EP1579361A1 - Remote and real-time reporting of events at multiple locations - Google Patents

Abstract

A distributed information reporting and processing system for reporting on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time is described. The system comprising a central data store for storing a user-defined specification, the specification identifying the locations and defining the manner in which the events are to be reported; a plurality of portable data communications devices, each device being provided at one of the monitored locations and being connectable to a data communications network to transmit reports in accordance with the user-defined specification regarding events occurring at the monitored locations; central processing means for processing event data received from each of the portable data communications devices regarding the events occurring at their respective sites to verify the correctness of the data, the central processing means being arranged to compare the format of the received event data to a predetermined format stored within the specification and to verify event data which conforms to the predetermined format; and collating means for collating the verified event data from the different locations and providing the same to the user for real-time collective analysis of the events occurring at the plurality of locations.

Description

REMOTE AND REAL-TIME REPORTING OF EVENTS AT MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns the real-time monitoring of events in multiple locations and more particularly, though not exclusively, to a system for the real-time monitoring of promotional campaigns in multiple locations. The present invention also concerns a method of reporting and processing on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time.

Background of the Invention

Marketing is defined as the craft of linking the producers of a product or service with both existing and potential customers. It is a concept dedicated to meeting customer requirements and is also a range of techniques which enables a company to determine those requirements and ensure that they are met. Marketing covers a wide range of business activities including planning, pricing, promoting and distributing goods and services to meet the needs of current and potential customers. Promotion is the most broadly based and most visible aspect of marketing. Its disciplines include corporate identity, branding, advertising, public relations, direct marketing (field marketing), sales promotion/merchandising, sales/sales management, and exhibitions.

Field marketing in particular involves sending representatives, essentially the brand ambassadors, into environments such as retail, leisure, commuting and/or work with a view to building a brand and supporting sales. Unlike advertising, for example, field marketing can gather information about the popularity of a product or service and therefore be a valuable tool for businesses in assessing their business activities. Field marketing can take the form of in-store promotions, setting-up point of sale displays, handing out leaflets, giving out samples, and entering people for competitions. There are many more field marketing activities which need not be described here. Any particular field marketing campaign is usually quite complex in that it involves many of these activities carried out by the representatives over many days at multiple locations. It would be advantageous for the company which is being promoted through the field marketing to see the results of their marketing as quickly as possible, ideally in "realtime", so that they could react to the results quickly with appropriate marketing decisions, changing the campaign strategy early on if necessary, thereby saving time and money in the long term. However, the real-time reporting of the field campaigns has not been possible to date.

Traditionally, marketing agencies conduct field marketing by providing the required number of field representatives for a particular campaign, collecting and collating the campaign results from the field staff and forwarding the results to the company. Typically, the company receives a paper report of the field marketing results a minimum of 3 to 4 days after the field marketing event, if not longer depending on the postal system. The process commonly involves the field staff completing a report form which is posted back to the agency, often at the end of each week, which is analysed by the agency, each data entry inputted into the marketing agency's internal system and compiled into a report. This means that it is not possible to track the field staff daily such that for example if they have not turned up to their venue that day, those results will be missing with no chance of the marketing agency chasing the field staff or finding a replacement. There is also the problem of documents being lost in the post.

Clearly a disadvantage of the slowness of the traditional system is that it is not possible to react quickly and change the campaign if necessary, e.g. if the field staff run out of promotional material the company may not know for several days and so cannot act to provide more promotional material to the field staff.

Additionally, the marketing agencies are faced with the challenge of organising and compiling a large number of results received from a large number of field staff at different locations for more than one campaign. As can be appreciated, it often takes many man hours to input data entries and analyse the results data which further extends the lag time between the field marketing event occurring and the company seeing the results of the event. Furthermore, manual entry of such field data can also lead to increased data inaccuracies due to human error. It is desired to overcome or substantially reduce at least some of the above-described problems.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a distributed information reporting and processing system for reporting on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time, the system comprising: a central data store for storing a user-defined specification, the specification identifying the locations and defining the manner in which the events are to be reported; a plurality of portable data communications devices, each device being provided at one of the monitored locations and being connectable to a data communications network to transmit reports in accordance with the user-defined specification regarding events occurring at the monitored locations; central processing means for processing event data received from each of the portable data communications devices regarding the events occurring at their respective sites to verify the correctness of the data, the central processing means being arranged to compare the format of the received event data to a predetermined format stored within the specification and to verify event data which conforms to the predetermined format; and collating means for collating the verified event data from the different locations and providing the same to the user for real-time collective analysis of the events occurring at the plurality of locations. The present invention provides a technical solution to the problems described above. By the provision of a user-defined specification at a central location, a reporting format for each of the distributed reporting devices (portable data communications devices) at the different locations can be determined. This enables the system to specify and ensure exactly how correct reporting data will arrive at the central site and hence this enables the processing (collation) of that data and the generation of reports to be automated. Such automation is hugely beneficial as not only does it speed up the whole data analysis and report generation, but also it provides significant cost savings over purely human reporting schemes.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the number of difference locations from which reporting information can be provided can be significantly higher than has been known before as the only limitation is in the data handling capabilities of the system which are very high. Also, the automated nature of the present invetion makes it far easier for the data processing company.

One major benefit the present invention provides is the provision of the results to the user on a real-time basis. Namely, the provision of each intermediate result as it is reported rather than only at the end of a defined period when all of the reported results have been collated and can be presented with appropriate analysis. This real-time characteristic of the present invention advantageously enables the user to view and analyse the event data in real-time, as the events are occurring and being reported. This provides a considerable advantage over the prior art in that a client is able to respond quickly to event data, by changing the event criteria, for example.

In the field of marketing, the system enables the user to see the results of their marketing campaign in "real-time" as the promotion is happening. For example, if a promotion only lasts for one day and the day starts at 8am and finishes at 8pm, the campaign parameters can be set in the user-defined specification so that the event data gathering staff are instructed to transmit in their results at 10am, 2pm and 8pm thus informing the user and the agency what is happening as the campaign is taking place. This feedback advantageously allows users to assess the effects of the promotion quickly and efficiently as it is progressing, allows them more control over the campaign should they wish to change or add any element, and also enables them to see the effects of that change in real-time by continued monitoring.

