System and method for creating customized catalogues

• US 7,249,067 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2003
• Issued: 07/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: VPI Color LLC
• Original Assignee: VPI Color LLC
• Inventors: Bursten, Sidney L., Doerksen, Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dunham; Jason B.
• Application Number:
  US10/625,999
• Publication Number:
  US 20040133542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,461 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 707/10
• US Class Current: 705/27.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A system and method for creating customized publications. Publication content is selected based on rules that associate particular content with customer profiles of individual recipients. In an exemplary embodiment, the customized publication is a product catalogue, the particular content is product information, and the recipients are customers. A rules engine associates the customer profile with a set of products comprising an offering. The rules engine determines which customers are to receive a custom customized catalogue, the size of the customized catalogue a customer is to receive, and the content of the customized catalogue for each recipient.

Claims

1. A method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient comprising:

acquiring targeted recipient data, wherein the targeted recipient data comprises historical transaction data specific to the targeted recipient, and wherein the historical transaction data relates to transactions between the targeted recipient and the catalogue retailer;

creating a targeted recipient profile from the targeted recipient data;

applying an offering rule to the targeted recipient profile to select a set of selected offerings from offerings stored in an offerings database;

applying a ranking rule to the set of selected offerings to create an ordered set of selected offerings, wherein the ordered set of selected offerings comprises a first selected offering and a second selected offering;

acquiring a first product asset associated with the first selected offering;

applying a page allocation rule to allocate a first space within a page of the customized catalogue for the first set of product assets associated with the first selected offering, wherein the page comprises a page space and wherein the page allocation rule does not utilize a page template;

acquiring a second product asset associated with the second selected offering;

determining a remaining space on the page, wherein the remaining space comprises the page space less than the first allocated space;

applying the page allocation rule to allocate a second space within the remaining space of the page of the customized catalogue for the second product asset associated with the second selected offering;

generating a customized catalogue specification file for the targeted recipient, wherein the customized catalogue specification comprises the first product asset, the second product asset, the first allocated space and the second allocated space; and

printing the customized catalogue using the customized catalogue specification file.

2. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1, wherein the historical transaction data are selected from the group consisting of purchase history, returned-goods history, payment problems history, and customer correspondence.

3. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1, wherein the first and second product assets comprise attributes selected from the group consisting of text, graphics, and photographs.

4. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

applying a first layout rule to the first product asset to acquire a first layout attribute consistent with the first allocated space for the first selected offering; and

applying a second layout rule to the second product asset to acquire a second layout attribute consistent with the second allocated space for the second selected offering.

5. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 4, wherein the first and second layout attributes are selected from the group consisting of text fond, text size, graphic dimensions, photograph dimension, and photograph resolution.

6. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 4, wherein the customized catalogue comprises a product section, and wherein applying the allocation rule to allocate the first and second space of a page of the product section comprises:

establishing in the product section a number of offerings per page; and

allocating the first and second space of the page of the product section in accordance with the number of offerings per page.

7. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a page count of the pages of the customized catalogue;

determining if the page count comprises a whole signature;

if the page count comprises the whole signature, then generating the customized catalogue specification; and

if the page count does not comprise the whole signature, then applying a signature rule to force the page count to comprise the whole signature and then generating the customized catalogue specification.

8. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 7, wherein the signature rule comprises deleting pages.

9. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 7, wherein the signature rule comprises adding pages.

10. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 9, wherein adding pages comprises adding filler pages.

11. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises applying a boost factor to an offering stored in the offerings database prior to applying the ranking rule.

12. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1, wherein the targeted recipient data further comprises customer demographic information selected from the group consisting of customer name, customer address, customer preference, and household makeup.

13. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 1 further comprising:

assigning the targeted recipient to a targeted recipient group using the targeted recipient profile of the targeted recipient and a member profile of each member of the targeted recipient group;

imputing attributes of the targeted recipient group to the targeted recipient profile of the targeted recipient to create a revised targeted recipient profile for the targeted recipient, wherein the revised targeted recipient profile becomes the targeted recipient profile.

