SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OFFERING AND FULFILLING SITUATION-BASED, LOCATION SPECIFIC REWARDS AND OFFERS TO MOBILE-ORIENTED CONSUMERS

• US 20090313109A1
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine In Motion LLC
• Inventors: BLUTINGER, Elan Joel, BOUS, Joseph, ISAACSON, Thomas M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,870,022 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.310
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0231 Awarding of a frequent usage incentive independent of the monetary value of a good or service purchased, or distance travelled
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0234 Rebates after completed purchase
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A system, method and computer-readable medium are disclosed for advertising and completing a transaction using a credit card or a debit card. The method includes receiving situation information at a device, based on the situation information, transmitting an advertisement to the device, associating an advertisement with an identification card such as a debit card, credit card, student ID card, biometric data, or club card, and receiving an indication of a purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the card. The disclosure enables a user to receive an advertisement on a device such as a mobile device and then make a purchase decision based on that advertisement in a normal fashion or transparent to the user and sales clerk, without the use of coupons, special codes or any other additional and annoying requirements for making the purchase. The user only needs to use an appropriate identification card. The merchant for the clerk at a point of sale handles the transaction in a standard fashion. The user can then receive a confirmation of a discount for the transaction on the consumer mobile device and later receive a rebate on an identification card statement.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of advertising and completing a transaction, the method comprising:

receiving via a processor situation information;

based on the situation information, transmitting via a processor an advertisement to a device, the advertisement being associated prior to transmission with an identification card and being transmitted independent of any user solicitation for a communication; and

receiving an indication of a purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the identification card, the purchase at a point of sale being at full price and a rebate being made to the user on an identification card statement.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the rebate on the identification card statement after receiving an indication of the purchase associated with the advertisement.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the situation information includes location information.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the situation information includes a status of at least one device associated with a user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the identification card is performed transparent to whether a rebate is provided at the point of sale.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting an advertisement to the device further comprises communicating with a database of merchant offers to select the transmitted advertisement.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the situation information further includes environmental information.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a notification to the device after receiving the indication of the purchase of a confirmation of a discount associated with the purchase.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the card is one of a credit card or debit card.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the identification card is associated with a web-based purchase.

11. A system of advertising and completing a transaction, the system comprising:

a processor;

a module configured to control the processor to receive situation information;

a module configured to control the processor, based on the situation information, to transmit an advertisement to a device, the advertisement being associated prior to transmission with an identification card and being transmitted independent of any user solicitation for a communication; and

a module configured to control the processor to receive an indication of a purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the identification card, the purchase at a point of sale being at full price and a rebate being made to the user on an identification card statement.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a module configured to control the processor to present the rebate on the identification card statement after receiving an indication of the purchase associated with the advertisement.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the situation information includes location information.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the situation information includes a status of at least one device associated with a user.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the identification card is performed transparent to whether a rebate is provided at the point of sale.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the module configured to control the transmission the advertisement to the device further comprises communicating with a database of merchant offers to select the transmitted advertisement.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the situation information further includes environmental information.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the card is one of a credit card or debit card.

18. The system of claim, further comprising a module configured to control the transmitting of a notification to the device after receiving the indication of the purchase of a confirmation of a discount associated with the purchase.

20. A computer-implemented method of providing an advertisement to a device and managing a user purchased based on the advertisement, the method comprising:

receiving via a processor situational information associated with a user, the situational information being independent of manual user input to a device;

based on the situational information, transmitting via a processor an advertisement to the device from a broker computer system, the broker computer system processing the advertisement and a discount based on the advertisement, the advertisement being associated with a purchasing card of the user prior to transmitting the advertisement and being transmitted independent of any user solicitation for a communication; and

receiving an indication at the broker computer system of a user purchase associated with the advertisement and completed using the purchasing card, wherein the discount associated with the user purchase is processed by the broker computer system, the purchase at a point of sale being at full price and a rebate being made to the user on a later transmitted purchasing card statement.