The term "real-time" as has been set out above is intended for the purposes of this invention to mean during the time period in which the events are occurring and preferably very shortly (matters of minutes at most) after the event data has been sent as a report to the central processing means.

Preferably, the plurality of portable communications devices are arranged to transmit relatively high-entropy coded data over a relatively low-bandwith data channel and the central processing means is arranged to convert received data into relatively low- entropy data decoded to be readily interpretable by the user. Beneficially, this means that a small message can include significantly large amounts of information in the form of high-entropy coded data. This can make compiling the event data and transmitting the event data much faster than if a low-entropy data content message was being sent. When there are many such events to report on, any such saving in time can have a significant effect in improving the data gathering and reporting function at each location.

Advantageously, by using mobile telephone devices as the portable data communications devices to transmit SMS text messages having a predetermined user- defined format and containing the high-entropy data, the event data is communicated to the central processing means relatively simply and in real-time as the event is happening.

Preferably, the system comprises automatic error correction means for correcting obvious mistakes in the format or the content of the received event data by comparing the received event data with a plurality of common error templates and in the event a match is found, correcting the received event data in a predetermined manner associated with the matching templates. In this way, the long manual procedure of checking through any received event data which is incorrect is avoided and by the use of automated correction, more event data can be made available to a user in real-time, preferably on a website for Internet access.

The system is preferably arranged so that the conformity of the received event data is checked with campaign requirements in the specification. These campaign requirements can include user-defined time periods for reporting from specific locations. This means that only event data which is received at a time and from a location specified in the specification is included in the results which are made available to the user. Having such a reporting time window may be very important in assessing and monitoring each real-time event.

This is because their provision enables a snap-shot of the state of events occurring at a specified time at each different location to be compiled. This is important as it enables valid comparisons between events at different locations to be made. The advantage of such valid comparisons are that they all assist in the user being able to control/adapt the data gathering in real-time at each different location. For example, if the results from a first location are poor as compared to a second location at a common point in time, the resources for data gathering at the first location can be moved to the second location to improve the total amount of data being gathered.

The system, when used in a marketing context, provides an exceptionally useful way for a client running a number of promotional campaigns at the same time, to monitor each campaign and respond to the campaign results quickly and efficiently.

The present invention extends to a method of reporting and processing on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time, the method comprising: storing a user-defined specification at a central site, the specification identifying the locations and defining the manner in which the events are to be reported; transmitting reports regarding events occurring at the monitored locations in accordance with the user-defined specification from a plurality of portable data communications devices, one device being provided at each of the monitored locations and being connectable to a data communications network; processing event data received from each of the portable data communications devices regarding the events occurring at their respective sites to verify the correctness of the data; comparing the format of the received event data to a predetermined format stored within the specification and verifying event data which conforms to the predetermined format; and collating the verified event data from the different locations and providing the same to the user for real-time collective analysis of the events occurring at the plurality of locations.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the comparison/processing system of Figure 1 in detail, including a campaign set-up module, a filter module and a report engine; Figure 2A is a schematic block diagram showing a campaign specification whose creation and updating is controlled by the campaign set-up module of Figure 2;

Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the database of Figure 1 in detail;

Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing the steps involved in implementing a method embodying the present invention of reporting and processing on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time, including a 'filter of messages' step;

Figure 5 is a screen shot of a campaign specification set-up screen;

Figure 6 is a screen shot of a results graph generated by the report engine showing the target and actual quantities of field marketing events occurring at the same venue but on different days;

Figure 6A is a screen shot of a results graph generated by the report engine comparing the target and actual quantities of field marketing events occurring on the same day but at different venues;

Figure 7 is a screen shot of a campaign logistics screen;

Figure 8 is a screen shot of a results page generated by the report engine;

Figure 9 is a screen shot of a campaign rate card which also shows the status of the campaign;

Figure 10 is a diagram showing the structure of a coded SMS text message containing information about the campaign;

Figure 11 is a screen shot of a campaign briefing document generated by the comparison/processing system of Figure 2;

Figure 12 is a flow diagram showing the 'filter of messages' step of the method shown in Figure 4 in more detail; Figure 13 is a screen shot of an approval page generated by the filter module;

Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of the structure of a website of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 15 is a screen shot of a campaign notes page;

Figure 16 is a screen shot of a search for staff from a staff database;

Figure 17 is a screen shot of a page for adding a new venue to a venue database;

Figure 18 is a screen of shot of a page for accessing pages related to the administration of campaigns;

Figure 19 is a screen shot of a page for selecting venues for a specific campaign by searching the venue database according to regional criteria;

Figure 20 is a screen shot of a page for selecting venues for the specific campaign of Figure 18 by defining further venue criteria;

Figure 21 is a screen shot of a page listing the selected venues for the specific campaign after the search of Figure 120;

Figure 22 is a screen shot of a page for editing default daily settings for a campaign;

Figure 23 is a screen shot of a page for selecting which venues to apply the settings of Figure 22;

Figure 24 is a screen shot of a page showing a summary of the chosen default settings of Figures 22 and 23;

Figure 25 is a screen shot of a page for editing default daily settings for a campaign by venue; Figure 26 is a screen shot of a page confirming the venue through which the default daily settings will be edited;

Figure 27 is a screen shot of a page showing a summary of the chosen default settings of Figures 25 and 26;

Figure 28 is a screen shot of a campaign summary; and

Figure 29 is a screen shot of a report page summarising all the campaigns for one client.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment of the Present Invention

Figure 1 shows a distributed information reporting and processing system 10 for reporting on field marketing events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations LI, L2, L3, L4 and L5 in real-time according to an embodiment of the present invention. The events occurring at the multiple locations LI, L2, L3, L4 and L5 are reported by field staff 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 at the multiple locations LI, L2, L3, L4, L5 using hand-held data telecommunications devices 24. In the example shown in Figure 1 there is one field staff 12, 14, 16, 18 at each of locations LI to L4, and two field staff 20, 22 at location L5. However, it will be appreciated that any combination of field staff and locations is possible. The system 10 is accessed by a marketing agency 26, and their clients who are companies who commission the marketing agency 26 to run marketing campaigns on their behalf. In this example three client companies are shown: company A 28, company B 30 and company C 32. The access to the system 10 is via a wide area network, in this embodiment, the Internet 34.