14. A method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient comprising:

acquiring targeted recipient data, wherein the targeted recipient data comprises historical transaction data specific to the targeted recipient, and wherein the historical transaction data relates to transactions between the taraeted recipient and the catalogue retailer;

Creating a targeted recipient profile from the targeted recipient data;

establishing a catalogue rule;

applying the catalogue rule to the targeted recipient profile to make a determination whether to product the customized catalogue for the targeted recipient;

applying the catalogue rule to the targeted recipient profile to make a determination of the number of pages in the targeted recipient'"'"'s customized catalogue;

applying an offering rule to the targeted recipient profile to select a set of offerings from offerings stored in an offerings database;

applying a ranking rule to the set of selected offerings to create an ordered set of selected offerings, wherein the ordered set of selected offerings comprises a first selected offering and a second selected offering;

acquiring a first product asset associated with the first selected offering;

applying a page allocation rule to allocate a first space within a page of the customized catalogue for the first set of product assets associated with the first selected offering, wherein the page comprises a page space and wherein the page allocation rule does not utilize a page template;

acquiring a second product asset associated with the second selected offering;

determining a remaining space on the page, wherein the remaining space comprises the page space less than the first allocated space;

applying the page allocation rule to allocate a second space within the remaining space of the page of the customized catalogue for the second product asset associated with the second selected offering;

generating a customized catalogue specification file for the targeted recipient, wherein the customized catalogue specification comprises the first product asset, the second product asset, the first allocated space and the second allocated space; and

printing the customized catalogue using the customized catalogue specification file.

15. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14, wherein the historical transaction data are selected from the group consisting of purchase history, returned-goods history, payment problems history, and customer correspondence.

16. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14, wherein the first and second product assets comprise attributes selected from the group consisting of text, graphics, and photographs.

17. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

applying a first layout rule to the first product asset to acquire a first layout attribute consistent with the first allocated space for the first selected offering; and

applying a second layout rule to the second product asset to acquire a second layout attribute consistent with the second allocated space for the second selected offering.

18. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 17, wherein the first and second layout attributes are selected from the group consisting of text fond, text size, graphic dimensions, photograph dimension, and photograph resolution.

19. The method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

before generating the customized catalogue specification file for the targeted recipient, determining a page count of the pages of the customized catalogue;

determining if the page count comprises a whole signature;

if the page count comprises the whole signature, then generating the customized catalogue specification; and

if the page count does not comprise the whole signature, then applying a signature rule to force the page count to comprise the whole signature and then generating the customized catalogue specification.

20. The method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 19, wherein the signature rule comprises deleting pages.

21. The method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 19, wherein the signature rule comprises adding pages.

22. The method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 21, wherein adding pages comprises adding filler pages.

23. The method for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises applying a boost factor to an offering stored in the offerings database prior to applying the ranking rule.

24. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14, wherein the targeted recipient data further comprises customer demographic information selected from the group consisting of customer name, customer address, customer preference, and household makeup.

25. The method for producing a customized catalogue for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient of claim 14 further comprising:

assigning the targeted recipient to a targeted recipient group using the targeted recipient profile of the targeted recipient and a member profile of each member of the targeted recipient group;

imputing attributes of the targeted recipient group to the targeted recipient profile of the targeted recipient to create a revised targeted recipient profile for the targeted recipient, wherein the revised targeted recipient profile becomes the targeted recipient profile.

