UNLOCKING COUPON OFFERS

• US 20140222536A1
• Filed: 04/09/2014
• Published: 08/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quotient Technology Inc.
• Original Assignee: Quotient Technology Inc.
• Inventors: Eichstaedt, Matthias, Bopardikar, Sunil Keshav, Goel, Deepak
• Granted Patent: US 9,141,998 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.24
• 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 of selection of social network data by a user of a client device, wherein the social network data is associated with a social network provider that maintains a social graph, and wherein the social network data, upon selection, indicates approval of a coupon offer by the user, and wherein the social network data is displayed on the 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 does not have permission to access the coupon; and

in response to receiving the indication;

providing the coupon to the user;

causing, by one or more computers, a message to be sent to a subset of a set of other users identified, in the social graph that the social network provider maintains, as connected to the user,

wherein the message includes data associated with the coupon offer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the coupon to the user includes sending a coupon code to a device associated with the user, wherein the coupon code is required to redeem the coupon.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the coupon to the user includes enabling the user to print the coupon.

4. 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.

5. 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 providing the coupon to the user comprises providing the coupon to the user in response to determining that the user node is not linked, within the social graph, with the coupon node.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. The method of claim 8, 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.

10. The method of claim 8, 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.

11. 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 of selection of second social network data by a second user of a second client device, wherein the second social network data is associated with a second social network provider different from the first social network provider and that maintains a second social graph different from the first social graph, and

wherein the second social network data, upon selection, indicates approval of a second coupon offer by the second user, and wherein the second social network data is displayed on the second client device, concurrently with second offer data that indicates the second coupon offer and does not include a second coupon;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user does not have permission to access the second coupon; and

in response to receiving the second indication;

providing the second coupon to the second user, and

causing, by one or more computers, a second message to be sent to a subset of a second set of other users identified, in the second social graph that the second social network provider maintains, as connected to the second user,

wherein the second message includes data associated with the second coupon offer.

12. 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 of selection of second social network data by a second user of a second client device, wherein the second social network data is displayed on the second client device, concurrently with second offer data that indicates a second coupon offer that does not include a second coupon corresponding to the second coupon offer,

wherein the second coupon offer in initiated by the second coupon provider;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user does not have permission to access the second coupon; and

in response to receiving the second indication;

providing the second coupon to the second user, and

causing a second message to be sent to a subset of a second set of other users identified, in a second social graph as connected to the second user, wherein the message includes data about at least one of the second coupon offer and the second coupon provider.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of a respective server system, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

receiving an indication of selection of social network data by a user of a client device, wherein the social network data is associated with a social network provider that maintains a social graph, and wherein the social network data, upon selection, indicates approval of a coupon offer by the user, and wherein the social network data is displayed on the 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 does not have permission to access the coupon; and

in response to receiving the indication;

providing the coupon to the user;

causing, by one or more computers, a message to be sent to a subset of a set of other users identified, in the social graph that the social network provider maintains, as connected to the user,

wherein the message includes data associated with the coupon offer.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for:

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.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for:

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

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for:

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

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for:

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

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for, 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.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 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 one or more programs further comprising instructions for:

receiving a second indication of selection of second social network data by a second user of a second client device, wherein the second social network data is associated with a second social network provider different from the first social network provider and that maintains a second social graph different from the first social graph, and

wherein the second social network data, upon selection, indicates approval of a second coupon offer by the second user, and wherein the second social network data is displayed on the second client device, concurrently with second offer data that indicates the second coupon offer and does not include a second coupon;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user does not have permission to access the second coupon; and

in response to receiving the second indication;

providing the second coupon to the second user, and

causing, by one or more computers, a second message to be sent to a subset of a second set of other users identified, in the second social graph that the second social network provider maintains, as connected to the second user,

wherein the second message includes data associated with the second coupon offer.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 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, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for:

receiving a second indication of selection of second social network data by a second user of a second client device, wherein the second social network data is displayed on the second client device, concurrently with second offer data that indicates a second coupon offer that does not include a second coupon corresponding to the second coupon offer,

wherein the second coupon offer in initiated by the second coupon provider;

wherein prior to receiving the second indication, the second user does not have permission to access the second coupon; and

in response to receiving the second indication;

providing the second coupon to the second user, and

causing a second message to be sent to a subset of a second set of other users identified, in a second social graph as connected to the second user, wherein the message includes data about at least one of the second coupon offer or the second coupon provider.