WO2013086171A1

WO2013086171A1 - Free remote continuous consecutive sweepstakes game and self-sustaining system of operation

Info

Publication number: WO2013086171A1
Application number: PCT/US2012/068217
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthew GIACHERI
Original assignee: Giacheri Matthew
Priority date: 2011-12-08
Filing date: 2012-12-06
Publication date: 2013-06-13

Abstract

A network-based system allows registered users to enter sweepstakes contests for various prizes, no fee or purchase necessary, said prizes being offered by the host system. Upon entry of a sweepstakes, the sweepstakes player is presented with an interactive media display - for example one or more advertisements- which may or may not offer additional action - i.e. clicks or acquisitions - while said player's entry is processed. Revenue is generated by each entry, such that, by implementing any of various parameters to create a formula based on monitored traffic flow and subsequent revenue and income, at least one prize may be derived and awarded. At such point, action could also immediately be initiated, triggering the launch of the next award game, providing continuous game play opportunities to users.

Description

FREE REMOTE CONTINUOUS CONSECUTIVE SWEEPSTAKES GAME AND SELF-SUSTAINING SYSTEM OF OPERATION

DESCRIPTION

A standard sweepstakes is usually conducted by a company as a promotional endeavor. The downside of the standard sweepstakes is that a company must make the sacrifice of offering a prize, often a stock item of the company, in hopes that the awareness generated by the promotion will outweigh the cost of the award given. A further downside to this practice is that the award is rarely a cash prize, so although a player may win the prize, they also "win" the tax burden associated with the value of the prize. This can become an extreme burden if the prize awarded is, for instance, a Ferrari that may be valued at $250,000.

This system allows for cash awards- significantly including large cash awards of $100,000 and more- so a winner can never be a loser in the sense of inheriting a tax burden that is not payable as a portion of the prize itself. Also, this system eliminates any risk of loss to the parent company by running the promotion, due to the fact that prizes are derived as a portion of the profit.

Perhaps the best instance of the system is illustrated by the simplest form, which is a random draw sweepstakes hosted on a website with traffic monitoring, i.e. a hit counter. In a random draw, players register their information, and at an established time, the drawing takes place with equal chance given to each entry that any one entry may be selected as the winner from the total set of entries.

Therefore, using this model a user would log onto the website entering the homepage, and they would click and proceed to a registration page. Here the user would enter required identifiable information. This type of information would be, at the very least, minimal and would be necessary for notifying and awarding the user if they are a winner of a prize. They would also have the option of entering additional preferential information, to assist in sending targeted advertising information to them, the user, when accessing the website. This is better for everyone: the user gets information they may actually want from companies and services they like and need; the value of this information increases revenue rates; and advertisers are put in contact with their desired clientele. By accessing a user's zip code, we can also offer localized ads by implementing a radius search of the surrounding area and zip codes. All of this information is stored in at least one database. A user may at any time change or update their information by logging into their user page. There will also be user information stored for companies that advertise with us that may or may not be stored in the same database. These company users follow a similar registration process and would require necessary advertising content uploading and billing applications built into the website for their use and convenience. Ads are subject to approval by the host system. Once they are approved ads can then be shown to users of the website and bills are produced forthwith based on the number, of views, clicks, acquisitions, etc. for each advertisement a company may be running. Companies may edit or change ads, view and pay bills, and update or edit information

Once registered, a user can enter the game from their user page. If preferential information has been submitted, the user will already be receiving targeted advertisements on their user page, if not they will see a slightly less than random assortment of ads (that may target specific age or sex demographics). The user then clicks a button to start their entry. While their entry is processed- meaning while a unique signature is created for their entry, stored in the database, and sent to the player's user page for personal record keeping- the user will be shown at least one page containing at least one advertisement. The advertisements may be drawn from a company database or streamed to designated spaces by ad networks. These advertisements are the source of income for the website, and make the prize awards possible. After a negligible time span, a button will appear at the bottom of the screen for the user to continue. Here they may be shown more ads, or they may be given a notification that their entry has been processed. It is also possible that at this time a user may be asked or required to answer at least one question about one or more of the advertisements viewed, or to complete a short survey regarding the content and their interest in it or related content This information would provide valued feedback for advertisers and information concerning user preferences. Once the user's entry has been processed the prize counter will increase by one and the user will be redirected to their user page, where they may enter the maximum number of times allowed by the rules of the game. An optimal format would allow unlimited entries per user.