The system 10 comprises a messaging centre 36 for receiving the reports sent by the field staff 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 from the different locations LI, L2, L3, L4, L5. The system 10 further comprises a web server 38 for hosting a website (not shown) where information relating to the field marketing events occurring in the plurality of monitored locations LI, L2, L3, L4, L5 can be stored, accessed and updated by the marketing agency 26 and their clients 28, 30, 32.

The website is controlled by a comparison/processing system 40 which carries out the relevant processing of data to enable monitoring and reporting of the field marketing events occurring in the plurality of monitored locations LI, L2, L3, L4, L5. In order to carry out these functions, the processing module 40 has access to a suite of databases or one database 42. The marketing agency 26 may have its own local database 43 for storing event data as a back-up.

The way in which the system 10 is used by the marketing company 26 and a company commissioning the marketing campaign, for example, company A 28 is outlined below. Company A 28 defines a promotional marketing campaign strategy in the form of a campaign specification 44 (see Figure 2A) which is created on-line by accessing the website and is stored in the database 42. The specification 44 defines, amongst other things, the timetabled locations of where the field marketing events are to occur and the format of the event report to be sent by the field staff 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 at those locations. Promotional campaigns often require a plurality of field staff to be communicating results or reporting on events from a plurality of locations. The staff 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 at each location LI, L2, L3, L4 and L5 use a mobile telephone 24 to send the event report in the form of an SMS text message having a specified text message format, via a telecommunications network 46 to a central number which directs the message to the messaging centre 36. The messaging centre 36 automatically forwards any text message sent to the specific mobile telephone number to the marketing agency's 26 dedicated server 38. The server 38 stores the text message information which is filtered by the comparison/processing system 40 by comparing the information to that of the specification 44 stored in the database 42. The approved or authorised messages are then made available, in real-time, to the client company 28 via the Internet 34. Whilst not shown explicitly in Figure 1, the system 10 is arranged to enable a client of the marketing company (such as company A 28, B 30 or C 32) to log on to the system 10 via the Internet 34 and, subject to the provision of a correct password, look at the real-time results of their marketing strategy. The concept behind the system 10 is to enable a client to see the results of a marketing campaign in real-time as they are happening out in the field. Referring now to Figure 2, the comparison/processing system 40 comprises various modules for performing specific tasks.

A campaign set-up module 48 controls the creation and updating of campaign specifications 44. Each campaign specification 44, as shown in Figure 2 A, has a unique identifier and includes details of the marketing campaign such as the quantitative information to be gathered during the campaign, the locations and venues of the marketing, the reporting times for the field staff, the format of the reports. Also included are rate cards 49 (shown in Figure 9) bespoke to specific campaigns, which show the charging rates of the marketing agency 26 and a breakdown of these charges. Campaign specifications 44 are discussed in more detail later with reference to Figure 5.

The comparison/processing system 40 also comprises a filter module 50 for filtering the messages received from the field staff so that those messages with the correct format are automatically forwarded to a report engine 52 for real-time reporting. Incorrectly formatted messages are corrected, if possible, before being forwarded to the report engine 52 for real-time reporting, or are junked and not included in the results. The filter module 50 compares the received messages with the message format specified in the campaign specification 44. Pre-programmed rules identifying common formatting errors enable the filter module 50 to correct common message formatting errors.

The report engine 52 is provided to generate reports of the field marketing results from the messages received from the field staff. The report engine 52 displays the results sent by the field staff by populating blank templates for viewing on the website. The report engine 52 also displays the status of the various venues at any one time.

A message management module 54 is provided for managing the text messages once they are received from the field staff including during the filtration process. The message management module 54 sends a copy of each received message to the comparison/processing system 40 as well as providing back-up copies. Back-up copies of the received text message results include ones sent as emails to the local database 43 of the marketing agency 26, and ones stored in the comparison/processing system 40 database 42. The message management module 54 also handles the messages rejected by the filter module 50 by directing them to a junk text messages portion (shown in Figure 3) of the system database 42.

A file manager module 58 is provided for naming and adding relevant files to a campaign website for the client to be able to view via pages which they can access on the website. The file manager module 58 also enables users to see comprehensive names of files. The system 10 is designed to be as flexible as possible in the type of file that can be uploaded, e.g. Webcam, Powerpoint, audio or video files.

The comparison/processing system 40 also comprises a security module 60 for setting-up, controlling and updating staff and client access rights to the database 42 and the website. All marketing agency staff and clients are assigned individual usernames and passwords and have relevant access rights to the various parts of the database 42 and comparison/processing system 40.

Also included in the comparison/processing system 40 is a notification module 62 for keeping suitable parties notified when a campaign notes page 64 (shown in Figure 15) is updated by sending an email notification to the parties involved. The notification module 62 also generates and stores event activity and event history.

A search engine 66 is provided for searching the databases 42 e.g. a venue list portion 67 of the database 42 for a specific venue at the start of setting up the campaign specification, or a previously stored campaign. The results of specific venue searches can be saved and named by a venue and staff list manager module 68, in a search results portion 69 of the database 42 which is associated with the campaign set-up module 48. The search engine 66 can also access details of the marketing agency's staff, stored in a staff details portion 71 of the database 42, so that staff appropriate to the campaign may be selected e.g. by searching by criteria such as age, height, build, previous experience, proximity to location. An example of a venue and a staff search are described later in a case study and with reference to Figures 16 to 26. More specifically, the search engine 66 can implement a search event specified by the client (such as a campaign search) or even one specified by a member of field staff at the marketing agency 26 (such as a search for details of their shift work). The search engine 66 takes a user-specified search request and carries out a search of data stored in the database 42.

Referring now to Figure 3, some of the data structures (arrays) stored within the database 42 are described. The database 42 includes details of the user-defined campaign in the form of the campaign specification 44.

Client specific details such as contact names and telephone numbers together with rate cards 49 which set-out the marketing agency's pricing policy for a specific campaign e.g. £1 charge per promotional pack given out, or a specific client are stored in the client rate cards and details portion 68 of the database 42.

The database 42 also includes templates 70 which provide the interface for storing, accessing and updating information stored in the database 42 as well as for reporting on the marketing campaigns.

A back-up of text messages portion 73 of the database 42 stores a copy of the text messages received by the comparison/processing system 40.

