CA2098329A1 - Focused coupon system - Google Patents

Abstract

FOCUSED COUPON SYSTEM
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A merchandising system for generating and redeeming product discount coupons prints coupons for a selected consumer from a group of consumers by selecting particular coupons from a group of coupons to provide to the selected consumer and printing the coupons. Both the consumer and coupon identifications are encoded on the coupon in machine-readable form whereby the machine-readable code may be read at a point-of-sale terminal using a code reading apparatus. The portion of the read code corresponding to the consumer identification is replaced with a generic code to provide a substitute code. The substitute code is applied to a look-up table in order to determine coupon parameters related to the coupon identification. The entire machine-readable code may also be captured and uploaded to a central database for determining the coupon identification and consumer identification in order to update the database of consumers and coupons. In this manner, coupons redeemed by a consumer may be used in selecting future coupons for that consumer.
The system may provide for coupon redemption by providing sufficient information to a manufacturer in order to generate a rebate to the retailer.

Description

209832~

FOCUS~D couEQ~ Q~E~
BACKGROU~D OP THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to merchandisiny systems and more particularly to systems ~or generating an~
redeeming product discount coupons.
Discount coupons have long been distributed by manu~acturers to merchandise their produats and by retail stores to attract consumers to their particular stores.
Both coupon types are typically distributed on a large scale basis as free-skanding inserts in newspapers and other forms of mass distrlbution. Such coupon~ ars effective only if used by a suffiaiently high percentage of consumers. Using this gage, free-standlng inserts are not very effeative.
Their redemption rate is presently approximately 2.8 percent and going down. Accordingly, alternatives are sought to such mass marketing t2chniques. Coupon~ are collected at store~ and ¢redit is provided to the customer purchasing the corresponding produat. The coupons are bundled and ~;
forwarded to a clearing house and then to a redemption ~0 center for sorting and counting. Reports are then ~orwarded to the manufacturers i98Uing the coupons in order to generate a credit to the stores redeeming the aoupons.
Another problem with aoupons is a signiflaant misredemption rate of between 20 and 30 percent as a rasult o~
misidentification and outriyht ~raud. The misredemption problem is exacerbated by the enormous amount of time, usually a number o~ months, that it takes to reimburse the retail stores ~or the disaount given the consumer.
A new form of merahandising has evolved and has come to be known as micromarketing. Micro marketing is the tailoring o~ a message to a particular consumer based upon uni~ue characteristics o~ that consumer. In order to e~fect such micromarketing, it is necessary to ldenkify particular characteristics, ~uch as the shopping habit~, of particular consumers. One technique for identifying such characteristias i8 to match particular consumer~ with their purchases. Large retailers install systems based upon electronic customer-cards, provided to cu~tomers whv pass a credit screen, in order to allow that consumer to cash checks or to debit purchas~s against their bank accounts.
The electronic customer-card is passed through a special code reading device at the point-of-sale terminal in order to capture a personal identification number (PIN). The point-of-sale terminal also includes a laser scanner which identifies standard uniform product code (UPC) bar aodes, applied to all produats, in order to enter purchases into ths in-store system. Purchases are matched to the au~tomer through the PIN number. Because the file of the customer identi~led with tho PIN code contalns information regarding the inaome, demographic data, and the like, for that customerr an impressive data base may be established relating consumer characteri6tics to purchasing habits.
The problem with ~uah austomer-aard based ~ystems are many. The ~ystem is intrusive of the aonsumers' privaay expectations and tends to collact more data than is neaessary to target merchandising to that customer.
Furthermore, the large mass of data in the system makes it difficult for an individual product manufaaturer to identify the aonsuming habits of its customers and, even if such information may be obtained, there is no effiaient mechanism for converting this information into enhanced product sales.
Furthermore, such systems tend to discriminate against low 3~ income individuals, and minority groups, because the electronic customer-cards are given only to credit-worthy 2~32~

customers. Furthermore, the electronic cu~tomer-card must be scanned by a ~eparate readex at the point-of-sale terminal, which requires special e~uipment and a separate step on behalf of the cashier.
Coupons are currently being encoded with bar codes, ~uch as UPC codes, which are provlded for the purpose of identifying the manufacturer and brand of the product being discounted, the ~amily o~ goods to which the product belongs and the value o~ the discount. A UPC standard coupon code has been established for this purpose.
Addltionally, a UPC standard has been established for "in-store" use by individual retailer~. Such "in-store"
codes have diglt~ available that could be used by the retailer to identi~y a set o~ coupon parameters, similar to the ~tandard coupon code. Coupons encoded with the UPC bar code may be scanned by the same scanner at the point-of~ale terminal which scans the UPC bar code of individual products being purchased. In this manner, the point-0~-6ale terminal may veri~y that a product matching the coupon has been purcha~d and properly credit the coupon value again~t the tot~l amount o~ the purchase.
Sy~tems have been proposed that aombine a aon~umer identi~iaation aode, or PIN, with a manufaaturers' coupon in order to determine that a particular consumer has purahased a particular produat ~or marketing research purpose. One ~uah ~ystem is desaribed in United States Patent 4,908,761 entltled SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING HEAVY PURCHASERS WHO
REGULAR~Y USE MANUEACTURERS PURCHASE INCENTIVES AND
PREDICTING CONSUMER PROMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR RESPONSE PATTERNS.
Both the aonsumer I.D., or PIN, number and the coupon parameters may be applied on the aoupon ~n some fashion.
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While such ~ystems achieve the purpose of matchingparticular consumers with particular purcha~e~, they have failed to pro~ide a means for effectively applying this information to the merchandising of products. Furthermore, such systems have not gained acceptance because thay require separate scanning of the consumer I.D. code and the coupon I.D. code, which is a procedure which must be carried on separately from the redemption of the coupon. Conventional point-of-sale laser scanners will read only one UPC bar code field. If a coupon is encoded with more than one field, the scanner wlll read only the ~irst field encountered and ignore the re~t. This has made point-of-sale ~canning of coupons, bearing a customer I.D. code, impractical. An additional problem with scanning coupons bearing a consumer lS I.D. aode is a result o~ tha need ~or a Product Look-up (PLU) record of each unigue aode to be identified in khe point-0~-3ale system. Because a coupon bearing a particular customer I.D. number i8 a different (PLU) from the pracise same coupon bearing a di~ferent customer I.D. number, the system would re~uire a prohibiti~ely large number o~ records in order to accommodate both consumer I.~. number~ and aoupon parameter numbers in a point-o~-~ale terminal redemption ~cheme.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is intended to provide a coupon system which function~ as both a mechanism for gathering in~ormation regarding khe characteristics of particular austomers as well as means for utilizing such characteristia~ in order to merchandi~e to that consumer.

Thi~ may be accomplished in a manner which not only influences the decision of the customer to purchase a 2~98~2~

particular brand but entices customer~ lnto shopping at a particular retaller. A fosu~ed coupon system ~ ~ provided which is non~iscriminatory as to consumer income or minority status and which invltes participatlon by any and all consumers, with consumers being removed ~rom the sy~tem only upon prolonged non-use. Thie is accomplished, according to the invention, in a system which provides total coupon redemption as an int~gral step ~n cu~tomary purchase checkout, with a single pass o~ a coupon bar code over aonventlonal point-of-~ale scanning equipment.
According to a first. aspect of the invention, one or more aoupons are generated by selecting a consumer ~rom a group o~ con~umer~, seleating particular coupons ~rom a group of coupon~ to provide to the seleated aonsumer and printing the coupons. The coupons thus generated will be variable as to at least the identlty o~ the aon~umer and a aoupon identi~ication, both o~ whiah are enaoded on the coupon in machine readable form. The aoupon identifiaation will ~pecify at lea~t the discount value of the coupon and may additionally include a transaction to whiah the di~aount value i9 to apply. Other parameters suah as an ~xpiration date o~ the aoupon may be inaluded. In a pre~erred ~orm, the aonsumer identi~ication and coupon parametera Will be combined in a single code whiah may be read by a single pass over aonventional scanning equipment.
~ method according to another aspeat of the invention in~ludos identi~ying a partiaular ¢onsumer, printing a paaket of coupons ~or the identi~ied consumer, transmitting the packet to the consumer, identifying which aoupons in the packet the consumer uses and printing another packet o~
aoupons ~or that consumer, with at least one aoupon selected .