26. A customized catalogue publication system for producing a customized catalogue comprising pages for a catalogue retailer for delivery to a targeted recipient comprising:

a targeted recipient record, wherein the targeted recipient record comprises historical transaction data relating to a targeted recipient, and wherein the historical transaction data relates to transactions between the targeted recipient and the catalogue retailer;

an offerings database, wherein the offerings database comprises offerings and wherein an offering is associated with a product assest;

a profiler, wherein the profiler is adapted to create a targeted recipient profile from the targeted recipient data; and

a rules engine adapted for;

applying an offering rule to the targeted recipient profile to select a set of selected offerings from the offerings stored in an offerings database;

applying a ranking rule to the set of selected offerings to create an ordered set of selected offerings, wherein the ordered set of selected offerings comprises a first selected offering and a second selected offering;

acquiring a first product asset associated with the first selected offering;

applying a page allocation rule to allocate a first space within a page of the customized catalogue for the first set of product asset associated with the first selected offering, wherein the page comprises a page space and wherein the page allocation rule does not utilize a page template;

acquiring a second product asset associated with the second selected offering;

determining a remaining space on the page, wherein remaining space comprises the page space less than the first allocated space;

applying the page allocation rule to allocate a second space within the remaining space of the page of the customized catalogue for the second product asset associated with the second selected offering; and

generating a customized catalogue specification file for the targeted recipient, wherein the customized catalogue specification comprises the first product asset, the second product asset, the first allocated space and the second allocated space; and

a printing system adapted to receive the customized catalogue specification file and print the customized catalogue according to the customized catalogue specification file.

27. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the historical transaction data are selected from the group consisting of purchase history, returned-goods history, payment problems history, and customer correspondence.

28. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the printing system further comprises:

a printer; and

a file translation system adapted to convert the specification file to a format compatible with the printer.

29. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 28, wherein the printer is a web-fed printer.

30. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 28, wherein the printer is a sheet-fed printer.

31. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 28, wherein the printer is selected from the group consisting of a toner based printer, liquid ink based printer, and an ink-jet based printer.

32. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the first and second product assets comprise attributes are selected from the group consisting of text, graphics, and photographs.

33. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the rules engine is further adapted for:

applying a first layout rule to the first product asset to acquire a first layout attribute consistent with the first allocated space for the first selected offering; and

applying a second layout rule to the second product asset to acquire a second layout attribute consistent with the second allocated space for the second selected offering.

34. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 33, wherein the first and second layout attributes are selected from the group consisting of text font, text size, graphic dimensions, photograph dimension, and photograph resolution.

35. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the customized catalogue comprises a product section, wherein the product section comprises a page, and wherein the rules engine is further adapted for:

establishing in the product section a number of offerings per page; and

allocating the first and second space of the page in the product section in accordance with a number of offerings per page.

36. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 35, wherein the rules engine is further adapted for:

determining a page count of the pages of the customized catalogue;

determining if the page count comprises a whole signature;

if the page count comprises the whole signature, then generating the customized catalogue specification; and

if the page count does not comprise the whole signature, then applying a signature rule to force the page count to comprise the whole signature and then generating the customized catalogue specification.

37. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 35, wherein the signature rule comprises deleting pages.

38. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 35, wherein the signature rule comprises adding pages.

39. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 35, wherein the system further comprises filler pages and wherein the signature rule comprises adding filler pages.

40. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the rules engine is further adapted for applying a boost factor to an offering stored in the offerings database prior to applying the ranking rule.

41. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the profiler is further adapted for:

applying a catalogue rule to the targeted recipient profile to make a determination whether to produce a customized catalogue for the targeted recipient; and

applying the catalogue rule to the targeted recipient profile to make a determination of the number of pages in the targeted recipient'"'"'s customized catalogue.

42. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the targeted recipient data further comprises customer demographic information selected from the group consisting of customer name, customer address, customer preference, and household makeup.

43. The customized catalogue publication system of claim 26, wherein the profiler is further adapted for:

assigning the targeted recipient to a targeted recipient group using the targeted recipient profile of the targeted recipient and a member profile of each member of the targeted recipient group;

imputing attributes of the targeted recipient group to the targeted recipient profile of the targeted recipient to create a revised targeted recipient profile for the targeted recipient, wherein the revised targeted recipient profile becomes the targeted recipient profile.