Messages rejected through the filtering process are stored in the junk text messages portion 56 of the database 42 rather than being deleted. Analysis of the junked messages can provide an insight into the common data entry errors made by field staff thereby enabling the rules determining automatic message correction to be amended or 'tweaked'.

Details of the SMS message format 72 are also included in the database 42 specifying the acceptable format 72 for a received message. The SMS message formats 72 can be specific to a campaign, a client or of a global nature and are described in more detail later with reference to Figure 10.

During a campaign, the marketing agency 26 and the campaign clients can communicate with each other via the campaign notes 64 posted on the website. As mentioned above, a notification email is automatically sent every time the campaign notes 64 are added to or changed. The campaign notes 64 are stored in the database

42.

The database 42 also stores lists of the venues 67 and staff details 71 which are both searchable. The results of the venue list 67 and staff details 71 searches are saved in the search results 69 portion of the database 42 for use when setting up a new campaign specification 44. As new venues and staff details are entered into the appropriate database portions 67, 71 respectively, they are assigned their own ID reference number which can be used in the SMS message reports.

A job board advertising available positions at the marketing agency 26 is stored in the job board portion 74 of the database 42 and is accessible through the website. The job board database 74 is searchable by criteria such as location, type of work, and general keywords. Advertised positions can be applied for on-line, or can be forwarded to a friend by email.

Finally, details of completed or non-active campaigns are stored in an archive portion 76 of the database 42 and are also searchable by categories such as campaign type and product category, for example, and the results are saveable.

A method 78 of reporting and processing on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time is now described with reference to Figure 4. The method 78 commences at Step 80 with the client 28 registering with the marketing agency 26 and the system 40, providing their contact details and setting-up the campaign specification 44 which is specific to that campaign. The rate card 49 for the campaign is also established at this time. Marketing agency staff are allocated to the campaign and the client's contacts are identified and afforded security clearance to the relevant parts of the website.

Once the campaign specification has been set up, the method continues at Step 82 with the field staff being instructed with the details of the campaign event, its locations and times and also the reporting times and reporting format 72 for texting in their results. At Step 84, field staff text in their results at the allocated times to an allocated mobile telephone number. These messages are received by the messaging centre 36, at Step 86, which forwards the messages to the comparison/processing system 40 for filtering at Step 88. Step 90 occurs at the same time as Step 88, where the messages are forwarded to back-up databases 73, 43. The messages are filtered and then collated by the comparison/processing system 40 at Steps 92 and 93 respectively in order to derive the results data. Finally, at Step 94, the results are displayed in real-time for remote client access via the Internet 34.

Figure 5 shows a screen shot of a campaign specification 44 page in detail. The specification 44 is created based on the objectives of the campaign defining the features of the promotional event, in particular the elements that are fundamental to the reporting procedure. As will be explained later with reference to Step 82 of the method 78, these elements are communicated to field staff via a briefing document. Field staff then send SMS text messages containing these elements about the event at the location to which they have been assigned. The SMS text messages are sent at the time intervals and in the format 72 determined by the specification 44.

The specification campaign page 44 comprises a series of editable boxes and dropdown lists for entering information relating to a campaign such as the name of the campaign 96, the client's name 98, the type of campaign 100, its category 102 and location 104, the start 106 and end dates 108 and other relevant notes 110, 112. Each campaign is allocated a job or ID number 113 at this time.

The nature of the campaign is defined in the campaign specification 44 by: a) Type 100- this is the type of promotional activity that the campaign features, e.g. sampling, leafleting etc.; b) Category 102- this is the type of product being promoted during the campaign, e.g. health and beauty, alcohol, etc.; and c) Global Location 104- this defines the location of the campaign, e.g. regional, nationwide, worldwide. By categorising all campaigns in this way, previous and existing campaigns can be searched according to their main features. Analysis of such information is an important tool for the marketing agency 26 especially to enable the marketing agency 26 to make qualified decisions for future campaigns based on these past working examples.

Importantly, the times at which the field staff need to report are also defined on the campaign specification page 44. These can be at any given hour and frequency during the day. Selection of the reporting time is by a series of tick boxes 130 denoting the hour. Although not shown in Figure 5, this selection can also be made by a drop-down menu.

For field marketing events involving the distribution of promotional products, the client defines the nature of the quantitative information to be gathered or distributed during the campaign, e.g. numbers of leaflets 114/ samples 116/ t-shirts 118, etc. and the target gathering/distribution numbers for each 120, 122, 124 respectively. By defining the target quantities, the relative field marketing performance can be viewed by the clients at any time during the campaign in the form of graphs 126, 127, for example as shown in Figures 6 and 6A. In this way, the performance of chosen venues against each other and/or against targets can be observed visually. Figure 6 shows the actual quantities (ql) versus the target (tl) numbers for one campaign on two different days. If several venues are chosen, as shown in Figure 6A, the user can see how the different venues (Metro and Salford Quays in this example) are performing against each other and how their actual quantities (ql) are performing against their target quantities (tl), in real-time. This is an extremely useful tool for the user as it enables them to keep the campaign dynamic by responding to the results in of the campaign in real-time e.g. moving field staff to venues which are not achieving their targets. Although not shown, the performance of various venues over several days can also be viewed in graph form. All options are selectable via a drop down menu 128.

Also at Step 80, access to a logistics screen 132 (Figure 7) by the client is set. The logistics page 132 summarises 'positive' and 'negative' data relating to the campaign in the form of numbers of active venues 134, inactive venues 136, and number of venues for which text messages have not been received 138. The reasons for venues being inactive 136 and no data being received 138 may include circumstances such as staff being sick, or promotional material not available, etc. So, at any time the client can view the number of venues where the campaign is up and running 134, the number of venues where there has been a problem thereby restricting the campaign activity 136 and the number of venues for which a valid text message has not been received and therefore the status of the venue is yet unknown 138. The information on this page 132 is automatically calculated by the report engine 52 according to the text messages received and the statuses given in the text message. Going back to Figure 5, client access to such logistics data can be blocked in which case the logistics option 140 on the campaign specification page 44 is de-activated.

The appearance of a client's campaign specification 44 and personal pages can be personalised e.g. on the campaign specification page 44 by setting a background colour 142, logos 144 and/or other images. As a client may have more than one campaign with the marketing company, they may wish to display campaign specific logos to help distinguish between them.