User submissions will be tallied until the prize counter reaches its target hit level. There will always be at least one prize counter tallying at any given time, and an optimal format will have multiple prize counters going at any given time, where each individual entry may or may not be recorded into all running prize counters. One could require a user to enter each prize counter independently of the others, or allow one entry to be submitted to all counters. Once a prize counter reaches its hit target, the counter will close, and a randomized selection will be drawn from that dataset within the database-being the range of entries from entry number one to the close of any counter that has reached its designated hit goal. That winning user will then be notified, ideally by email, but any notification system will do, and will have to comply with the rules of the game to receive their prize, i.e. sign affidavit of eligibility as required by law for prizes of a certain value etc. In an ideal situation, that prize counter will then immediately reset and be open to use by users for a new prize. It is important to emphasize that there would be virtually no lag time between the close of a prize counter and its being reset and reopened by the host and/or host system, allowing users to enter again for at least one new prize. This is why allowing users unlimited entries is preferred, because users can control the pace of the game by their participation, and dictate the frequency of prize awards, and thus cause the number of prize awards and prize winners to increase with their increased participation.

The counter system allows for guaranteed prize values, because one knows the amount of revenue generated for each advertisement shown or for each impression made, so the prize award becomes a simple formula, being a designated percentage of the total revenue generated by the target number of hits.

Another preferred component of the game would be to have certain instant win prizes also encoded into the system that can either be timestamp dependent, hit level dependent, etc. This provides an added element of excitement and greatly ensures increased and repeat participation.

The game may have one or more themes, such as a casino game, one or more formats, one or more rounds, or any combination to make the game more fun and/or appealing. The game could be operated as a progressive game with a programmed future cutoff point to award a "super prize." It could be a daily progressive, or simply a daily established prize value.

The system could also include a referral based sweepstakes prize, in which user's could refer a friend through the website, upon whose registration the referring user would receive an entry for a prize offered by the host This system would benefit all parties, assisting in the growth of the website, and logically leading to more entries into the game system, which would produce more prizes for users of said system.

The advantages of the system are numerous. You can offer better odds for specific cash prizes compared to other cash award games. You can guarantee the awards of prizes at a given point, unlike in a lottery. You can offer users the ability to control the number of prize awards that are given by their participation level. All of these bonuses are in addition to the main fact; these advantages come at no expense to a user over games that one might otherwise pay to play. Not to mention the service aspect of putting advertisers in contact with large volumes of the people they want to see their products, and offering, at times, discounts to users who seek such products. Such discounts also capitalize on a current bubble or trend that has surfaced on the internet in the form of "coupon websites," and offer an additional source of value to users. Allowing users to play the game without forced redirection also adds an element of safety and security, because the user only pursues advertisements of their interest at their own risk. There is no forced action to move the user to or open another website that may contain viruses or be operating a scam. Also, in many cases, forced redirection is accompanied by information sharing, in which the host website relays a user's personal information to the website of redirection or of a pop-up advertisement This can greatly increase spam and in other ways pester and endanger the user and their accounts. The user need not take any action with respect to the advertisements shown on our website while they are on are website to enter and participate in the game. It also creates a greater value to advertisers, because they know that the redirections are based on a genuine interest in their product, as opposed to being a forced requisite for valid entry into the game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a flow chart describing the steps of the main game-play aspect of the system, from login/registration; game entry; advertisement display; game entry processing, storage, and retrieval; and winner selection and notification.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart describing user preferential data retention and retrieval of user volunteered information for a personalized and optimized advertisement display.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart describing company user profile log in/registration and profile edit functions.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart describing a company user's advertisement submission functions, proceeding to user set and personalized budgeting, all of which must meet host approval, before the eventual display of the advertisement in the system.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart describing a company user's view/pay bill application.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart describing administrator functions for approving advertisements submitted to queue, including approval for display or disapproval with report to company of problem; submission to advertisement display queue; and a check for coupons, so that coupons may be tagged for coupon search capabilities.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart describing the monitoring and applied billing of advertisements being displayed, with reporting to companies of their bill statements, and alert capability for when a company is nearing its budget limit so a company is aware when their advertisement will stop running unless the budget is replenished.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart describing user profile store and edit functions, with the ability for users to enter voluntary preferential information for custom, targeted advertising.

Fig.9 is a flow chart describing a function for the retrieval of a user's game entry history and its display for the user. Fig. 10 is a flow chart describing an independent of game-play coupon search, retrieval, and display function.