as a function o~ the coupon~ the consumer used. Other consumption related information perta1niny to the consumer may be combined with the history o~ coupon use in order to select coupons to transmit to the consumer. This additional information may be obtained by a telephone interview with the consumer or by the consumer completing a ~urv~y of ~uestions. The method is cyclically performed nondiscriminately for all consumers who wish to participate -in the program. In a preferred form, the method is organized around a particular retail store or chain of stores and coupon values are selected for a consumer as a function of whether or not the consumer is a presenk customer of the partlcular retailer.
According to yet another aspect of the lnventlon, coupons are printed bearing a machine readable code including a coupon identi~iaation number and a user number.
The machine readable code is read at a point-of-~ale kerminal u~ln~ a code reading apparatus. The portion of the read code corresponding to the user number i9 replaced with a generic code to provide a substitute code. The substitute aode is applied to a look-up table in order to determine , coupon parameters related to the coupon identi~iaation number. ~hi~ eliminates the neoe~sity ~or providing a r~aord at the point-of sale o~ each aombination of ooupon and user, which would be a prohibitively large number of records. The entlre machine readable code may al~o be aaptured and uploaded to a aentral data base for determination of both the coupon parametexs and the identification of the user in order to update the data base.
The captured data may be used to redeem the coupons in order to cause the manufacturers to generate a rebate to the 209~32~

retailer. Advantageou~ly, th~ coupon xedemption Punctloncan be per~ormed on coupons nok bearing a user number~
which makes the sy~tem more useful.
These and other objects, advantages and ~aature~
of this invention will become apparent upon review o~ the following speci~ica'cion in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESC~IPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a block diagram o~ a focused coupon system according to the lnvention:
lo Fig. 2 i~ a coupon sheet generated by the system in ~ig l;
Fig. 3 illustrates component parts of a coupon packet generated by the ~ystem in ~ig lt Fig. 4 i~ a bloak diagram of a haxdware system use~ul with the present invontion;
Fig. 5 i8 a block diagram or an in-store portion o~ the hardware system in ~ig 5, illustrating the portion of the hardware system in each retail store:
Fig, 6 is a flow diagram o~ a process acaording to zo the invention;
Fig~. 7a and 7b are data ~low diagrams according to the invention:
Figs. 8a and 8b illustrate a ~low ahart of the cycliaal coupon ~eatlon and mailing routine: and Figs. sa and 9b illu~trate a flow chart of the aoupon redemption routine.
DE~CRIPT~ON O~ THF PREFE~RRED EMBODIMENT
SYSTEM Q~BYI~
Referring now speoifically to the drawings, and the illu~trative embodlments depicted therein, a focused coupon system 15 is initially driven by member data 17 which -7- :

, ~ , ,, ,, ,, " , ~ . . . . .

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i8 voluntarily provided by partlcipants in the coupon proyram (Fig. 1). Consumers becoma program partiaipants, or `~
members, by accepting an invitation, or requesting particlpation, and voluntarlly pxoviding a relatively small amount of non-intrusive informatlon such as their address and the reta11 store at whioh they presently shop. The consumer may al80 be provided with an optional survey, inquiring into the size and makeup of the hou~ehold as well as tha shopping preferences of the member. Focused coupon system 15 selects a plurality of coupons ~or each member based upon that members data and mails (18) a coupon packet.
The system may distribute coupons, whose value have been provided by varlous manufacturer~, in order to promote the products o~ that manu~acturer. Such disaounts are typically provided by the manufaaturer in terms o~ a total discount wh~ah may be distributed among a number of aoupons or a glven discount per coupon. ~he system may also distribute "in-store" aoupon~, providing di~count~ again~t total purchases ~rom the store or a particular department.
2~ Focused coupon sy6tem 15 a6signs coupons to members in a unique manner as will be set ~orth in more detail helow.
Beaause the aoupons are seleated accordtng to partiaular consumption needs o~ the member, average redemption rate~
will be higher than a mas~ marketing program.
Eaah coupon bear~ indicia identi~ying the particular coupon. A untque coupon I.D. number is as60ciated with a given combination o~ discount value and other coupon parameters. For example, if the coupon applies to the purcha~e of a particular manu~acturers product, that information will also be associated with the unique coupon I.D. number. Each coupon is encoded with a machine readable :

.. .. . . .... . . .

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code which ldenti~ies the coupon I.D. and an I . D. number of . .
the household o~ the consumer, or coupon club member, for whom the coupon~ are selected. When the member redeems the coupon at 19, the machine rea~able code is read at a point-of-sals terminal and is applied to a Product Look-up table (PL~ in order to ascertain the coupon I.D. and, hence, the produat and discount value associated with that coupon in order to give the consumer the di~count. The coupon I.D. and household I.D. are captured and fed back at lsA ~o the cyclic coupon selec~ion and mailing function (18) in order to prepare a new selection of coupons for mailing to the member. This feedback results in the following cycle of coupon assignment to each member being more ~ocused a~ a result of knowledge of the coupon~ previously redeemed by the member.
In contrast to prior coupon systems which traak coupon redemptions only for the purpose of the market research and for deleting inactive members from their program, focused coupon system 15 utilizes coupon redemption his~ory ~or the purpose of providing the member with coupons that are more likaly to a~ect the purchasing decisions o~
the member. In partiaular, focused coupon system 15 i~
lntended to induae each member to shop at the retailer participating in system 15 and to increase the total purchases from that retailer. This may be accomplished, ~or example, by a~signing higher coupon values to non-customers o~ the participating retailer than to regular established customers, in order to further induce the consumer to the retailer 18 store. Focused coupon system 15 may also be utilized, for example, to determine particular departments, such as khe delicatessen, which are not being utilized by a particular aonsumer and to pxovide coupon~ ~or purchases o~
items in the delicatessen. Other examples will readily suggest them~elves to those skilled in ~he a~t. In the lllustrated embodiment, cyclic coupon selection and mailing function 1~ will be repeated Prom between 81 X and thirteen times a year.
Advantageously, focused coupon and redemption system 15 may provide records of aoupon redemptions for presentation to the manufacturers in order to obtain credits 10 for the participating retailer, as illustrated at l9b. This redemption function reimburses the r~tailer more rapidly for th~ discount given to ths con~umer and greatly reduces the amount of errors and fraud opportunities in the redemption cycle. Coupon redemption (19) is not limited to coupons generated by focused coupon system 15. Because coupon system 15, in the illustrated embodiment, utilizes a uni~orm product code (UPC) bar code, of the type which is scanned by conventional laser ~canners at point-of-sale terminals, coupon system 15 is capable of redeeming substantially any aoupon bearing a UPC bar code. Even though any ooupon bearing a machine readable code and identified at the point~o~-sales terminal at the store, may be redeemed at l9b, coupon ~ystem 15 will not be aapturing a household I.D.
which would be ab~ent Prom such non-system coupons.
COUPONS
A packek of coupons 43 is generated for each aonsumer in the data base (Figs. 2 and 3). Each consumer is provided with a set of coupons that are sel~cted for that consumer as a function of the data in a consumer master data base and a coupon data base. Each consumer is provided with the same number of coupons, selected as a Punction of the 2~832~

number which can conveniently fit onto a given number of sheets 44', the number o~ sheets being a ~unction o~ postage rates and the like. One of the sheets 44 has one ~ewer coupons in order to allow a space ~or entering the name and address of the particular consumer or household 46. (Figs.
2 and 3~.
In the illustrated embodlment, coupon sheets 44 and 44' are mailed in a full sized windowed envelope 47 with the consumer or household indicated 46 appearing through an envelope window 49. In the illustrated embodiment, a newsletter, such as a multicolor of~set printed letter 45, is included with each set of coupon sheets 44 and 44'. The purposa of the newsletter i8 in order to provide ~urther in~ormation about the products discounted by the coupons, which may be included in the paaket mailed to the particular consumer, as w~ll as to provide in~ormation to the aonsumer that will further cause the consumer to value particlpating in the coupon program. Such information may include recipes, nutritional information, and other suggestions that are not directly o~ a commercial nature. In the lllustrated embodiment, newsletter 45 will be the same ~or each consumer and, as such, may be printed uslng conventional multi~olor o~set printlng techniques.
A data ~ile establi~hing a set o~ coupons is generated for a particular customer one at a time as follows. Particular coupons may be designated "mandatory"
And will be assigned to each customer until exhausted.
A~ter a customer is assigned mandatory coupons, additional coupons designated "optional" may be assigned to a consumer 3Q depending upon the attributes o~ the consumer, including answers provided by the consumer to a questionnaire. Any ., - , . . .
..

