Distribution of offer to a social group by sharing based on qualifications

• US 9,454,763 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2010
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Baum, Geoff
• Primary Examiner(s): Levine, Adam
• Application Number:
  US12/862,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20130132220A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,226 Days
• Field of Search: 705 14- 1473, 705 26- 272, 705/319
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A group offer is provided to a first-level recipient that meets a set of criteria. Further, the group offer is activated upon a consumer participant threshold being met, the consumer participant threshold equaling a number of consumers. In addition, a social incentive structure is established that provides a reward to the first-level recipient if the first-level recipient shares the group offer with a second-level recipient that (i) is in a social circle associated with the first-level recipient and (ii) meets a set of qualifications.

Claims

1. A computer program product for increasing a number of participants in groups to which electronic offers are targeted, the computer program product comprising a computer useable storage medium having a computer readable program that when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

generate a group offer by the computer for communication via a computer network to a first-level recipient that meets a set of criteria;

activate the group offer responsive to a determination made by the computer that a consumer participant threshold is met, the consumer participant threshold equaling a number of consumers;

receive a set of qualifications from the offering merchant by the computer that indicates a type of consumer with whom the offering merchant would like the first-level recipient to share the group offer;

generate a qualification communication by the computer for receipt by the first-level recipient to present the set of qualifications to the first-level recipient to enable the first-level recipient to determine whether or not to share the group offer with a second-level recipient;

store the generated qualification communication in a database along with a unique offer code for the second-level recipient;

communicate the generated qualification communication by the computer to the first-level recipient via the computer network;

cause presentation of the generated qualification communication to the first-level recipient effective to reduce an amount of communications provided over the computer network to non-participants of the group offer;

establish, by the computer, a social incentive structure that provides a reward to the first-level recipient after determining that;

the first-level recipient shares the group offer with the second-level recipient;

the second-level recipient receives the group offer from the first-level recipient and is in a social circle associated with the first-level recipient; and

the second-level recipient meets the set of qualifications provided to the first-level recipient;

calculate a score that reflects sharing effectiveness of the first-level recipient including determining whether the second-level recipient acted upon the group offer by performing a look up in the database for the unique offer code for the second-level recipient; and

provide the reward to the first-level recipient in accordance with the social incentive structure and the calculated score.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the social incentive structure also penalizes the first-level recipient for sharing the group offer with a different second-level recipient that is in the social circle associated with the first-level recipient, but does not meet the set of qualifications.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, the penalty including reducing a discount to the first-level recipient below a baseline amount.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the social incentive structure includes an acceptance ratio that equals accepted offers to number of invites.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the social incentive structure includes a quality ratio that equals new customers invited by the first-level recipient that match a merchant'"'"'s customer attributes to total number of new customers invited by the first-level recipient.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer is further caused to, upon the first-level recipient sharing the group offer with the second-level recipient that is in the social circle and meeting the set of qualifications, (i) generate a unique communication for the second-level recipient, and (ii) store the unique communication in the database.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the computer readable program when executed on the computer is further caused to communicate the unique communication for the second-level recipient via the computer network.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the social incentive structure includes a sliding scale discount that increases and decreases based on a social incentive formula defined by the merchant.

9. The computer program product of claim 1, the set of qualifications including a user profile, the user profile including a description of a type of consumer the offering merchant hopes to attract with the group offer.

10. A method implemented by a computer for increasing a number of participants in groups to which electronic offers are targeted, the method comprising:

under control of a processor of the computer configured with executable instructions;

generating a group offer by the computer for communication via a computer network to a first-level recipient that meets a set of criteria;

activating the group offer responsive to a determination made by the computer that a consumer participant threshold is met, the consumer participant threshold equaling a number of consumers;

receiving a set of qualifications from the offering merchant by the computer that indicates a type of consumer with whom the offering merchant would like the first-level recipient to share the group offer;

generating a qualification communication by the computer for receipt by the first level recipient to present the set of qualifications to the first-level recipient to enable the first-level recipient to determine whether or not to share the group offer with a second-level recipient;

storing the generated qualification communication in a database along with a unique offer code for the second-level recipient;

communicating the generated qualification communication by the computer to the first level recipient via the computer network;

causing presentation of the generated qualification communication to the first-level recipient effective to reduce an amount of communications provided over the computer network to non-participants of the group offer;

establishing, by the computer, a social incentive structure that provides a reward to the first-level recipient after determining that;

the first-level recipient shares the group offer with the second-level recipient;