Members of staff at the marketing company 26 are allocated to the campaign in order for the relevant personnel to have access to the campaign details. Their details, including their email address 146 is identified in the campaign specification 44. A primary contact 148 from the marketing agency 26 is allocated to the campaign to receive any email notification generated by new briefs or campaign notes. Also included in the campaign specification 44 are the contact details 150 for the client 28. This includes all relevant email addresses (not shown) which can be included in the email notification of campaign notes updates 64. The campaign notes feature 64 is described further with reference to Figure 15.

Also included in the campaign specification 44 is the number of field staff allocated per venue per day 151. Specific field staff can be linked to a specific campaign through the staff pages. Each staff member is allocated a staff ID number which is then associated with the campaign ID (explained in more detail later with reference to Figure 16). The campaign specification 44 is completed by an account handler or user at the marketing agency 26 who has the relevant security clearance for that position. The campaign specification 44 may also be set-up by uploading information from a previous campaign specification for that client 28 or another client. Information entered onto the campaign specification 44 can be edited during the campaign by authorised marketing agency personnel.

The venues that will be visited during the campaign are selected through the venue pages which are described in more detail later with reference to Figures 17 to 26. Each venue has a venue ID number.

The various features of the campaign which are defined in the campaign specification 44 e.g. the venues that will be visited during the campaign, the dates on which those venues will be active and the times of the day on those dates that results are to be sent in, are used to create a template of slots ready for the information in the reporting text messages to fill. This template is also known as the detailed campaign summary 152 and is accessible for viewing by the client 28 and the marketing agency 26 through the website so that the event information can be seen as it comes in. Figure 8 shows such a template 152 for results of an exemplary campaign between the dates of 27 August 2002 and 20 May 2003. The template indicates the sample 154, leaflet 156 and T-shirt 158 target numbers. Each row of the template 152 represents an event report including the date 160, brand 162, the venue 164, the status 166 and the results 168 of the report i.e. the information contained in the SMS text messages. Tick boxes 161, 163 at the end of each row and column, respectively, enable the user to select the parameters which they would like plotted as graphs by selection of the 'plot' button 165 on the page 152.

The results screen 152 displays rows of slots which are awaiting text messages based on the venues, dates and times that text messages are expected according to the campaign specification 44. The processing module 40 displays the relevant text message slots according to the current date and time. For example, if a campaign is set-up to receive text messages at 11 :00 and 16:00 every day, at 11 :00 on the first day, the results screen 152 will display a slot for each of the venues that are active on that day. At 16:00, this will happen again in order to receive the 16:00 text message results. If a text result has not been received at 16:00, the 11:00 result will remain on the screen until the 16:00 result has been received and approved. So, the results screen 152 will only show text message results that are expected at the time of viewing, not messages that are due to be received in the future.

By double clicking on a particular venue, Salford Quays in the example shown in Figure 8A, the monitoring staff at the marketing agency will see a venue summary page 167. If the 16:00 text result has not been received and approved, there will an empty slot 169 at 16:00. This is useful as staff at the marketing agency 26 are able to see quickly which field staff have not sent in their results and are able to chase the results straight away. The campaign is normally set up so that the client does not have access to the venue summary page 167.

Referring now to Figure 9, a campaign specific rate card 49 is shown indicating the marketing agency's 26 charging rates for a particular campaign, namely the fees of management staff at the marketing agency 26 in running the campaign 170, the cost of the field staff 172 and the cost of the uniforms 174 for the field staff. The rate card 49 can be set-up using headings and entries which are specific to the client and which are different to those shown in Figure 9. The currency (not shown) can be specified on the rate card 49 which can also have a text box (not shown) for any notes if required. The status 176 of the campaign is also shown on this page. The website can be set up so that the status of the campaign is shown on every web page (see Figure 8 for example).

The format 72 of the messages which the field staff use to report on the events occurring at the multiple locations is also determined during the campaign specification set-up Step 80, unless the message format is not campaign specific. An example of a SMS text message format 72 is shown in Figure 10. The message comprises relatively high-entropy coded data containing information on the following features of the campaign:

• The venue from which the result is coming from 178

• The campaign to which the result is expected 180

• The date to which the result refers 182 • The time interval to which the result refers 184

• The status of the field staff in relation to the event 186 e.g. L (Live), S (Staff Sick), U (Unable to Locate Stock) etc.

• The quantitative information required and defined by the campaign 188

• Any comments that are relevant to the campaign activity at that time interval and date 190 e.g. 'very busy', 'need more packs', 'can I leave early'

The data is in the form of numeric codes 191 separated by a hash sign (#) which distinguish the different sections of information 178, 180, 182, 184, 186, 188, 190. The numeric codes for the venue and the campaign are generated and stored in the venue and staff list manager module 68 and campaign set-up module 48, respectively.

Alternatively, a shorter message format can be set-up by linking the staff ID to the campaign and venue ID i.e. each staff ID is associated with a specific campaign and venue. Therefore, instead of having to provide both the campaign and venue ID in a message, the staff need only provide their unique staff ID.

Referring back to Step 82 of Figure 4, where the field staff are instructed according to the campaign specification by the marketing company 26, field staff are allocated venues, times, reporting times and are informed about the format of the reporting SMS messages. This briefing information 192 is generated from the website, as shown in Figure 11 , and can be accessed by the field staff via their personal pages or the website. Alternatively, the briefing information 192 can be emailed directly to the field staff, or the briefing information printed out and the document posted to the field staff.

At the appointed time and location, field staff text in their event reports by SMS text message in the pre-specified format to the allocated number (Step 84 of the method 78). These messages are received by the mobile messaging centre 36 which forwards the messages to the server 38. A copy of each text message is also automatically sent via email to a designated email address at the marketing agency 26, which stores them in its local database 43 as a back-up. In Step 90, another back up is provided in the back-up portion 73 of the database 42 in a Raw SMS Viewer Interface. This is a URL which when visited shows all the text messages received to the allocated mobile telephone number in the format that they are sent. It is possible from this page to search the contents of the text messages, and to download text messages in the Comma Delimited format (CSN) files for analysis if required. A further copy of the text message is retained in the comparison/processing system 40 for filtration to verify the correctness of the data according to the pre-determined campaign specification and message format.