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coupon slots remaining unfilled a~ter the "optional" coupons have been selected ~or a given consumer will be ~llled ~rom a group o~ "de~ault" coupons. Whether a parkicular coupon is "mandatory", "optional" or "de~ault" is included in a data base of aoupon param~ter~.
Coupon sheets 44 and 44' are composed of a plurality of individual ooupon~ 4R. Each coupon includes indicia 50 ldentifying the product to which the partiaular coupon applies and an indicia 52 indicating the expiration date o~ the coupon (if any). Eaah coupon 48 further bears an indicia 54 identifying a particular value o~ the coupon.
Value may be stated in terms of cents (or dollars) discount to the pur¢hase price. However, the value could inalude a "free" product as illustrated at 54', two-~or-the-priae o~-one, or other such value. Coupon 48 additionally include~ a maahine readable aode 56 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is a UPC bar aode. As will be set forth in more detail below, machine readable code 56 i~
encoded to allow access to the identity of the produat or purchase criterion, the expiration date o~ the aoupon and the disaount amount. In addition, maahine readable aode 56 is enaoded to allow acaess to the identlty o~ the aonsumer, or household, identi~ied ~6, in a manner that will be set ~orth in more detail below. Because aoupon system 15, in the illustrated embodiment, is speaifia to a particular retailer, aoupon 48 will typiaally bear an indiaia 58 ldenti~ying the partlaular retailer partiaipating in the aoupon program. Coupon 48 may additionally bear a logo (not shown), such as a trademark, identifying the product identified in indicia 50. It is not necessary that coupon 48 pertain only to a particular product. Alternatively, it 2~32~

could apply to a purcha~e ~rom ~he participating retailer above a set amount, ae lndicated at 50' or apply to purchaseq at a particular department, such as the dellcatsssen department, of the retailer (not shown).
Coupon sheets 44 are printed using conventional laser page printers. Each of indicias 50, 5~ and 54, a~
well as machine readable code 56 are variable from coupon-to-aoupon. Although, in the illustrated ambodiment, retailer indicia 58 is also laser ~et printed, it is possible to print indicia 58 using conventional offset printing techniques because indicia 58 doe~ not vary from coupon-to-aoupon. Sheet 44 will be preprinted, on the reverse from the side operated on by the laser page printer, with standard coupon restriction~ and with an "800"
telephone number ~or nonmembers to call to become a member o~ khe coupon program.
, ,.
Coupon system hardware 21 is ~tructured about a main aomputer 38 (Fig. 4). A terminal 59 provides access to main computer 38 for maintenance of programs, initiation of report~ and the like. A laser printer 60 1~ driven by main aomputer 38 primarily ~or the purpo~e o~ printing coupon sheet~ ~4. In the lllustrated embodiment, la~er page printer 60 prints the entire coupon including the produat 2S indicia 50, expiration date indioia 52, value indicia 54 and machine readable code 56. Retailer index 58 may also be printed by printer 60. A telemarketing computer 61, which i5 operated from a terminal 62, operates and maintains a member data base 25. See Fig. 7a. Computer 61 and terminal 62 are located at telemarketing center 27 and are connected via modem 62a, 62b and telephone link 63a with main computer ~ 2 ~

38. An administrator's personal computer 65 operates and supports the retailer and coupon data base 37 and is located at administrative center 35. As such, persona~ computer 65 is connected vla modems 66a, 66b and telephone link 63c with main computer 38.
Coupon system hardware 21 includes one or more in-store systems 69, each intarconnected with main computer 38 via modems 64a, 64b and telephone link 63b. As its name implies, in-store system 69 resides at a retail store lQ participating in coupon system 15. If a chain of stores is a participant, then each individual store will typically have an in-store system. However, as would be apparenk to the skilled artisan, in~store systems 69 ~or a chain may be merged in a central computer (not shown) ~or that chain which central computer is, then, conneated with main computer 38 via modem 64a, 64b. }n-store system 69 includes a point-oP-sale master terminal 70 and a plurality o~
satellite terminals 72a, 72b . . . 72n, each associated with a checkout counter in the sto~ ~Fig. 5). Point-of sale master terminal 70 supports a data base 174 aorrelating Product Look-up ~PLU) aodes and coupon I.D. aodes and a data base 176 for temporary store o~ captured data files. See Fig. 7b. The purpose of PLU aode data base 174 is to aorrelate a aode read at a terminal 72a-72n to determine whether there is a ~atch with a particular coupon I.D. which has been downloaded from a master data base 31. The purpose o~ aaptured data file data base 176 is to provide a temporary store ~or data which is captured at a terminal 72a-72b from each coupon 48 scanned at the associated checkout counter. Each terminal 72a-72n includes an ` 2~9832~

operator display 78~ a customer dlsplay 80, a printer 82, cash drawer 84 and a laser scanner 86.
In-store system 69 may additiona}ly include an in-stor0 proce~sor 88. In-store processor 88 may provide a PLU code data base 90 r which is updated from ma~ter data base 31, and a captured data ~i~e data base 92 which is updated from data ba~e 176 residing in the point-o~-sale master terminal 70~ In order to update (93) the PLU code file ln data base 90, master data base 31 downloads (62) 10 . coupon I.D. numbers and corxesponding coupon parameters to the in-store processor 88. PLU code data base 90, in turn, downloads (96) PLU aode data in order to update (170) PLU
code data in data base 174. PLU code data base 174 uploads (100) approved coupon redemption transactions in order to update ~102) the transactlon flle in PLU aode data base 90.
Point-o~-sale ma6ter terminal 70 proae~ses approved transaation~ in order to credit against the total purahase by the consumer and to indicate the transaction at the displays 78, 80 and printer 82. The transaction data is 2a uploaded to in store processor 88 for in-store statistical analysis, management and the like. ~he transactions, per ~e, are not uploaded to master data base 31.
Captured data ~iles in data base 176 arc uploaded (78) to data base 92 and, in turn, uploaded ~80) via modem 64a and 64b in order to update (82) master data base 31.
In-store system 69 may, optionally, include a retailer host computer 89 ~or the management o~ the data processing functions of the ~tore and other functions not related to ~ocu~ed coupon systom 15.
3a Main computer 38, in the illu~trated embodiment, is marketed by Unisys Corporation of Bluebell, Pennsylvania under Model A6MSU. Terminal 59 is marketed by Unisys under Model T27. Laser page printer 60 i8 marketed by Xerox, Inc.
under Model 8700MOD5. Modems 62a, 62b, 64a, 64b, 66a and 66b are marketed by UDS under Model V.32. Telemarketing 5 computer 61 is marketed bv Internat~onal Buslness Machines under Model P~S-6000 and terminal 62 is al~o marketed by International Busine~s Machine under Model ~SCII. Main aomputer 38 runs release 3.~.1 of the model MCP operating system provided by Unisys Corporation. Addikional Unisys so~tware includes a COMS message control system, and DMSII
data base management system. Data maintenance so~tware is generatPd with ~ourth-generation language products Datapulse and Genpulse llaen~ed ~rom ESI, Inc., Tallashee, Florida.
Coupon packets are assembled using automated in~ertion equipment (not s~own) such as Mail Master marketed by Phillipsburg~ a division of ~ell & Howell.
In-store proaessor 88, in the illustrated embodiment, is a type 386 computer marketed by numerous manu~acturers. In-store processor 88 runs a store-management software licensed from Ba6s, Inc. under Model RBX which i8 run on XENIX 386 operating system.
Point-o~-sale master terminal 70, and associated terminals 72a--72n are integrated sy~tem~ marketed by National Ca~h Register Company under Model 2126 or ~127. Point-o~-sale master termina} 70 is commercially supplied complete with operating ~oftware. The commercially available unit include~ user selectable features ~or the data capture function described above in more detail below.
PROCESS OVERVIEW
3a Focused coupon system 15 includes a coupon generation and redemption process 20 that is performed on 32~

system hardware 21. Coupon generation and redemption process 20 lncludes generating ~22~ a data base 25 of coupon program members ~Fig~. 6, 7a and 7b). Generating ~tep 22 may lnclude providing ~26) consumer~ with questionnaires, which some subset of consumers will return at 28. The ~uestionnaires may be provided at the retail establishment participating in coupon system 15. Additionally, the ~uestionnaire may be mailed to consumers who request participation in the coupon program. Additionally, the process may include procuring (30) a mailing list which is canvased (32) in order to determine whether the listed consumers wish to become coupon pxogram members. During telephone interviews 33A, 33B, additional inPormation regarding the aonsumers demographi¢s may be ascertalned in order to update ~24) khe member data base, as will be set forth in more detail below. Resulting member data base 25 will include, Por each member, the retail establishment where the member typiaally shops and other retail stores at which the member alternatively shops. For each member, data base 25 may additionally inalude demographic data suoh as the census ACORN in which ths consumers household i5 loaated. The file in data base 25 ~or eaah mamber may additionally inalude consumption related in~ormation gleaned ~rom answers ko partiaular question~ suah as IlDo you own a dog?", IlIs there a male adult living in your household?" and the like. Data base 25 may be compiled and maintained at a remote telemarketing center 27 and uploaded (34) to a central proaessing aenter 29 having a master data base 31 in order to update (36) the data base. Master data base 31, in the illustrated embodiment, resides in main frame computer 38.