Fig. 11 is a flow chart describing the reception and display of content received from an ad network.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart describing an instant win format that may appear as part of the main game-play feature, which follows entry, completion, and instant prize notification, with submission to other active promotions being independent of instant win results.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart describing a game theme that may appear either in whole as or in part of the main game-play feature, including entry, advertisement display, entry requirement satisfaction check, and entry processing.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart describing the winner selection process and immediate game reset and re-deploy functions once a hit target is reached, so there is no lag between the close of one prize counter and the open of next, allowing for continuous, uninterrupted game-play by the users.

Fig. 15 is a flow chart describing a referral system in which users may refer friends to the website, and for each registered referral the referring user receives an entry into one or more of the prize promotions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiment of the current invention would be to operate as a website on the internet, allowing users to access the website and its contents, importantly the independently hosted sweepstakes game, using any computer or mobile device that is equipped with the hardware and navigation systems of an Internet Service Provider. Once on the website, users would be able to access the content of the website or to navigate away from the page via searches or through the clicking of a hyperlink. The use of the internet and the functions available through such use is well known and understood in the art.

Navigation from the Homepage

The homepage allows users access to the- various other pages provided by the host on the website. One important feature of the preferred embodiment of the system, as described in FIG. 10, is the access provided to users to search for any coupons available on the website through the advertisers on the website without the requisite of registering or logging in. This allows users who are uncomfortable with providing any personally identifiable information a means to find value in the website's contents without providing said personally identifiable information.

Registration Log in of a User

The most important feature of the current system is the unique sweepstakes gaming system, and the first step to accessing said system is registration, or logging in for registered users. Anytime a user attempts to access the game, they will be asked to register or log in if they are not already logged in as a recognized user. Registration requires creating a user name and password with confirmation, as well as providing basic personally identifiable information that is necessary for record keeping and award notification. Such mandatory information includes name, address, and valid email address and optional information such as gender, age, and other optional fields pertaining to user preferences, as described in FIG. 2. A user must also agree to abide by the rules of the game on the website in order to play, and if the rules are ever subject to change they must agree to any revised version of the rules before any future game-play will be permitted by said user.

There is a separate registration process for company users who wish to post advertisements on the website. Companies will be required to enter such information as will allow the host to confirm their existence and good standing as a business in operation, including company name, address, and the company administrator user's personal information.

Registration and log in features are ubiquitous on the internet, and are well known and understood in the art.

User Functions

The game's main function for a standard user will be the game entry process. Once logged in to one's user account, the user will be able to submit an entry for any available prize(s). This function is described in FIG. 1. A user will click to enter the game. Prior to the user's game entry being processed, the user will be shown a display of advertisements and may need to click to continue in the process to a new page on the host system of advertisement displays. A user may click and pursue any advertisement at their own volition and discretion, but there is no requirement to pursue any advertisements displayed or to redirect to any advertiser's webpage or website in order for a user to complete a game entry. It is also possible that at this time a user may be asked or required to answer at least one question about one or more of the advertisements viewed, or to complete a short survey regarding the content and their interest in it or related content This information would provide valued feedback for advertisers and information concerning user preferences. Once the user's entry is processed, they will be notified as such, and will be returned to their user page, where they may choose to enter the game again.

They may also track the record of their game entries, as described in FIG. 9. The game log will give the unique identifier of each entry, most likely the date and time of the entry tied to the user name of the entrant, or possibly the sequential entry number of the entry.

From the user page, a standard user may also edit their profile, as described in FIG. 8, or enter voluntary, preferential information to receive more personally targeted and relevant advertising, as described in FIG. 2.

Company User Functions

A company user, once logged into their company page, will have three major functions. The first of which pertains to management of their profile information to update changes, as described in FIG. 3. Only a company administrator may make changes to the company's profile information, as a safety precaution for our clients.

The second feature, as described in FIG.4, is the management of the company's advertisements. Companies will upload their own advertisements, and set budgets based on their needs and preferences. Each advertisement is subject to host administrator approval, as described in FIG. 6, which is a necessary step to protect the host by making sure the content is appropriate. If an advertisement is accepted it is entered into the system and the company is notified. If the advertisement is a coupon it is also made searchable within the coupon search feature as described in FIG. 10. If the advertisement is denied, it is returned to the company with an error message or a description as to what is wrong with the advertisement. At this point a company may choose to resubmit or to cancel the advertisement.