Referring now to Figure 12, the filter of messages at Step 42, is shown in more detail. The filtering of the received text messages by the comparison processing system 40 begins at Step 194 with the determination of whether a received text message is in the correct format by comparing the received text message with the message format 72 specified in the database 42. If the message is in the correct format, the message is then compared with the campaign specification 44, at Step 196, to determine whether the information contained in the message corresponds with the campaign specification 44 e.g. has the message been reported at the correct time and from the correct location. The process of comparison and filtering enables the data to be interpreted and displayed in a comprehensive way via the client accessible web page 152 (Figure 8). This process is highly automated to enable maximum speed between the distribution of the results from the field to the translated display of the data as comprehensive and relevant results. Commonly, the time between the text message being sent and it appearing on the approval screen is approximately 5 seconds.

If everything is in order with the message, it is then further analysed, at Step 198, to determine whether it contains any data in the comments section 190 of the message (normally at the end). Field staff may attach comments to their text message reports which are directed to the marketing agency staff and which would be inappropriate to forward to the client e.g. 'Can I go home early today' or 'I need more packs'. Such comments are filtered out of the message before the client can see it, and acted on by the marketing agency 26, if necessary. If there is no such extra information in the text message, the results data is derived from the message and the results are displayed in real-time on the results page 152 on the website, at Step 94, so that client can access the website at times convenient to them and check the results. Each campaign has its own results page 152 on the website and text messages are displayed on the campaign specific screen according to the Campaign ID stated in the text message. The results data is derived from those messages complying with the conditions of the filter step and the results are displayed in real-time, as they happen, on the website for remote client access. The comparison/processing system 40 translates each piece of information by decoding this relatively high-entropy data and populates the empty slots in the results template, shown in Figure 8, with the results, so that the results are readily interpretable by the user (in a low-entropy format).

If the incoming messages are not in the correct format, or do not correspond to the campaign specification 44, or contain extra information, several tools exist for manually and/or automatically correcting the errors so that the message can be included amongst the other results.

If the message fails either one of the first two filtration steps, Steps 194 and 196 i.e. the message is not in the correct format and/or the message does not correspond to the campaign set-up, the messages are compared with predetermined errors or common mistakes, at Step 200. An example of a message not corresponding with the campaign set-up is a text message which is in the correct format but the venue is defined as inactive for the date contained within the text message.

The rules, mentioned earlier with reference to the filter module 50 in Figure 2, define common formatting errors together with instructions for their correction. Obvious mistakes, if any, are identified at Step 191. These common and recognised mistakes in the message are automatically corrected or new messages created, at Step 202, and these corrected or newly created messages are analysed for extra information at the third filtration step, Step 198, as before.

If the messages contain errors which are not obvious or not pre-defined in the rules and therefore cannot be automatically corrected, these messages are automatically forwarded, at Step 204, to a section of the website which manual operators, who are members of staff at the marketing agency, can access. The manual operator, at Step 204, views the messages initially in its raw form, i.e. as received in SMS text message format which enables the operator to amend the text message into the correct format. Each text message also contains a brief explanation of why the message has been rejected e.g. if a text message is received for a venue that is defined as inactive for the date contained within the text message, there will be a message stating that the 'Message is not expected for that Campaign Nenue Date.' If the operator judges that the messages are completely nonsensical and cannot be corrected at Step 205, the message is forwarded to the junk messages database 56 at Step 206. The operators can also create new messages if the messages are received in another format, for example.

Referring now to Figure 13, as a further check the corrected messages are decoded and sent to an approval template screen 208 for viewing and approval or editing, also by the manual operators. The approval template corresponds to the results template on the results page 152, but unlike the results template, it cannot be viewed and amended by the clients. When a text message is successfully placed in the approval template by filling a row of slots, the filled row 210 is highlighted indicating that it is awaiting approval. As with the results page 152, the approval page 208 presents the decoded text message information (in a low-entropy format) so that, for example, the actual name of the venue 212 appears on screen rather than the Nenue ID. The date 214, time interval start 216, last update 218, status 220, comments 222 and quantity sections 224 are all amendable via the approval screen 208. Results that are received in any format other than text message e.g. telephone results, email results, can be completed and approved manually by the operator on the approval page 208.

A message is approved by selecting the 'approve' tick boxes 224 selecting the 'approve these SMS messages' button 226. Once approved, the message disappears from the approval page 208. Only empty slots remain for messages not yet received which enables marketing agency staff to chase the relevant field staff. Results that have been incorrectly approved can be overwritten by an operator creating a new text message in the junk messages section 56. The newly created message then re-appears in the approval page 208 for approval. Manual operators can create any new text messages through the junk messages section 56. Once manually corrected, the messages are forwarded to the final filtration step, Step 198, where the messages are analysed for extra information. Messages containing extra information are also forwarded to the manual operator who responds appropriately to the comments or the message.

Figure 14 shows the links between different elements of the system and data provided to the system, interpretation of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and requires no further explanation here.

Turning now to the campaign notes feature 64, shown in Figure 15, this enables marketing agency staff and client to be able to view all communication between the two parties in one place, chronologically and at any time. When the campaign notes are updated by a party, the other party receives a notification email showing the content of the message and that message is automatically uploaded to the campaign notes section of the specific campaign web pages.

A 'title' text box 228 is provided for a subject heading to be entered and a large text box 230 for a message body. Every time a message is typed and submitted by a client, an email is generated by the notification module 64 and sent to the primary contact as defined in the campaign specification 44. The email contains the subject heading 228 and body of the message 230, as well as the name of the client and campaign from which the message was sent. If the message is sent from the marketing agency staff, the same text boxes are available together with a tick box 232 next to the email address(es) provided in the campaign contact email addresses field on the campaign specification. The head office operator is given the choice of which client contact to send the message to as it is likely that more than one client personnel is associated with the campaign. Client personnel often have different roles in the campaign and therefore the messages sent via the campaign notes are likely to be relevant to particular client personnel. The purpose of the tick box 232 is so that only the relevant client personnel are notified of a message update.

Case Study A top end grocer (TEG) client commissioned PromostaffUK.com, a marketing agency, to undertake a nationwide campaign to promote their new loyalty card scheme.