.... . .. ..

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A program administration center 35 i~ provided in order to maintain a data base 37 of records regardlng coupon~ which are available for di~tribution to consumer~
and records regarding the retailer participatlng in coupon system 15. ~ program administrator mainta1ns (39a~ data regarding the retailer, mainta~ns (3sb) coupon data and relationship~ and schedules (39c) coupons for each cyclical mailing o~ coupons. The coupon data includes parameters o~
the particular product for which a manufacturer has agreed .10 to provide a promotional program, starting and expiration dates o~ the program (ig any), a limit to tha number o~
coupons which may be distributed (if any), a limit on the total amount of discounts which may be distributed (if any).
The coupon parameter data base 37 also lnclude~ relationship parameter~ relating appropriate coupons and particular consumption needs o~ coupon program members. These relation~hips are ne¢essary in order to ~acilitate the assignment o~ particular coupons to particular customers as will be desaribed in more detail below. Coupon and retailer data base 37 is periodically uploaded (40) in order to update (41) master data base 31 with coupon and retailer data.
Periodically, a coupon selection and mailing cycle i~ initiated at 42~ Coupon packets 43 are ~ent to con~umers at 60. Concurrently, the aoupon I.D. number and corresponding parameters of each partiaular coupon utilized in proce~ 20 is downloaded ~62) to the participating retailer via modem 64A, 64B and intervening telephone lines 66. The coupon I.D. number and related parameters are provided to the store management computer 68 in order to update the data in the Product Look-up (PLU) code data base ~0~832~

so residing in the ~iles o~ in-store processor 88. The PLU
code data base i8, in turn, downloaded [96) ~rom in-store processor to point-o~-sale master terminal 70 in order to update PLU code data base 174 residing therein.
The consumer receiving coupon packet 43 may choose to use (74) or,e or more coupons 4~ in the packet. For reasons that will be set ~orth in more detail below, the coupons 48 are individually selected for each consumer in order to improve the redemption rate ~or the particular coupons. Furthermore, the newsletter 45 inserted in packet 43 will provide in~ormation directed towards stimulating the consumers interest in the products from which the coupons 48 will be selected, which should also tend to improve the redemption rate o~ the coupons. When the consumer purchases items and pre~ents a ¢oupon at 74, the products and aoupons 48 are scanned ~75) at point-of-sale terminal 72a-72n using saanning deviae 86. An operator (not shown) scans (75) the machine readable code 56 of each coupon 48 and the UPC of each purchase product, each with a single successful pass of the code past the ~canner. In a manner that will be set forth in more de~ail below, point-o~-sale master terminal 70 ~ubstitutes a ~peci~iaally aon~igured code ~or the saanned code ~or each aoupon 48, and applies ~he ~ub~titute code a~
a P~U code to PLU code data base 17~ in order to datermine whether there is a match with a PLU code downloaded (62, 70) from the master data base. I~ the point-of-sale ma~ter terminal 70 determine~ a match with a PLU code, the corresponding coupon parameters are retrieved and an appropriate credit is applied to the purchase Concurrontly with processing the coupon - transaction in order to give the consumer credit ~or valid 2~32~ -coupon~, point-o~ sale ma~ter tarminal 70 captures in data ~iles 176 the entire code embedded within machine readable code 56, during the scanning step 75. All of tha data encoded in machine readable code 56 and captured by master terminal 70 is uploaded (78) to the In-store processor 88 and uploaded (80) via modems 64A, 64B and telephone link 66 in order to update (82) ma~ter data base 31. The captured data will be decoded at khe master data base. The master data base will capture for each coupon 48 used by the consumer, data identifying the coupon I.D., namely product identification, coupon value, expiratlon date, as well as the identi~ication code, or household code of the consumer.
In a manner that will be set forth in more detall below, this information may then be utilized by aoupon program 20 ~or the next aoupon selection and mailing cycle 42.
Variou~ management reports and statistics may be generated at 84 in order to provide information to the participatlng retailer regclrding coupons redeemedl size of the particular order and other information. Reports may also be generated to the manufacturers supplying di~aount values for their products in order to provide market research information. Importantly, the lnformation in master data base 31 may be used to generate at (86) redemption aredit files whiah are provided to the manufacturers in order to redeem the coupon~. This function of coupon redemption i3 exaeptionally advantageous. ~he aonvontional aoupon redemption cycle of several months is reduced to a matter of days or weeks. Furthermore, the misredemption and rampant fraud which take place in conventional coupon redemptions i6 significantly reduced.

Because focused coupon system 15 is capable of being audited . ,.... . .,, . ~............. , . ,, . ,, . -:
. .

2~3~ -to establi~h its integrity, manu~acturers will ba assur~d that redemptions are indeed proper. In addition to redeeming coupons 48, ~y~tem 21 will be capable of redeeming standard coupon~ that bear standard product code such as the uPc as will be set forth in more detail below.
DATA BASE STRUCTURES
Master data base 31 includes three ~iles of recsrds updated from member data base 25. A Consumer Master Structure, ~uch as that shown in Table l, will hold the name, address and demographic data ~or each member. In addition, such things as a household match key, total mailings sent, total number of coupons redeemed, date the record was created and data the ~ource used to create it will be kept. The consumer master ~ile will link to a Coupon History (Table 4) and, i~ a survey wa~ aompleted, the Consumer survey Data Structure (Table 3).
TAB~E l-CONSUMER MASTER STRUCTUR~

Fields: RETAILER-ID
CONSUMER-ID
NAME-AREA
ADDRESS-l CITY
STATE
ZIP
P~ONE
MATCH-KEY
DATA-SOURCE
DATA-CREATED
LAST-MAINTENANCE
LAST-MAIL-SEQUBNCE
TOTAL-PACKAGES-SENT
COUPONS-REDEEMED
STORE-NUMBER -.
MISC-DATA
ESTABLISHED-CUSTOMER
COMPETITORS
VISITS

ACORN
GEO-CODE
STATUS
Accesses: CONSUMER-ID-SET (NO DUPLICATES) ,, , . , : .

2~9~32~

RE~AILER-ID
CONSUMER ID
HOUSEHOLD-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
MATCH-KEY
STORE-NBR-SET ~NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
STORE-NU~BER ~
CONSUMER-ID ~ :.
Another file generated by the telemarketing .

funation is the Consumer Survey Data Structure fileO This file will keep track oP 6urveys sent to, and returned byj the consumers. When a survey is sent, a record of it will be stored. Information retained will consists o~ the date ::
it was sent, the survey I.D. code and, if it was returned, the date it wa~ received baak. A raoord oP a suxvey will be retained whether or not it has been returned. The aonsu~sr survey data structure ~ile is illustrated in Table 2.

Fields: RETAILER-ID
CONSUMER-ID
SURVEY-CODE
DATE-SENT
DATE-RETURNED
Acaesses: CONSUMER-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RE~AILER-ID
CONSUMER-ID
SURVEY-CODE
SURVEY-SET (NO DUP~ICATES) RETAILER-ID
SURVEY-CODE

In addition, a Survey ~nswers Structure ~ile is provided as illustrated in Table 3. This flle is subordin~te to the Consumer Survey Data Structure and will only conta~n data if the consumer has returned at least one of the surveys sent. For each survey code and question . . ~
~, .