the second-level recipient receives the group offer from the first-level recipient and is in a social circle associated with the first-level recipient; and

the second-level recipient meets the set of qualifications provided to the first-level recipient;

calculating a score that reflects sharing effectiveness of the first-level recipient including determining whether the second-level recipient acted upon the group offer by performing a look up in the database for the unique offer code for the second-level recipient; and

providing the reward to the first-level recipient in accordance with the social incentive structure and the calculated score.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising penalizing the first-level recipient for sharing the group offer with a different second-level recipient that is in the social circle associated with the first-level recipient, but does not meet the set of qualifications.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the social incentive structure includes an acceptance ratio that equals accepted offers to number of invites.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the social incentive structure includes a quality ratio that equals new customers invited by the first-level recipient that match a merchant'"'"'s customer attributes to total number of new customers invited by the first-level recipient.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising, upon the first-level recipient sharing the group offer with the second-level recipient that is in the social circle and meets the set of qualifications, (i) generating a unique communication for the second-level recipient, and (ii) storing the unique communication in the database.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising communicating the unique communication for the second-level recipient via the computer network.

16. A system implemented for increasing a number of participants in groups to which electronic offers are targeted comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor, causes a social group buying module of the system to;

generate a group offer by the social group buying module for communication via a computer network to a first-level recipient that meets a set of criteria;

activate the group offer responsive to a determination made by the social group buying module that a consumer participant threshold is met, the consumer participant threshold equaling a number of consumers;

receive a set of qualifications from the offering merchant by the social group buying module that indicates a type of consumer with whom the offering merchant would like the first-level recipient to share the group offer;

generate a qualification communication by the social group buying module for receipt by the first level recipient to present the set of qualifications to the first-level recipient to enable the first-level recipient to determine whether or not to share the group offer with a second-level recipient;

store the generated qualification communication in a database along with a unique offer code for the second-level recipient;

communicate the generated qualification communication by the social group buying module to the first level recipient via the computer network;

cause presentation of the generated qualification communication to the first-level recipient effective to reduce an amount of communications provided over the computer network to non-participants of the group offer;

establish, by the social group buying module, a social incentive structure that provides a reward to the first-level recipient after determining that;

the second-level recipient receives the group offer from the first-level recipient and is in a social circle associated with the first-level recipient;

the second-level recipient meets the set of qualifications provided to the first-level recipient; and

the first-level recipient shares the group offer with the second-level recipient;

calculate a score that reflects sharing effectiveness of the first-level recipient including determining whether the second-level recipient acted upon the group offer by performing a look up in the database for the unique offer code for the second-level recipient; and

provide the reward to the first-level recipient in accordance with the social incentive structure and the calculated score.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the social incentive structure also penalizes the first-level recipient for sharing the group offer with a different second-level recipient that is in the social circle associated with the first-level recipient, but does not meet the set of qualifications.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the social incentive structure includes an acceptance ratio that equals accepted offers to number of invites.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the social incentive structure includes a quality ratio that equals new customers invited by the first-level recipient that match a merchant'"'"'s customer attributes to total number of new customers invited by the first-level recipient.

20. A computer program product for increasing a number of participants in groups to which electronic offers are targeted, the computer program product comprising a computer useable storage medium having a computer readable program that when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

generate a group offer by the computer for communication via a computer network to a first-level recipient that meets a set of criteria;

activate the group offer responsive to a determination made by the computer that a consumer participant threshold is met, the consumer participant threshold equaling a number of consumers;

receive a set of qualifications from the offering merchant by the computer that indicates a type of consumer with whom the offering merchant would like the first-level recipient to share the group offer;

generate a qualification communication by the computer for receipt by the first level recipient to present the set of qualifications to the first-level recipient to enable the first-level recipient to determine whether or not to share the group offer with a second-level recipient;

store the generated qualification communication in a database;

communicate the generated qualification communication by the computer to the first level recipient via the computer network;

cause presentation of the generated qualification communication to the first-level recipient effective to reduce an amount of communications provided over the computer network to non-participants of the group offer;

establish, by the computer, a social incentive structure that provides a penalty to the first-level recipient after determining that the first-level recipient shares the group offer with the second-level recipient and the second-level recipient does not meet the set of qualifications provided to the first-level recipient;

calculate a score that reflects sharing effectiveness of the first-level recipient including determining whether the second-level recipient met the set of qualifications by performing a look up in the database for attributes of the second-level recipient; and

communicate the penalty to the first-level recipient in accordance with the social incentive structure and the calculated score.