The third feature, as described in FIG. 5, is bill management Here companies may track the status and progress of their submitted advertisements, assess their success rates, view old and current bills, and pay any bills that are due or outstanding. The website's monitoring of advertisements and their associated budgets also allows for notifications to be sent to companies when an advertisement is nearing its set budget limit, so a company may choose to submit new or more advertisements or renew existing advertisements.

Ad Networks

The website may also contract agreements with ad networks for advertisements to be streamed to designated locations on the website, as described in FIG. 11. Ad networks are well-established in the industry, and are well known and understood in the art.

Winner Selection and Notification

The winner selection and notification systems are integral for the operation of the system. In the preferred embodiment of the website, each game entry would be counted on at least one rolling counter on the website tied to the game-play function. The counter system insures that a requisite amount of income is generated before a prize is awarded. The prize award is a designated portion of that income. In the event that a prize counter does not reach its target, a consolation prize will be awarded as of an advertised date as specified by the rules. The counter system allows for specific prize amounts to be advertised, which is necessary in sweepstakes operations, and also allows for the ceiling of such advertised amounts to grow greatly, because the prize value is guaranteed by the revenue generated through the system. It allows the host to offer all prizes, independently, and without exposing users of the host website to other websites as a requisite to play the game.

As described in FIG. 14, once a counter reaches its target, the counter resets, and instantly reopens for game-play to users for a new prize, allowing continuous play for consecutive awards. In the preferred embodiment, the selection process begins simultaneously with these events, with the host system initiating a selection process that employs a random number generator, selecting one number from the set created by the counter system, from the first entry of the opening of the counter to the last entry of the counter's closing. With the selection of the winning entry, and the user who entered it, the winner verification process begins. This involves verifying the user's identity and eligibility, as per the rules, and any and all legal requirements. If the selected winner passes all of the requirements, they are awarded the prize, if not, the winner selection process is reinitiated from among the remaining pool of eligible entries until an eligible winner is found and awarded the prize.

Various Formats or Supplements

The preferred embodiment of the game may employ an instant win format, as described in FIG. 12. In such an arrangement entry numbers, timestamps, or some other data point would be programmed into the game, so that an entrant might receive an instant prize award along with their entry for the prize associated with any applicable counters. As described in FIG. 13, the preferred embodiment of the game may also include any of various themes, including but not limited to cards, matching games, spinning a wheel, etc. that might make the game more enjoyable to a user.

As described in FIG.15, the preferred embodiment of the game would also include a referral based award system, to promote word-of-mouth advertising of the website. In this system, a user would enter the email address of a friend. The website would then send an email to that referred person with an invitation to join the website as per the request of the referring user. Upon the referred user's completion of registration, the referring user would receive an entry to win a prize.

It will be appreciated that various additional modifications and improvements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the spirit of the scope of the present invention is to be construed broadly and limited only by the appended claims of the complete patent application to follow this provisional patent application, and not the foregoing specification of this provisional patent application.

It is also important to note that, as a pro se application, the claims may require the assistance of the examiner afforded by the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure section 707.07(j).

Claims

CLAIMS: I claim:

1. In a computer network comprised of a plurality of computers capable of exchanging digital infonnation, a free sweepstakes gaming system comprising:

a) means for supporting at least one sweepstakes game with at least one prize associated with said sweepstakes game on said system

b) means for processing an entry for at least one sweepstakes game associated with at least one prize on said system by a user accessing said system

c) means for generating predictable revenue during said entry process on said system

d) means for crediting said entry to said user on said system to at least one of said sweepstakes games

e) means for counting the number of said entries for at least one said sweepstakes games on said system as they are completed

f) means for establishing at least one target number of entries for at least one of said sweepstakes games on said system g) means for selecting at least one winner of at least one of said sweepstakes games when at least one of said targets of said entries is achieved

whereby a host of said system may do so independently, always being able to offer a prize, said prize representing only a portion of revenue generated on said system.

2. In a computer network comprised of a plurality of computers capable of exchanging digital information, a free sweepstakes gaming system comprising:

fj means for establishing at least one target number of entries for at least one of said sweepstakes games on said system g) means for selecting at least one winner of at least one of said sweepstakes games when at least one of said targets of said entries is achieved

h) means for launching at least one new sweepstakes game with at least one prize associated with said new sweepstakes game when at least one of said targets is reached

whereby a host of said system may do so independently, always being able to offer a prize, said prize representing only a portion of revenue generated on said system, and by the launch of consecutive games said host may further offer continuous game play that allows users to increase the frequency of awards by their level of participation as a whole.