3~

number, thera will be a~ many pos~ible responses as neces6ary.
~ABLE 3-SURVEY ANSWERS

Fields: RE~AILER-ID
CONSUMER-ID
SURVEY-CODE
QUESTION-NUMBER
RESPONSE-SEQUENCE
ANSWER-ALPHA
Accesse~: CONgUMER-SET ~NO DUPLICATES) 10. RETAILER-ID
CO~SUMER-ID
QUESTION-NUMBER
RESPCNSE-SEQUENCE
A Consumer Coupon Hlstory Structure ~ile contains records o~ all coupon~ sent to and redeemed by a member.
There will be one record ~or each coupon sent to each member. When the coupon i~ u~ed by the member, the ~ame record created when the coupon was sent will be updated with redemption data. ~ consumer coupon history ~truatura ~ile 20. is illustrated in Table 4.
TA~LE 4-CONSUMER COUPON HISTORY

Fields: RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
CONSUMER-ID
MAIL-SEQUENCE
DATE-SENT
COUPON-AMOUNT
QUESTION-NUMBER
DATE-SCANED
STORE-NUM~ER

Accesses: ~AILING-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
CONSUMER-ID

COUPON-KEY
COUPON-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
CONSUMER-ID
COUPON-KEY

2~9~3~

A Coupon Master Structure file holds data for each coupon on the sy~tem. They need not ba active to be in this ~ile. Some ~ay be ~et to activate at ~uture dates while others may have explred and are being used for hiskorical purposes. The struature will hold ~tatic data ~or a aoupon and has a one-to-many relationship to the Coupon O~fer Structure. The coupon master structure ~ile i~ illustrated ln Table 5. This ~ile i~ rreated and maintained at the administrator center 35. ~he data in this file establishe3 the graphic appearance o~ each coupon in the system.
ABI.E 5-COUPO~ MASTER STRUCTURE
Fi91ds: RETAILER~ID
COVPON-KEY
MANUFACTURER (MFG) MFG-UPC
PRODUCT-UPC
DESCRIPTION-l LoGo-ID
TIME-hAPSE
STATUS
Accegse~: COUPON-KEY-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
A Current Coupon Data Structure ~ilQ provides coupon-related data ~or one cycl~ of aoupon packet mailing.
Thls will allow ~ox th~ same coupon to use a di~erent value ~or each sel2ction. Al~o, the maximum and/or the maxlmum number issu~d can be ¢hanged as necessary. These records will become a part of the aoupon history after their expiration dates have occurred. This ~ile, illustrated in Table 6, provides data ~or printing the coupon value indicia 54 and expiration indiaia 52. A "current coupon key" is se~uentially assigned at mailing production time to defin~ a unique instanae of the coupon Master Structure ~or the purposes o~ relating explration dates and variable values to 209~32~

specific coupons that are prlnted. All relations and history are maintained on tha Coupon Master Structure tTab:Le 5) u~ing thi~ table ag a cross-referenae.
TABLE 6-CuRRENT COUPON

Fields: RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
MAIL-SEQENCE
COUPON-AMOUNT(OCCURS 5 TIMES) PRIORITY
NUMBER-MAX
NUMBER-USED
VALUE-MAX
VALUE-USED
START-DATE
END-DATE
EXPIRE-DATE
STATUS
Acaesses: COUPON-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
MAIL-SEQUENCE
CURRENT-COUPON-KEY
MAI~ING-SET(NO DUP~ICATES) RETAILER-ID
MAIL-SEQUENCE
PRIORITY
CURRENT-COUPON-KEY
REDEMPTION-SET(NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
CURRENT-COUPON-KEY
A Coupon/Answer ~elations Struature Pile is Qstablished and maintained at the adminlstrator center 35.
This ~ile is ~ubordinate to the Coupon Master ~able 5) and i~ u~ed ~or selQcting aoupons ~or a mailing packet. Eaah Coupon Master record will have one or more of these relations records attached to it. Eaah relations record hold~ the ~urvey quastion number and the re~ponse from the member that is required for this coupon to be a~signed to a members malling packet. This appli~s only to those coupons ~,o that are designated "optional" for the mailing in progress.

., - . , ,, , : .

2098~2~

Thi~ file, illustrated in Table 7, i5 by-passed ~or "mandatory" ~nd "default" coupons.
TABLE 7-COUPON/ANSWE~ ~ELATION$

Fields: RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
QUESTION-NUMBER
RESPONSB-SEQUENCE
ANSWER-ALPHA
STATUS
Accesses: COUPON-KEY-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
QUESTION-NUMBER
RESPONSE NUM~ER
A Mailing Selection Data Structure file (Table 8) will refer to data ~rom coupon data bass 37. It contain~ data of the coupon subset within the Coupon Master (Table 5) that are to be available for a particular maillng. Each coupon to be used will have assign2d to it a priority aode as Q ~ollows:
A - "mandatory"
B ~ "optional"
C = ~'default".
These priorities are assigned by an administrator such as an aocount executive. Coupons d~signated mandatory are a~igned to each member selected ~or the particular mailing.
Optional coupon~ are ~eleated and assigned ba~ed on the survey data ~eleation proae~. De~ault aoupons are to be ~`
used when all 35 coupon slots cannot be ~illed by 3Q "mandatory~' and "optional" coupons or when a consumer has not returned a survey.
TABLE a-MAILING DATA

Fields: RETAlLER-ID
COUPON-KEY
MAIL-SEQUENCE
PRIORITY
WEEK-NUMBER ~
~, 2 ~

PAGE
POSITION
Accesses: COUPON-SET (NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID
COUPON-KEY
MAIL-SEQUENCE
WEEK-NUMBER
PRIORITY
MAIL-SEQUENCE

POSITION--SET ~NO DUPLICATES) RETAILER-ID

POSITION

Other file~ will be provided to ~upport the ~ile structure outlined above. A Retail Master Structure ~ile will hold data that is related to a retailer participating in the coupon system. A Store Structure file hold~ data for each individual store controlled by a partialpating retailer. A Survey Question Text Structure ~ile will hold the text o~ the ~uestionnaire ~uestions ~or ~uture reference.
COUPON SELECTION
In order to generate coupon packets 43 for a set o* members, a cyclic aoupon selection and mailin~ function 25 1~ iB performed (Figs. 8a and 8b). ~he routine is initiated (llO) by selecting ~112) the ~irst reaord o~ a member. The Current Coupon Data Structure is acaessed to sel~at (114) the ~irst coupon authorized ~or that mailing. It is then determined at ~116) whether that coupon has heen exhausted as a result o~ assignment to prior members. Because this is the ~ir~t member/ it will be determined at 116 that the coupon i~ not exhausted. It i~ then determined at (118) whether this coupon is mandatory. I~ the aoupon is determined to be mandatory, tha coupon is assigned to this member at la0. The number of coupons and the total value o~

2~9~329 coupon~ for this member is tallied at 122 and it i~
determined at 124 whether any unfilled coupon spaces exist ~or this member. For each mailing, in the illu~trated embodiment, 35 coupon spaces are available. Unless all 35 spaces are filled, it will be determined at 124 that there are un~illed coupon spaces and the next authorized coupon will be selected (126) from the Current Coupon Data Structure ~ile.
For the next authorized coupon, it will be determined at 116 whether that coupon is exhausted. Because this pass i~ ~or the ~irst member record, it will be determined at 116 that the coupon is not exhausted. If it i8 determined at 118 that this next coupon is mandatory, then the same procedure outlined above will be repeated.
Once all mandatory aoupons are assigned, aontrol will pass to 128 where it will determine whether this next coupon i8 optional. If this coupon is not "optional" it i8 a "mandatory" coupon and control will pas~ to 120 ~or assignment of this coupon to this member. After all mandatory and optional coupons have been processed, control continues to loop through 116, 118, 128, 120, 122 and 124 until all spaces are filled.
~ it i~ determined at 128 that this coupon is optional, then it will be determined at 130 whether this member has redeemed this coupon before. I~ it i9 determined at 130 that this member has not redeemad this coupon be~ore, the first relationship between this coupon and possible member data is located at 132 by accessing the Coupon/Answer Relations Structure file. The relationship between this member data and relationship criterion retrieved ~rom the Coupon/Answer Relations Structure is examined at 134 and it ~28-2IQ~3~

