact information for a plurality of individuals and permission to contact said individuals, comprising:
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issuing a plurality of event access documents, said event access documents providing access to an event, each of said event access documents having a unique value provided thereon;
providing notice to a plurality of attendees attending said event that the unique value provided on one or more of said event access documents may be used to collect a prize;
providing one or more servers coupled to an electronic network adapted to collect information over said electronic network from one or more information submitting attendees, said information comprising contact information for the information submitting attendee, a grant or denial of permission to contact the information submitting attendee, and the unique value provided on the event access document used by the information submitting attendee;
storing at least a part of the collected information on said one or more servers; and
informing each of the information submitting attendees over said electronic network of whether the unique value provided on the event access document used by the information submitting attendee entitles that information submitting attendee to collect a prize. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
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Specification