The brief for the campaign meant that PromostaffUK.com were to employ between two to six promotional field staff to go into every store associated with the TEG in the country (over 400 stores altogether). The campaign was to run for fourteen days consecutively, with a few stores running for a further week.

The client requested that PromostaffUK.com report on the number of loyalty card packs distributed to the client's customers throughout the campaign. The frequency of reporting the results was to be three times daily at 11 :00, 16:00 and 20:00.

A database operator at PromostaffUK.com headquarters was given the details of the campaign for inclusion in the campaign specification, by the client's account handler. The campaign specification was to include: • All Client and Campaign details: o Client name o Client contact names and email addresses o Preferred welcome text for client home page o Preferred username and password o Campaign name o Campaign Category (Loyalty Card) o Campaign/ Activity Type (Leafleting/Distribution) o Global Location of campaign (Nationwide) o Brief summary of what the campaign entailed (for campaign home page) o Whether the client wanted to view the Logistics page (in this case, this was not necessary) o Preferred colours for Client and Campaign home page backgrounds o PromostaffUK.com personnel which will need to have access to the campaign results (for approving text message results) o Primary contact for the campaign (for campaign notes) o Frequency of text message results reporting (3 times daily) o Campaign and Client logos for home pages • A complete list of store names and towns

• The number of field staff to be placed in each store -between 2 and 6 staff

• The exact dates that each store would be live during the campaign

The database operator entered all these details into the campaign specification. Field staff were selected by searching the staff database in the following way and with reference to Figure 16. The staff page 234 was accessed by the operator. The operator searched for staff according to their experience 235, qualification (basic food hygiene certificate option 236), and proximity to a venue by defining the postal code of the venue 238 and defining an acceptable radius 240. At that stage, the operator also defined the format of the search results by ticking the appropriate fields in the 'show results' column 242, in this case the surname, mobile phone number and date of birth field were ticked. Staff are listed in the search results 244 according to the format defined by the operator. The operator then selected a number of the staff by ticking the included box 246 next to their names. A message was then typed in the text boxes 248 which were sent to the selected staff automatically through the database by email and SMS text message. Staff which were available responded to PromostaffUK.com by sending an email or text message back. Details of the field staff were then automatically uploaded to the campaign specification.

The operator then entered all the venues into the 'administer venue' page 250 of the venue database, as shown in Figure 17, ensuring that the regions and towns 252 associated with the venues were already inputted into the database. Each venue was also assigned a brand (the name of the TEG) 254, type (supermarket) 256, campaign category (loyalty card) 258, activity type (leafleting/distribution) (not shown) and global location (nationwide) (not shown). This information is gathered so that future searches can be conducted (if required) for venues that have been involved in nationwide leafleting distribution campaigns in supermarkets.

Once all the venues were inputted into the database, the operator selected to add venues to the campaign by choosing the 'edit campaign venues' option 260 from a tool bar 262, as shown in Figure 18. Figure 19 shows the first 264 of a number of venue selection pages. The operator chose to view towns in all regions, using the tick boxes 266. From a second venue selection page 268, the operator selected to view all the venues in the selected towns, that were supermarkets of the TEG, assigned to a loyalty card campaign category.

This action produced a list of venues 270, as shown in Figure 21, which were then selected according to the original list given to the operator by the account handler in charge of the campaign.

Once the venues had been assigned to the campaign, the operator went back to the administer campaign page 262 and selected to view the campaign venue list 272. This produced a list of all the venues for the campaign, next to their allocated venue ID code (not shown). This page was saved as a text file and printed for distribution to the regional managers and account handlers responsible for communicating all the campaign details to the field staff. The operator also opened and printed the campaign briefing page (see Figure 11) from the administer campaign page 262 by selecting the 'view campaign briefing' option 274. This listed all the venues and their relevant venue ID codes, and showed an example of the text message that would need to be sent by the staff. In this briefing, staff were also able to see the campaign ID. This list was distributed to field staff during the staff briefing and the account handler ensured that all staff understood the text message and the frequency with which they would be required to text.

The system requires that staff text in cumulative results per day for ease. It was decided that it would be easier for staff to count the amount of packs they had left to distribute in order to calculate the number of packs distributed at the reporting time.

When the campaign was originally set up, the operator decided to create a default of two staff per venue and this was most common amongst the venues. The operator then went into the individual venues that required more than two staff and changed them accordingly.

Editing the default settings for the campaign staff and targets is accessed through the administer campaign page 262 by selecting the 'edit the default settings for the campaign staff and targets' option 276. The first 'edit the default settings for the campaign staff and targets' page 278 (Figure 22) shows a list of the dates 280 included within the start and end dates of the campaign. The operator can choose to make the dates active 282 or inactive 284, and the active/inactive settings changeable 286 or non-changeable 288. Selecting the changeable option 286 means that the new active/inactive settings are now the campaign's default i.e. if any venues are added to the campaign after this editing process, they will automatically default to the new settings. Similarly, if the default is changed in any way, these settings would be left unchanged or go with the new default. The staff 290 and target quantities 292 can also be edited on this page 278.

The second 'edit the default settings for the campaign staff and targets' page 290 (Figure 23) gives the operator the opportunity to assign the new settings to all the venues 292, or a particular venue 294. The operator can also decide at this stage to make the new setting the new default 296 for any venues added to the campaign after this process.

At the final 'edit the default settings for the campaign staff and targets' page 298 (Figure 24), an overview of the proposed changes are presented to the operator for confirmation.

Alternatively, the campaign dates, staff and targets can be edited by venue 300 through the administer campaign page 262. From the first editing page 302 (Figure 25), the operator chooses the individual venue for editing from a list 304 which shows only the venues assigned to the campaign, not all venues. The rest of the editing process is the same as that described for Figures 22 and 23. The new settings are summarised for the operator on subsequent pages 306, 308, Figures 26 and 27 respectively.

At 11:00 on day one of the campaign, the approval screen listed 432 venues awaiting text message results. One PromostaffUK.com head office member of staff was responsible for approving incoming text message, and another was assigned to correct junk text messages so that they could be moved to the approval screen. By 12:00 on day one of the campaign, PromostaffUK.com head office personnel were able to go to the approval screen and see a list of venues for which text message results had not been received. The field staff members located in these stores were then chased to provide results. In some cases, they were unable to text their results in as they did not have reception coverage in the store in which case the quantitative information was given over the telephone and manually inputted into the approval screen by the operator.