is determined at 136 whether the criterion set ~orth ther~n is satlsfled. If not, lt i~ determlned at 138 whether any additional relationship records exist for this coupon. If so, the next relation~hip record ~or this coupon i~ ~ound at 140 and control passes to 134 where the relationship between this member data and the relationship criterion is examined.
If it is determined at 136 that the criterion set forth is satisfied, then this coupon is assigned to this member at 120. If not, the loop repeats until all relationship records for this coupon are determined at 138 to beexhausted. Control then passes to 126 where the next authorized coupon is selected.
If it is determined at 130 that the member has not rsdeemed the particular aoupon before, it is determined at 142 whether a given redemptlon time-lapse period ha~ passed.
The purpose of such time-lapse period is to avoid assigning a coupon to a particular member prior to the user consuming the previously purchased item. If the redemption time-lapse period has passed, the coupon is assigned to the member at 120. If the redemption time period has not passed, control passe3 to 126 where the next authorized coupon is seleated.
When it i8 determined at 124 the number o~ coupons a~signed to the ~irst member ~ills all 35 slot~ ~or the member's aoupon packet, that memberls coupon paaket is 2S complete. The data is established ~or printing o~ the coupon packet using laser page printer 60. Control then passes to 144 where it is determined whether there remain any additional members to process~ If so, the next member record iB selected at 146 and the ~irst authorized coupon is examined for that member at 114. The coupon assignment process proceeds ~or that next member until all coupon slots 2 ~ 2 ~

are filled, which erlables that member~ packet to be printed.When it is finally determined at 144 khat all member~ have been processed, the assignment function i~ exited at 148.
The cycllc coupon select~on malling routine selects coupons by consumer rather than visa versa. In order to determins whether an optional coupon ls assigned to a particular member, answers provided by the member to the survey are axamined for appropriate relation~h~ps. Thu~, answers are examined in order to determine whether a coupon ~0 is appr~priate rather than attempting to locate aoupon~
which correlate with particular answers rendered by the member. The inclusion of mandatory, optional and defaulk coupons ensures that all coupon slots will be filled for each member. If the member has not completed a survey, then the members coupon packet will be fillQd with mandatory and de~ault coupons. If the ~urvey has been completed, optlonal aoupons will be included i~ appropriate relationships bstween membsr data and relationship criterion are met.
COUPON ~EDEMPTION
After coupon packets 43 have been mailed to member~, the members may choose to use one or more aoupon5 BQcause the ~ystem is lntended to place in the hands of members coupons whiah bear a relationship to member data, it is expeoted that the sy~tem will increase tha u~e rate, or redemption rate, of the aoupons. When the coupon is used (74) by the consumer, a redemption routine 150 is initiated at 15~ (Figs. ga and 9b). It is initiated at tha point-of-sale terminal 72a-72n with the operator scanning (76) the machine readable code 56 on the face of the coupon.
~ecause, in the preferred embodiment, the coupon machine readable code has the same format (UPC bar code) as the . .

32 ~

machine readable codas on products saanned by scanners 86,the scanning ~unction 7~ may be performed on either a coupon 48 or a produat tnot shown) being purchased. A180, the scanning step 76 may be applied to a conventional coupon S which is not generated by ~ocu9ed coupon ~ystem 15 but which b~ar~ a machlne readable code. It is then determined at 156 whether the code scanned at 154 is a coupon generated by coupon system 15.
In order to understand how focused coupon system ~;
15 utillzes machine readable codes, it is firsk necessary to understand how uniform codes function. In the lllustrated embodiment, the Uniform Code Council UPC bar code scheme is used. The UPC bar code i9 utilized at all conventional laser-scanning point-of-sale terminals in uss and has protocols for both produats and coupons. Additionally, protocols are available for generating austom codes thak are appliaable to only a particular retail store or a chain of stores. The UPC bar code ha~ the ~ollowing components:

Number of diaits Use 2Q 1 or 2 System Identifier 10 Product Look-up Code 1 Check-digit The system identiPier e3tablish2s whether the bar code is for (A) a standard produat o~ the type sold by e~tablished manu~aaturer~, (B) a standard coupon o~ the type typiaally issued by manu~actures o~ products, or (C) an in-store custom application. Depending on the code system, the code digits will have different meaning as will be discussed ~urther below. The check-digit is a parity device to verify that the code has been properly scanned. Once a aode is validly read by a reading device, it is necessary to decode tha number. The in-store master terminal 70 may lnterpret 20~8~29 the first di~it or digits in order to determine which ¢oda system applies and then applies the Product Look-Up code digits to a Produat Look-up table for the partlcular code system. The Product Look-Up table must contain a record for each possible Product Look-Up code in order to retrieve the parameters o~ the item to which the machine readable aode applies. In the illustrated embodiment, the disclosed in-store master terminal applies a concatenation of a system identifier code and PLU code (with no check digit) to a sinyle PLU look-up table.
once the record i8 retrieved for a scanned aode, the master terminal tallies the price to the purchase total, if the code i~ for a product being purcha~ed. I~ the aode i8 for a aoupon, the master terminal will give R credit lS against the purchase. The master terminal may optionally veri~y that a produot aorre~ponding to that o~ the aoupon has been purchased as a condition to giving a credit against the purchase. Typically, a transaction reaord is generated and uploadad to the store management computer in order to adju5t the inventory records ~or the product and for stati~tical analysi~ and the like.
For standard coupons of the type typically issued by manu~actures, the Product Laok-Up code establishe~ the identity of the manu~acturer ~5 digits), the product family to which the coupon applies ~3 digits), and the value of the coupon ~2 digits). The value may be, for example, a discount again~t the purchase of the produat, 2 product~ for the price of 1, or a free product. It is necessary ~or each manu~aaturer to notify each retail store, or store chain, of a particular Product Look~Up code so that the In store master terminal has a record to interpret that code. Thus 2~832~

poink-of-sale master terminal 70 must have records corresponding to all coupons outstanding at a time in order to credit the purchase o~ tha produat corre~ponding to the coupon.
For in-store custom codes, the system identifier portion of the code identifies the in-store-use system being used. Coupon system 15 will identify an in-store-use system -for a particular mailing. The remainder of the 10 digit look-up code is available for Product Look-up code use. ;

In-store processor 88 assigns and maintains records of Product Look-Up codes used and the parameters represented by the code. These Product Look-Up codes are periodically downloaded to point-of-sale master terminal 70 in order to maintain Produat Look-Up code data base 174 therein.
In-store custom codes are useful for both product appliaations and coupon applications. The particular appliaation is identified within the Product Look-Up code record. While the retail store or chain of stores has complete flexibility on how the in-store Product Look-Up 2Q codes are used, it is necessary to have a record in the Product Look-Up code data base ~or each machine readable code in use. Any in-~ore-use system identi~ier might be adapted to use with foaused aoupon ~ystem 15.
In the preferred embodiment, ~oaused aoupon sy~tem 15 uses an in-store custom application code system, although it is capable of using a special form of standard ooupon as will be set forth below. In a most preferred embodiment, an in-store code format known as European Article Numbering tEAN) is used for reasons that will be set forth below.

Focused coupon system 15 is encoded to provide access to not only the standard coupon parameters of product manufacturer, 3 ;~ ~ :

product ~amily, and coupo~ valu~ but al60 a hou3ehold I.D., or P.I.N., number. In the illustrated embodiment, a 5 digit household I.D. code is used. Larger codes are available by using smaller coupon I.D. codes.
Focused coupon ~ystem 15 combine~ the hou~ehold I.D. with the coupon parameters in a single code. The henefit o~ thi~ approach i9 that it is compatible with exi6ting point-o~-sale terminal hardware and so~tware. Such existing equipment is adapted to recognizing only one machine readable code at a time. Thus, proposed coupon schemes having multiple code ~ields in order to incorporate some form of P.I.N. number are not useable with conventional point-o~-sale equipment. The reason is that such conventional e~uipment will ignore one o~ the multiple lS codes. Thus, either the coupon aode or tho P.I.N. aode will be ignored, an impossible situation. To avoid this problem, the prior art has opted for either off-line procassing or has require3 speaial code reading equipment which must be used by the caehier when a special coupon is presented. The disadvantages o~ both schemes are apparent. However, the combination o~ both coupon ~.D. code and a household I.D.
code in A single machine readable code, whiah may be saanned with conventional poin~-o~-sale equipment, pre~ents a ~ormatable hurdla. Beaau~e aaah Produat Look-Up code must have a corresponding record ~n the Product Look-Up data ba~e, the number o~ records in the data base would be prohibitively large. The reason is that each combination of aoupon oode and household I.D. code would require a separate record. Thus i~ there are 10,000 outstanding coupons and 100,000 assigned houeehold I.D. numbers, a total o~ 10 billion separate records would have to be stored and 2~9~3~

