Distributing coupon content and transactional advertisements

• US 9,721,255 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2011
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quotient Technology Inc.
• Original Assignee: Quotient Technology Inc.
• Inventors: Muthu, Manickababu, Nayak, Gayathri Uday, Reihaneh, Nahrin, Gudelj, Tino, Boal, Steven R., Keswani, Ravi Kant
• Primary Examiner(s): SORKOWITZ, DANIEL M
• Application Number:
  US13/043,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20110153410A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,338 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1439
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A system, method, and computer-readable storage medium having processor-executable instructions recorded thereon is provided for distributing transactional advertisements from a distribution site over a network to online publishers. Transactional data items are rendered by the online publishers, with control elements provided from the distribution site, to control use of the transactional data items on the user terminal.

Claims

1. A system for distributing a transactional advertisement to a user terminal over a network, the system comprising:

one or more storage media storing a plurality of transactional advertisements, wherein each transactional advertisement of the plurality of transactional advertisements comprises coupon content that is redeemable for value when printed in hard-copy form;

a publisher interface module operable to generate a script to embed in a web page that is to include transactional advertisements, wherein said publisher interface module is operable to generate the script in response to a request specifying an identifier of the web page from a publisher of the web page;

wherein the publisher interface module comprises a validation component that is operable to dispatch a web crawler to retrieve scanned data from the web page, and the validation component is operable to use the scanned data to validate that the web page is appropriate for display of one or more of the plurality of transactional advertisements;

a distribution module operatively coupled to the user terminal over the network;

said distribution module operable to deliver a transactional advertisement data item corresponding to a selected transactional advertisement of the plurality of transactional advertisements to the user terminal over the network in a manner that causes the coupon content of the selected transactional advertisement to be displayed to a user at the user terminal as part of the web page, wherein the coupon content displayed to the user as part of the web page is redeemable for value when printed as displayed in hard-copy form;

said distribution model operable to select the selected transactional advertisement based on one or more of;

keywords from the web page, determination of popular transactional advertisements as measured by one or more metrics, historical information regarding past downloads of the web page by the user or user terminal, and identification of demographics information about the web page;

said distribution module operable to deliver a print control component to the user terminal over the network for restricting a manner in which the coupon content displayed as part of the web page may be printed at the user terminal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said distribution module is operable to deliver the print control component to the user terminal in response to receiving a request from the user terminal over the network caused by a request by the user to print the coupon content displayed as part of the web page.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a particular number of instances of the coupon content.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a default printer connected to the user terminal.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a particular class of printers.

6. A method for distributing a transactional advertisement to a user terminal over a network, the method comprising:

storing a plurality of transactional advertisements on one or more storage media, wherein each transactional advertisement of the plurality of transactional advertisements comprises coupon content that is redeemable for value when printed in hard-copy form;

generating a script to embed in a web page that is to include transactional advertisements in response to a request specifying an identifier of the web page from a publisher of the web page;

dispatching a web crawler to retrieve scanned data from the web page, and using the scanned data to validate that the web page is appropriate for display of one or more of the plurality of transactional advertisements;

delivering a transactional advertisement data item corresponding to a selected transactional advertisement of the plurality of transactional advertisements to a user terminal over a network in a manner that causes the coupon content of the selected transactional advertisement to be displayed to a user at the user terminal as part of the web page, wherein the coupon content displayed to the user as part of the web page is redeemable for value when printed as displayed in hard-copy form;

selecting the selected transactional advertisement based on one or more of;

keywords from the web page, determination of popular transactional advertisements as measured by one or more metrics, historical information regarding past downloads of the web page by the user or user terminal, and identification of demographics information about the web page; and

delivering a print control component to the user terminal over the network for restricting a manner in which the coupon content displayed as part of the web page may be printed at the user terminal;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising delivering the print control component to the user terminal in response to receiving a request from the user terminal over the network caused by a request by the user to print the coupon content displayed as part of the web page.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a particular number of instances of the coupon content.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a default printer connected to the user terminal.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a particular class of printers.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions for distributing a transactional advertisement to a user terminal over a network, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause:

storing a plurality of transactional advertisements on one or more storage media, wherein each transactional advertisement of the plurality of transactional advertisements comprises coupon content that is redeemable for value when printed in hard-copy form;

generating a script to embed in a web page that is to include transactional advertisements in response to a request specifying an identifier of the web page from a publisher of the web page;

dispatching a web crawler to retrieve scanned data from the web page, and using the scanned data to validate that the web page is appropriate for display of one or more of the plurality of transactional advertisements;

delivering a transactional advertisement data item corresponding to a selected transactional advertisement of the plurality of transactional advertisements to a user terminal over a network in a manner that causes the coupon content of the selected transactional advertisement to be displayed to a user at the user terminal as part of the web page, wherein the coupon content displayed to the user as part of the web page is redeemable for value when printed as displayed in hard-copy form;

selecting the selected transactional advertisement based on one or more of;

keywords from the web page, determination of popular transactional advertisements as measured by one or more metrics, historical information regarding past downloads of the web page by the user or user terminal, and identification of demographics information about the web page; and

delivering a print control component to the user terminal over the network for restricting a manner in which the coupon content displayed as part of the web page may be printed at the user terminal.

12. The medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions which when executed cause delivering the print control component to the user terminal in response to receiving a request from the user terminal over the network caused by a request by the user to print the coupon content displayed as part of the web page.

13. The medium of claim 11, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a particular number of instances of the coupon content.

14. The medium of claim 11, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a default printer connected to the user terminal.

15. The medium of claim 11, wherein the print control component delivered to the user terminal restricts printing of the coupon content displayed as part of the web page to a particular class of printers.