System and method for offering and fulfilling situation-based, location specific rewards and offers to mobile-oriented consumers

• US 7,870,022 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine In Motion LLC
• Inventors: Isaacson, Thomas M., BLUTINGER, Elan Joel, BOUS, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss, John G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamilton, Matthew L
• Application Number:
  US12/251,202
• Publication Number:
  US 20090313109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/14.34
• US Class Current: 705/14.34
• 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 transmitting an advertisement to a user computing device and completing a transaction associated with the advertisement, the method comprising:

receiving via a processor situation information;

based on the situation information, transmitting via a processor an advertisement to the user computing device, wherein the advertisement is (1) associated with an identification card, (2) transmitted independent of any user solicitation for a communication and independent of a request for a product or a service, and (3) configured such that no user interaction with the user computing device is necessary to redeem a coupon associated with the advertisement; and

receiving an indication at a point of sale device of a purchase associated with the advertisement transmitted to the user computing device and completed using the identification card on the point of sale device, wherein the user computing device differs from the point of sale device and wherein the purchase at a point of sale is at full price and a rebate associated with the coupon is 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 computing 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 device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transmitting an advertisement to the user computing 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 user computing 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 identification is one of a credit card or debit card.

10. A system for transmitting an advertisement to a user computing device and completing a transaction associated with the advertisement, the system comprising:

a processor;

a first module that controls the processor to receive situation information;

a second module that controls the processor, based on the situation information, to transmit an advertisement to the user computing device, wherein the advertisement is (1) associated with an identification card, (2) transmitted independent of any user solicitation for a communication and independent of a request for a product or a service, and (3) configured such that no user interaction with the user computing device is necessary to redeem a coupon associated with the advertisement; and

a third module that controls the processor to receive an indication at a point of sale device of a purchase associated with the advertisement transmitted to the user computing device and completed using the identification card on the point of sale device, wherein the user computing device differs from the point of sale device and wherein the purchase is at full price and a rebate associated with the coupon is made to the user on an identification card statement.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a fourth module that controls the processor to present the rebate on the identification card statement after receiving an indication of the purchase associated with the advertisement.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the situation information includes location information.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the situation information includes a status of at least one computing device associated with a user.

14. The system of claim 10, 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 device.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the second module further communicates with a database of merchant offers to select the transmitted advertisement.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the situation information further includes environmental information.

17. The system of claim 10, further comprising a fourth module that controls the processor to a notification to the user computing device after receiving the indication of the purchase of a confirmation of a discount associated with the purchase.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the card identification is one of a credit card or debit card.

19. A computer-implemented method of providing an advertisement to a user computing 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 the user computing device;

based on the situational information, transmitting via a processor an advertisement with a discount from a full-price to the user computing device from a computer system, wherein the advertisement is (1) associated with a purchasing card of the user, (2) transmitted independent of any user solicitation for a communication and independent of a request for a product or a service, and (3) configured such that no user interaction with the user computing device is necessary to redeem the discount;

receiving an indication of a user purchase completed with the purchasing card at a point of sale device that is different from the user computing device, the purchase associated with the advertisement transmitted to the user computing device, wherein the discount associated with the user purchase is processed by the computer system, and the purchase at the point of sale is at full price; and

transmitting a purchasing card statement including a rebate associated with the discount being made to the user for the purchase.