3. The sweepstakes gaining system of claim 2 wherein said means for generating predictable revenue is a form of media.

4. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said means for generating predictable revenue is advertising.

5. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said means for generating predictable revenue is consumer research.

6. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said means for generating predictable revenue is a recreational game, within said sweepstakes game.

7. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said means for processing and entry includes a recreational game, within said sweepstakes game.

8. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said means for processing an entry includes an instant win component.

9. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said means for processing an entry includes a data transfer.

10. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 wherein said prize is cash representing a part of the total of said predictable revenue generated by said entries that comprise said target number of entries.

11. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 2 further cpmprising a time limit element is established such that if said time limit element is reached before said target is reached, said prize is awarded when said time limit element is reached in proportion to the number of entries received out of said target number of entries.

12. In a computer network comprised of a plurality of computers capable of exchanging digital information, a method for conducting a free sweepstakes game comprising the steps of:

a) hosting at least one sweepstakes game with at least one prize associated with said sweepstakes game b) processing an entry by a user for at least one sweepstakes game associated with at least one prize

c) generating predictable revenue during said entry process

d) crediting said entry to said user to at least one of said sweepstakes games

e) counting the number of said entries for at least one said sweepstakes games as they are completed

0 establishing at least one target number of entries for at least one of said sweepstakes games

g) selecting at least one winner of at least one of said sweepstakes games when at least one of said targets of said entries is achieved

whereby a host employing said method may do so independently, always being able to offer a prize, said prize representing only a portion of revenue generated by said method.

13. In a computer network comprised of a plurality of computers capable of exchanging digital information, a method for conducting a free sweepstakes game comprising the steps of:

c) generating predictable revenue during said entry process

d) crediting said entry to said user to at least one of said sweepstakes games

e) counting the number of said entries for at least one said sweepstakes games as they are completed f) establishing at least one target number of entries for at least one of said sweepstakes games

h) launching at least one new sweepstakes game with at least one prize associated with said new sweepstakes game when at least one of said targets is reached

whereby a host employing said method may do so independently, always being able to offer a prize, said prize representing only a portion of revenue generated by said method, and by the launch of consecutive games said host may further offer continuous game play that allows users to increase the frequency of awards by their level of participation as a whole.

14. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of generating predictable revenue is a form of media

15. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of generating predictable revenue is advertising.

16. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of generating predictable revenue is consumer research.

17. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of generating predictable revenue is a recreational game, within said sweepstakes game.

18. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of processing an entry includes a recreational game, within said sweepstakes game.

19. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of processing an entry includes an instant win component.

20. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein the step of processing an entry includes a data transfer.

21. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 wherein said prize is cash representing a part of the total of said predictable revenue generated by said entries that comprise said target number of entries.

22. The method of conducting a free sweepstakes game recited in claim 13 further comprising a time limit element such that if said time limit element is reached before said target is reached, said prize is awarded when said time limit element is reached in proportion to the number of entries received out of said target number of entries.

23. In a computer network comprised of a plurality of computers capable of exchanging digital information, a free sweepstakes gaming system comprising:

a) at least one sweepstakes game with at least one prize associated with said sweepstakes game on said system b) a database

c) an interactive media display

d) an entry counter

e) an entry target number

f) a random number generator

wherein a user enters said sweepstakes game by submitting identifying information which is stored in said database then satisfactorily completing the request by the interactive media display which generates a predictable amount of revenue, said user's entry then being stored in said database associated with a number which is acknowledged by said entry counter, said entry counter counting entries until said entry target number is reached, said entry target number being reached a random number generator selects at least one of said numbers associated with said entries in said database as winners

whereby a host of said system may do so independently, al ways being able to offer a prize, said prize representing only a portion of revenue generated on said system.

24. The sweepstakes gaming system of claim 23 wherein the end of one sweepstakes game triggers the launch of at least one more sweepstakes game, whereby the launch of consecutive games by said host may further offer continuous game play that allows users to increase the frequency of awards by their level of participation as a whole.

25. In a computer network comprised of a plurality of computers capable of exchanging digital information, a free sweepstakes game comprising:

c) an interactive media display

d) an entry counter

e) an entry target number

f) a random number generator

whereby a host of said system may do so independently, always being able to offer, a prize, said prize representing only a portion of revenue generated on said system.

26. The sweepstakes game system of claim 25 wherein the end of one sweepstakes game triggers the launch of at least one more sweepstakes game, whereby the launch of consecutive games by said host may further offer continuous game play that allows users to increase the frequency of awards by their level of participation as a whole.