malntalned ln Point-of-sale master terminal 70l This ls clearly impraatical.
Focused coupon sy~tem solves these problems in a uni~ue manner by processing the code read ~y the point-of-~ale scanner 86 in two ways. First, in order to process the intended transaction, which require6 applying a look-up code to the Product Look-Up data base in point-of-sal~ master terminal 70, a portion of the original scanned coda that represents the household I.D. is replaced with a given generic code. The Product Look-up codes in the PLU data base are suitably modlfied to correspond to codes made up of a combination of coupon code and this generic code. Thus only one record i8 re~uired ~or each coupon code. When that one record is retrieved, the in-store master terminal can credit the purchaser o~ the product, keep appropriate transaction records and the like. The in-store systQm 69 does not become appraised o~ the coupon program member corresponding to the saanned code bearing their household I.D.
The code read by the point-of-sale scanner i5 processed in a second manner in order to capture the ~ull data in the read code. This captured data is not decoded but i~ uploaded by in-store sy~tem 69 to master data base 31 ~or identi~laation o~ the coupon parameters o~ the used coupon as well as the household I.D. encoded on the coupon. This captured data ls applied to updating data base 31. The captured data does not get deooded at in-store system 69.
Therefore, in-store system 69 does not require Product Look-Up records incorporating household I.D. numbers.
::

.. ... ., ~ . . -. . ~, .. .

- ~ 209832~

An example of a oode r~placement performed in coupon sys~em 15 in order to ob~ain Product Look-Up code~
~or applicatlon to the PLU data base 7~ is as follows:
Scanned Code MeaninqSubstituts Code 2B In-store-use code28 12345 coupon I.D. 12345 67890 Household I.D.
Generic Look-Up00000 g Check-digit 4 n Thus a scanned code of 2812345678909 becomes 281~3~5000009 ~or application to PLU data base 74. The In-store-use code of 28 is indicative of a European Article Number (EAN3 code used in the UPC bar code standards. The EAN code system is pre~erred be¢ause existing conventional point-o~-sale eguipment have existing data-masking aapabllity ~or EAN co~e systems. Such data-masking capability may be used in order to ~ubstitute a generic aode for the household I.D. Where data-masking capability is not available, user-exit programming ln th0 in-store master terminal software, or other source code modi~ication may be used to accomplish the same result.
As an alternakive to using in-store code sy~tems, focused coupon sy~tem 15 is capable o~ using a special ~orm o~ standard aoupons o~ the type used by product manu~acture~. The ~tandard coupon code system has 10 digits sxalusive of the code system identifying digit and check-digit~ ~hese 10 digit~ are all used ~or identification o~ coupon parameters as set forth above. A
modified version of a standard coupon code has a code appendage which adds an additional 5 code digits. If these extra 5 digits are encoded with the household I.D. o* the ~09832~

coupon program member, then polnt-of-sale termlnals capable o~ physlcally ~canning this isupplemental encodation will be able to scan both coupon parameters and household I.D. The same procedure discussed above for substitution of a generic look-up number ~or the household I.D. would be carried out in order to process the transaction. The entire scanned code (15 digits) would be capturad and uploaded by in-store system 69 to mastsr data base 3I for decoding of the coupon parameters and household I.D.
If it is determlned at 156 that the scanned code corresponds to a program coupon, the portion of the original scanned code corresponding to the household I.D. is replaced with a generic code portion (158) and the iubstitute aode is applied (160~ to PLU data base 174. It is determined at 162 whether a ccorresponding record was found in the PLU data base, If not, the transaation i5 re~ected. If a corresponding record is found, it i5 then determined at 16~;
whether a data capture transaction is to be performed. If the scanned code corresponds to a coupon generated by focused coupon program 15, or if the scanned code corrasponds to a standard coupon, then the code data is stored (168) in captured data ~ile data base 176. Data base 176 1B periodically uploaded to aaptured data file data base 92 in in-store processor 88. Data base 92 i8~ in turn, periodically uploaded ~80) to update ~82) master data base 31. The aaptured data is decoded at central processing center 29, not at the in-store system. The captured data is used at central processing center 29 both to provide feedbaak for generation of the next mailing o~ coupon packets to members of the focused coupon program and to provide redemption information to the manufactures. This ~37-.: , : : . , . ,., ,. .. .. ,,, .. ... :
:: .. . : . .. .. ..

2~9832~

later function can be performed on standard ¢oupons whichhave not been generated by focused coupon syst2m 15.
I~ it i~ determined at 166 that the ~aanned code is not a coupon for whlc~ data i8 to be captured, ~or s exampla the code i9 ~or a product being purchased, then the control proceeds to 170 where the transaction is approved and the routine i8 exited at 172.
CONCLUSION
Thu~ it is seen that khe present invention 10 provides a coupon system that provide~ coupons to households ~:
in a manner which will increase coupon redemption and product sales. The coupon system i9 organized around a particular retall establishment and is intended to inarease the pool Q~ cu~tomers who regularly use that store as well as the total purchase3 of eaah austomer. Each aoupon i~
encoded with a machine readable code (UPC bar code) whiah needs to be ~aanned only onae at the point-of-sale terminal using the same saanning equipment that saans the purahase of products. Thus, the focused coupon system does not add to the burden of the aashier and aan be easily installed on existing equipment in the store. Although the present invention provides a unique system for procQssing aoupons in a nonburdensome manner at the point-of-sale terminal, aoupons aould alternatively be redeemed by an o~-line processing scheme in which the machine readable codes are entered directly into the main data base. The present invention provides ~ull function coupon processing and validation both of system coupons as well as non-system coupons. Coupon redemption i~ provided that i5 less prone 3U to fraud and provides a faster rebate to the stores.

' .

- ` 21~8329 The present inventlon is capable o~ provlding u~e~ul data to product manu~acturQrs and to ~tore managers without intruslon into the privacy domain of consumers. It i~ non-intrusive because unllke other known micromarketing systems, the ~ocused coupon system disclosed herein does not distribute data with names and addresses attached. The sy6tem is, further, nondlscriminatory against low income individuals~ The only characteristic which will remove a member from the system is prolonged non-use of the system.
The invention has many useful adaptation~. For example, it may also be useful as part of a new product launch. By obtaining useful marketlng data as well as a data base of consumer~ having particular consumption habits, manufaaturers may target "free" coupon~ and the like to consumer~ most likely to be long-term purchassrs o~
products. Furthermore, the pre~ent coupon system may be used along with custom designed store promotion programs.
For example, the consumer survey aould request lnformation regarding the faYorite charity of the consumer. Particular coupons could provide donations to the specified charity if a partiaular product or some total of products i~ purchased.
In order to induce consumers to shop at a particular ~tore, coupon values could be a~signed in a manner to award higher discounts to non-customars than to customers. This would tend to induce the non-customers to visit that store.
Additionally, the survey form completed by the consumer joining the aoupon program could include questions intended to obtain sufficient information to establi6h the credit-worthiness o~ the consumer. The consumer can then be cleared in master terminal 70 to aash checks. Each system coupon used can be applied to a separate file of credit-- 2~9~32~

worthy members in tha sam~ manner that the code read by the scanner i8 applied to the PLU look up data ba~e to locate a corre~ponding coupon record. The termlnal would prompt the cashier if the ooupon user has checX ca~hing privilege~.
This feature would not compromise the broad, nondisariminatory appllcation of coupon system 15 because it would not exclude non-credit-worthy members they would just not be cleared for check cashing privileges. -In addition to uploading captured data to the lo master data base, it i~ possible to al~o upload certain transactional data, such as the total purchase price of the transaction in which system aoupon is used along with non~coupon transactions. This allows statistical analysis and demonstrations of the usefulness o~ the ~oau~ coupon system, Changes in modi~ication~ in the speai~iaally described embodiment~ can be carried out without departing ~rom tha principles of the invention, wh~ch is intended to be limited only by the scope of the dependent claims, as interpreted according to the prinoiples o~ patent law including the doctrine o~ equivalence.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A method of generating coupons to provide discounts for particular purchases including the steps of:
selecting a user from a data base containing a plurality of users, each residing at a particular geographic location;
selecting at least one coupon having a particular value of a parameter from a group of said coupons, said parameter including a discount amount of said one coupon;
assigning a unique user identification number to the selected user and a unique coupon identification number to the selected coupon;
simultaneously printing an entire said coupon encoded with said user identification number and said unique coupon identification being applied to said coupon; and transmitting said coupon to said selected user at the location particular to that user.

