Unlocking coupon offers

• US 8,768,761 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2012
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quotient Technology Inc.
• Original Assignee: Quotient Technology Inc.
• Inventors: Eichstaedt, Matthias, Goel, Deepak, Bopardikar, Sunil Keshav
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss, John G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anderson, Scott C
• Application Number:
  US13/425,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20130030895A1
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.13
• US Class Current: 705/14.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0223 based on inventory
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

In an embodiment, a method comprises receiving an indication that a user selected social network data that is displayed, on a client device, concurrently with offer data that indicates a coupon offer; wherein prior to receiving the indication, the user of the client device is incapable of accessing the coupon offer; in response to receiving the indication that the user selected the social network data, allowing the user to access the coupon offer, and causing a message to be sent to each user of a plurality of users that are identified, in a social network, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the coupon offer or a coupon provider that initiated the coupon offer; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an indication that a user has selected social network data that is associated with a social network provider that maintains a social graph, that, when selected, indicates approval of a coupon offer by the user, and that is displayed, on a client device, concurrently with offer data that indicates the coupon offer and does not include a coupon;

wherein prior to receiving the indication, the user of the client device is incapable of accessing the coupon;

in response to receiving the indication that the user selected the social network data;

providing the coupon to the user;

causing, by one or more computers, a message to be sent to each other user of a plurality of other users that are identified, in the social graph that the social network provider maintains, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the coupon offer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the coupon to the user includes (a) causing a coupon code to be sent to a device of the user, wherein the coupon code is required to redeem the coupon or (b) allowing the user to print the coupon.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing a user node that is associated with the user to be linked, within the social graph, with a coupon node that is associated with the coupon offer.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to providing the coupon to the user:

determining whether a user node that is associated with the user is already linked, within the social graph, with a coupon node that is associated with coupon offer;

wherein allowing the user to access the coupon offer is performed only in response to determining that the user node is not linked, within the social graph, with the coupon node.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to providing the coupon to the user:

identifying inventory data that indicates whether there is sufficient inventory associated with the coupon offer;

wherein the inventory associated with the coupon offer has been reduced by multiple users other than the user;

wherein providing the coupon to the user is performed only in response to determining, based on the inventory data, that there is sufficient inventory associated with the coupon offer.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to providing the coupon to the user:

determining whether the user has been provided the coupon more than a particular number of times;

wherein providing the coupon to the user is performed only in response to determining that the user has not been provided the coupon more than the particular number of times.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to receiving the indication:

receiving, by a coupon distributor, from a first coupon provider that initiated the coupon offer, input that selects a first message template of a plurality of message templates, wherein the first message template dictates what type of information will be in the message or how the message will be formatted;

receiving, from the first coupon provider, first content that is to be included in the message;

storing association data that associates the first content with the first message template and the first coupon provider.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein causing the message to be sent comprises:

identifying, based on the association data, the first content and the first message template;

sending, to the social network provider that maintains the social graph, a link message that includes the first content and that is formatted according to the first message template.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, from a second coupon provider that is different than the first coupon provider, second input that selects a second message template of the plurality of message templates;

receiving, from the second coupon provider, second content that is to be included in a second message;

storing second association data that associates the second content with the second message template and the second coupon provider.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the social graph is a first social graph and the social network provider is a first social network provider, the method further comprising:

receiving a second indication that a second user selected second social network data that is displayed, on a second client device, concurrently with the second offer data that indicates a second coupon offer that does not include a second coupon that corresponds to the second coupon offer;

wherein the second social network data is associated with a second social network provider that is different than the first social network provider and that maintains a second social graph that is different than the first social graph;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user of the second client device is incapable of accessing the second coupon;

in response to receiving the second indication;

providing the second coupon to the second user;

causing a second message to be sent to each user of a second plurality of users that are identified, in the second social graph, as connected to the second user, wherein the second message includes data about the second coupon offer.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the coupon offer is a first coupon offer, a first coupon provider initiated the first coupon offer, the first coupon provider is different than a second coupon provider, the method further comprising:

receiving a second indication that a second user selected second social network data that is displayed, on a second client device, concurrently with second offer data that indicates a second coupon offer that does not include a second coupon that corresponds to the second coupon offer;

wherein the second coupon provider that is different than the first coupon provider initiated the second coupon offer;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user of the second client device is incapable of accessing the second coupon offer;

in response to receiving the second indication that the second user selected the second social network data;

providing the second coupon to the second user;

causing a message to be sent to each user of a plurality of users that are identified, in a second social graph, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the second coupon offer or the second coupon provider.

12. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving an indication that a particular user is willing to be associated, in a social graph that is maintained by a social network provider that stores (a) user data that indicates a set of users that are registered with the social network provider and (b) connection data that indicates connections among the set of users, with an offer provider in exchange for an offer provided by the offer provider that is different than the social network provider;

wherein prior to receiving the indication, the particular user is incapable of accessing a promotion associated with the offer;

in response to receiving the indication, determining whether a previous indication was received that indicated that the particular user was willing to be associated with the offer provider;

in response to determining that the previous indication was not received;

providing the promotion to the particular user;

causing, by one or more computers, a message to be sent to each user of a plurality of users that are identified, in the social graph, as being connected to the particular user, wherein the message indicates that the particular user is associated with the offer provider.

13. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause:

receiving an indication that a user has selected social network data that is associated with a social network provider that maintains a social graph, that, when selected, indicates approval of a coupon offer by the user, and that is displayed, on a client device, concurrently with offer data that indicates the coupon offer and does not include a coupon;

wherein prior to receiving the indication, the user of the client device is incapable of accessing the coupon;

in response to receiving the indication that the user selected the social network data;

providing the coupon to the user;

causing a message to be sent to each other user of a plurality of other users that are identified, in a social graph that the social network provider maintains, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the coupon offer.

14. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein providing the coupon to the user includes (a) causing a coupon code to be sent to a device of the user, wherein the coupon code is required to redeem the coupon or (b) allowing the user to print the coupon.

15. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause causing a user node that is associated with the user to be linked, within the social graph, with a coupon node that is associated with the coupon offer.

16. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause, prior to providing the coupon to the user:

determining whether a user node that is associated with the user is already linked, within the social graph, with a coupon node that is associated with coupon offer;

wherein providing the coupon to the user is performed only in response to determining that the user node is not linked, within the social graph, with the coupon node.

17. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause, prior to providing the coupon to the user:

identifying inventory data that indicates whether there is sufficient inventory associated with the coupon offer;

wherein the inventory associated with the coupon offer has been reduced by multiple users other than the user;

wherein providing the coupon to the user is performed only in response to determining, based on the inventory data, that there is sufficient inventory associated with the coupon offer.

18. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause, prior to providing the coupon to the user:

determining whether the user has been provided the coupon more than a particular number of times;

wherein providing the coupon to the user is performed only in response to determining that the user has not been provided the coupon more than the particular number of times.

19. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause, prior to receiving the indication:

receiving, by a coupon distributor, from a first coupon provider that initiated the coupon offer, input that selects a first message template of a plurality of message templates, wherein the first message template dictates what type of information will be in the message or how the message will be formatted;

receiving, from the first coupon provider, first content that is to be included in the message;

storing association data that associates the first content with the first message template and the first coupon provider.

20. The one or more storage media of claim 19, wherein causing the message to be sent comprises:

identifying, based on the association data, the first content and the first message template;

sending, to the social network provider that maintains the social graph, a link message that includes the first content and that is formatted according to the first message template.

21. The one or more storage media of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

receiving, from a second coupon provider that is different than the first coupon provider, second input that selects a second message template of the plurality of message templates;

receiving, from the second coupon provider, second content that is to be included in a second message;

storing second association data that associates the second content with the second message template and the second coupon provider.

22. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the social graph is a first social graph and the social network provider is a first social network provider, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

receiving a second indication that a second user selected second social network data that is displayed, on a second client device, concurrently with the second offer data that indicates a second coupon offer that does not include a second coupon that corresponds to the second coupon offer;

wherein the second social network data is associated with a second social network provider that is different than the first social network provider and that maintains a second social graph that is different than the first social graph;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user of the second client device is incapable of accessing the second coupon;

in response to receiving the second indication;

providing the second coupon to the second user;

causing a second message to be sent to each user of a second plurality of users that are identified, in the second social graph, as connected to the second user, wherein the second message includes data about the second coupon offer.

23. The one or more storage media of claim 13, wherein the coupon offer is a first coupon offer, a first coupon provider initiated the first coupon offer, the first coupon provider is different than a second coupon provider, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause:

receiving a second indication that a second user selected second social network data that is displayed, on a second client device, concurrently with second offer data that indicates a second coupon offer that does not include a second coupon that corresponds to the second coupon offer;

wherein the second coupon provider that is different than the first coupon provider initiated the second coupon offer;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user of the second client device is incapable of accessing the second coupon offer;

in response to receiving the second indication that the second user selected the second social network data;

providing the second coupon to the second user;

causing a message to be sent to each user of a plurality of users that are identified, in a second social graph, as connected to the user, wherein the message includes data about the second coupon offer or the second coupon provider.

24. One or more storage media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause:

receiving an indication that a particular user is willing to be associated, in a social graph that is maintained by a social network provider that stores (a) user data that indicates a set of users that are registered with the social network provider and (b) connection data that indicates connections among the set of users, with an offer provider in exchange for an offer provided by the offer provider that is different than the social network provider;

wherein prior to receiving the indication, the particular user is incapable of accessing a promotion associated with the offer;

in response to receiving the indication, determining whether a previous indication was received that indicated that the particular user was willing to be associated with the offer provider;

in response to determining that the previous indication was not received;

providing the promotion to the particular user;

causing a message to be sent to each user, of a plurality of users that are identified, in the social graph, as being connected to the particular user, wherein the message indicates that the particular user is associated with the offer provider.