In other cases, the lack of text message results and comments that were sent in successfully by staff highlighted problems in store. In particular, pack distribution was hindered in many stores as the demand was so great that staff ran out of packs very quickly. The benefit of the real-time reporting was that PromostaffUK.com and the client were able to act quickly in organisation the delivery of more packs to the stores that were running low.

From 11 :00 on day one of the campaign, the client was able to go into their home pages and view the results as they were coming in. During the first three hours of the campaign, the Client Reporting Tool was able to show the client that at least 100,000 packs had already been distributed around the country.

The client was also able to decide between which dates the results were to be seen, and could then opt to view the results sorted by date, time interval, venue name, town and actual quantitative result. They were also able to select various venues and view their performance using the Plot Graph function.

After day one of the campaign, the client was able to click into any particular venue and see the history of text message results that were received from the store itself. All relevant queries or problems were communicated to and from the client via the campaign notes.

At any point during the campaign, the client was able to see in the campaign summary 309 (Figure 28) : the start 310 and end 312 dates of the campaign, the number of days already completed within the campaign 314, the number of unique venues associated with the campaign 316, the number of person days that would be chargeable for the campaign 318, and the total number of packs distributed across all days and venues to date 320. The client was also able to select a particular date range and see the total number of packs that were distributed between these dates. Further, if a particular venue was selected, the client could view the daily and total figures relating to that venue within any selected date range.

The client also had a number of other campaigns with PromostaffUK.com, which they could review at the same time (Figure 29).

Once the campaign had been completed, and all text message results had been processed by the processing module, the operator was able to access the results pages and download any of the results for further analysis. In particular, the following information was downloaded into MS Excel for further analysis:

• Number of packs distributed weekly per venue

• Total packs handed out per venue Number of packs handed out each day across all venues

• Total number of packs handed out

This information was then placed into graphs using MS Excel and eventually placed in a Powerpoint presentation for the end of campaign report. This report was then uploaded to the campaign pages via an associated files section for client perusal.

Having described a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is to be appreciated that the embodiment in question is exemplary only and that variations and modifications such as will occur to those possessed of the appropriate knowledge and skills may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, the present invention is not restricted to the reporting of marketing events, any sort of events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations which need to be reported in real-time can be the subject of the present invention, such as election results. Notes which are sent in by text message can be made available as election results in real-time as the votes come in. The present invention can be used in many different types of commercial applications such as marketing and voting trend monitoring as well as highly technical applications such as monitoring environmental (e.g. weather) conditions at different geographical locations and monitoring traffic volumes at different road junctions (in place of fixed cameras). The common thread in all of these different uses of the present invention is that real-time monitoring of events occurring at different geographical locations is required as is automated real-time compilation of the results of such monitoring and the provision of the results to a user.

Furthermore, even though the present embodiment has been described in relation to a single marketed company (single client of the marketing agency), it is to be appreciated that the system is specifically designed to operate with multiple clients. In fact, it is when the system becomes heavily used that its attributes and advantages are most clearly seen.

Although the present embodiment has described field staff using mobile telephones for transmitting the event data, it is to be appreciated that other portable data communications devices can also be used such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) having a data telecommunications capability.

Claims

Claims:

1. A distributed information reporting and processing system for reporting on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time, the system comprising: a central data store for storing a user-defined specification, the specification identifying the locations and defining the manner in which the events are to be reported; a plurality of portable data communications devices, each device being provided at one of the monitored locations and being connectable to a data communications network to transmit reports in accordance with the user-defined specification regarding events occurring at the monitored locations; central processing means for processing event data received from each of the portable data communications devices regarding the events occurring at their respective sites to verify the correctness of the data, the central processing means being arranged to compare the format of the received event data to a predetermined format stored within the specification and to verify event data which conforms to the predetermined format; and collating means for collating the verified event data from the different locations and providing the same to the user for real-time collective analysis of the events occurring at the plurality of locations.

2. A system according to Claim 1, wherein the plurality of portable communications devices are arranged to transmit relatively high-entropy coded data over a relatively low-bandwidth data channel and the central processing means is arranged to convert received data into relatively low-entropy data decoded to be readily interpretable by the user.

3. A system according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the predetermined format comprises a specific event-monitoring format within a standard communications format.

4. A system according to Claim 3, wherein the standard communications format comprises an SMS format.

5. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of portable data communications devices comprise a plurality of mobile telephone devices and the data communications network comprises a mobile telecommunications network.

6. A system according to any preceding claim, further comprising means for reading the specification and for transmitting relevant portions of the specification to each of the plurality of portable data communications devices over the data communications network.

7. A system according to any preceding claim, further comprising means for the user creating the specification on-line via a wide-area data communications network.

8. A system according to any preceding claim, further comprising automatic error correction means for correcting obvious mistakes in the format or content of the received event data.

9. A system according to Claim 8, wherein the automatic correction means is arranged to compare the received event data with a plurality of common error templates and in the event a match is found to correct the received event data in a predetermined manner associated with the matching template.

10. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the central processing means is arranged to further check conformity of the received event data with campaign requirements as defined in the specification.

11. A system according to Claim 10, wherein the campaign requirements comprise user-defined time periods for reporting from locations, the transmitted data includes the reporting time and the central processing means is arranged to validate data received from a given location which conforms to the reporting time for that location.

12. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the collating means is arranged to provide the results on a website for remote user access over a wide area data network, such as the Internet.

13. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein the web-site design and format is determined by the specification.

14. A method of reporting and processing on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time, the method comprising: storing a user-defined specification at a central site, the specification identifying the locations and defining the manner in which the events are to be reported; transmitting reports regarding events occurring at the monitored locations in accordance with the user-defined specification from a plurality of portable data communications devices, one device being provided at each of the monitored locations and being connectable to a data communications network; processing event data received from each of the portable data communications devices regarding the events occurring at their respective sites to verify the correctness of the data; comparing the format of the received event data to a predetermined format stored within the specification and verifying event data which conforms to the predetermined format; and collating the verified event data from the different locations and providing the same to the user for real-time collective analysis of the events occurring at the plurality of locations.

15. A distributed information reporting and processing system for reporting on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.

16. A method of reporting and processing on events occurring in a plurality of monitored locations in real-time substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.