The method of claim 1 wherein said transmitting includes transmitting with said coupon promotional literature related to said product.

The method of claim 1 wherein said transmitting includes mailing said coupon.

The method of claim 1 including selecting multiple ones of said coupons and printing multiple coupons for the selected user, each encoded with said user identification number and a said coupon identification number for the corresponding one of said coupons.

The method of claim 1 wherein said user identification number and said coupon identification number are encoded in a single machine readable code.

The method of claim 1 wherein said coupon has a particular value of another parameter, said another parameter including a defined purchase criterion that must be met in order to provide said user said discount amount.

The method of claim 1 wherein said coupon has a particular value of another parameter, said another parameter including a defined retail establishment at which said coupon may be used.

A method of generating and redeeming coupons to provide discounts for particular purchases including the steps of:
printing an original plurality of discount coupons, each encoded with a unique user identification number and a unique coupon identification number;
transmitting said original plurality of discount coupons to a user corresponding to the user identification number;
determining which of said original plurality of discount coupons said user redeems;
selecting another plurality of discount coupons, with at least one of said another plurality of discount coupons being a function at least of which of said original plurality of discount coupons said user redeems, in order to increase the likelihood that said plurality of discount coupons will be redeemed; and printing said another plurality of discount coupons and transmitting said another plurality of discount coupons to said user corresponding to the user identification number.

The method in claim 8 wherein each of said discount coupons includes at least one parameter including a defined purchase criterion that must be met in order to provide said user said discount amount and wherein said another plurality of discount coupons are selected at least as a function of said defined purchase criterion of said original plurality of discount coupons.

The method in claim 9 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a particular product.

The method in claim 9 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a product from a particular department.

The method in claim 9 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a minimum sum total amount.

The method in claim 8 further including determining particular attributes of said user and wherein at least one of said another plurality of discount coupons is selected as a function at least of said attributes of said user.

The method in claim 8 wherein said step of selecting includes assigning a portion of said plurality of discount coupons that are not a function of which of said original plurality of discount coupons said user redeemed.

A method of generating and redeeming coupons to provide discounts for particular products including the steps of:
providing a coupon encoded with a user identification number that is unique to a particular user and a coupon identification number that is unique to at least one coupon parameter, said at least one coupon parameter being selected from one of a discount amount and a purchase criterion that must be met to receive said discount amount;
reading from said coupon with a code reading apparatus both said user and coupon identification numbers;
replacing said read user identification number with a generic number in order to provide a substitute code including said generic number and said coupon identification number; and applying the substitute code to a look-up table in order to determine a value of said at least one coupon parameter.

The method of claim 15 wherein said user identification number and said coupon identification number are combined in a single machine readable code.

The method of claim 16 wherein said single machine readable code is a bar code.

The method of claim 15 wherein said reading apparatus is adapted to reading product identifying codas of the type that are applied to products.

The method of claim 16 wherein said step of reading includes making a single pass of said machine readable code past said code reading equipment.

The method of claim 15 wherein said step of replacing includes writing over said user identification number with a generic code.

The method of claim 15 wherein said step of replacing includes making said user identification number.

The method of claim 15 wherein said step of reading includes capturing said user identification number and said coupon identification number and uploading the captured numbers to a master data processor for decoding.

A coupon generation and redempting system comprising:
a master data base having a multitude of coupon data records each including a coupon identification of a particular set of coupon parameters and a multitude of user data records each including a user identification of a user, said coupon parameters including at least one of a discount amount and a purchasing criterion for granting said discount amount;
a coupon printer adapted to printing a plurality of different coupons, each a function of one of said coupon data records and one of said user data records, each one of said coupons bearing a machine readable code including said coupon identification from the particular coupon data record used and said user identification from the particular user data record used;
a code reading apparatus adapted to reading said machine readable code from a coupon at a retail point of sale terminal;
a point-of-sale terminal adapted to applying a PLU
number derived from said code read by said code reading apparatus to a look-up data base in order to determine the particular set of coupon parameters corresponding to the code read by the code reading apparatus; and said point-of-sale terminal further being adapted to capturing said code read by said code reading apparatus and uploading the captured code to said master data base in order to update said master data base.

The system in claim 23 including a pair of modems adapted to transmitting said code read by said code reading apparatus to said master data base.

The system in claim 23 wherein said master data base is adapted to transmitting to said point-of-sale terminal coupon data records and corresponding coupon identifications in order to update said look-up data base.

The system in claim 23 wherein said point-of-sale terminal is adapted to substituting a generic code for a portion of said code read by said code reader corresponding to the user identification in order to produce said PLU
number applied to said look-up data base.

The system in claim 23 wherein said code reading apparatus is additionally adapted to reading product identification code and said point-of-sale terminal is adapted to identifying product identified by said product identification code.

The system in claim 23 wherein said user records each further includes at least one attribute of the particular user and said master data base further includes at least one selection record containing criteria for assigning particular ones of said coupon records to a particular user in response to said at least one attribute of that user identified in that user's record;

The system in claim 23 wherein said master data base is adapted to decoding said code captured by said point-of-sale terminal and generating redemption files indicating discount amounts and corresponding purchasing criterion for granting said discount amounts.

The system in claim 29 wherein said machine readable code is a UPC bar code, whereby said captured code may include coupon identification of a particular set of coupon parameters of conventional coupons bearing UPC bar codes and said master data base is adapted to generating said redemption files for said conventional coupons.

A method of generating coupons to provide discounts for particular purchases including the steps of:
establishing a plurality of user records, each of said user records including an identity of a user and at least one attribute of said user;
establishing a plurality of coupons records, each of said coupons records having a particular value of a coupon parameter including at least one of a discount amount and a purchase criterion for granting said discount amount;
establishing a plurality of relationship records relating particular attributes of users and corresponding particular coupon parameters;
selecting a user record, examining said at least one attribute in said user record, selecting a coupon record and assigning the coupon record to the selected user if a relationship record relates the examined attribute with the corresponding coupon parameter of the selected coupon; and printing coupons from coupon records assigned to the selected user and transmitting the printed coupons to the selected user.

The method in claim 31 including assigning at least one mandatory coupon record to a user record prior to said examining said at least one attribute in said user record.

The method in claim 31 including defining a given number of coupon slots for each user record and assigning default coupon records to fill unfilled slots for a user record for which all coupon records assigned by examining attributes in the user record are exhausted.

The method in claim 31 in which said printing includes applying a machine readable code to each coupon providing access to the coupon record and user record applicable to that coupon.

The method in claim 34 wherein said machine readable code is a unitary bar code in order to facilitate single-pass machine reading of the code.

A method of generating coupons to provide discounts for particular purchases including the steps of:
selecting a user from a data base containing a plurality of users, each of said users having particular characteristics and residing at a particular geographic location;
selecting at least one coupon from a group of said coupons as a function of at least one of the particular characteristics of the selected user, the selected coupon having a particular value of a parameter, said parameter including a defined purchase criterion that must be met in order to provide a discount to the user;
assigning a unique user identification number to the selected user and a unique coupon identification number to the selected coupon;
simultaneously printing an entire said coupon encoded with said user identification number and said unique coupon identification being applied to said coupon; and providing the printed coupon to the selected user.

The method of claim 36 wherein said providing includes transmitting said coupon to said selected user at the location particular to that user.

The method of claim 36 including selecting multiple ones of said coupons and printing multiple coupons for the selected user, each encoded with said user identification number and a said coupon identification number for the corresponding one of said coupons.

The method of claim 36 wherein said user identification number and said coupon identification number are encoded in a single machine readable code.

The method of claim 36 wherein said coupon has a particular value of another parameter, said another parameter including a discount amount of said one coupon.

The method in claim 36 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a particular product.

The method in claim 36 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a product from a particular department.

The method in claim 36 wherein said defined purchase criterion includes purchasing of a minimum sum total amount.