WO2004010361A1

WO2004010361A1 - Method for marketing through label lottery

Info

Publication number: WO2004010361A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/000473
Authority: WO
Inventors: Han Seok Lee
Original assignee: Pro Contents Inc.
Priority date: 2002-07-18
Filing date: 2003-03-11
Publication date: 2004-01-29
Also published as: AU2003210038A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a business model utilizing a label lottery which a purchaser can apply for an event offering free gifts easily and rapidly using information included in a bar code label attached to a product, such as a lottery number, the address or telephone number of the event sponsor and the bar code, and confirm if he/she won a prize in real time immediately after he or she applies for the event. The business model includes steps of transmitting a coded random number indicated on the label of a product and information about a purchaser who bought the product, storing the coded random number and the to purchaser information, confirming whether or not the random number inputted by the purchaser conforms with a predetermined form, to check if the random number is genuine or not, when the random number is genuine, comparing the random number with a predetermined value, to confirm whether or not the purchaser won a prize; and, when the purchaser won a prize, informing the purchaser of the result in real time through SMS. Accordingly, the product provider and the purchaser can save expenses and time.

Description

METHOD FOR MARKETING THROUGH LABEL LOTTERY

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method of applying for a free gift in an event that offers free gifts and, more particularly, to a business model utilizing a label lottery, in which people can apply for an event of offering free gifts easily and rapidly using information such as a lottery number, an address and phone number of the event sponsor and a bar code included in a bar code label attached to a product and confirm whether they won a prize or not in real time, immediately after they apply for the event.

Background Art

Recently, a product sales method with many free gifts has been being spread around. People can participate in an event offering free gifts by mail, ARS or the Internet. The method of applying for the event offering free gifts by mail presents problems which require participants to send application mail in order to apply for the event and then, wait for the drawing result of the event for a predetermined period of time after application. Furthermore, the sent mail may be lost before arriving at the event sponsor The method of applying for the event offering free gifts using ARS requires people participating in the event to go through many steps from application to drawing. In this case, the event sponsor informs only the applicant who won a prize from the drawing result and does not notify the applicants who didn't win after the lapse of a predetermined period of time. Accordingly, most of the applicants who did not win a prize should further wait for the drawing result. Moreover, this method presents extra burdens of expense and time to the applicants to confirm the drawing result.

The method of participating in the event offering free gifts using the Internet does not provide an equal application chance to all people because applicants can apply for the event only in the environment where the Internet is available. Even though a person wants to participate in the event in the Internet-available environment, he or she should follow a complicated procedure of signing in the event sponsor as a member. In addition, he or she is required to visit the Internet site of the event sponsor to open a web page on which a list of winners is posted and find his or her name or ID in the list if it is desired to confirm the drawing result. It is inconvenient for applicants to use this method because of such a complicated procedure including signing-in and logging-in processes.

Disclosure of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a business model utilizing a label lottery in which applicants can apply for an event with free gifts easily and rapidly using information included in a label lottery attached to a product and confirm whether they won a prize or not in real time immediately after they apply for the event.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a business model utilizing a label lottery, in which people can apply for an event of offering free gifts easily and rapidly using information such as a lottery number, an address and phone number of the event sponsor and a bar code included in a bar code label attached to a product and confirm whether they won a prize or not in real time right after they apply for the event.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a business model utilizing a label lottery, in which people can apply for an event of offering free gifts easily and rapidly through a medium such as ARS or SMS using information such as a lottery number, an address and phone number of the event sponsor and a bar code included in a bar code label attached to a product and confirm whether they win a prize or not in real time through SMS immediately after they apply for the event. To accomplish the above objects of the present invention, there is provided a business model utilizing a label lottery, comprising steps of: transmitting a coded random number indicated on the label of a product and information about a purchaser who bought the product; storing the coded random number and the purchaser information; confirming whether or not the random number entered by the purchaser conforms with a predetermined format, to check if the random number is genuine or not; when the random number is genuine, comparing the random number with a predetermined value, to confirm whether or not the purchaser won a prize; and, when the purchaser won a prize, informing the purchaser of the result in real time through SMS(Short Messaging Service).

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG.1 illustrates the configuration of a system for realizing a business model according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate first to fourth embodiment of a label lottery applied to the business model according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining a business model according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a procedure of explaining a business model utilizing a label lottery with reference to components of the system of FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate SMS being transmitted in the first embodiment of the business model utilizing a label lottery according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the configuration of a system for realizing a business model according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining a business model according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a procedure for explaining a business model utilizing a label lottery with reference to components of the system of FIG. 6; and FIGS. 9A and 9E illustrate SMS being transmitted in the second embodiment of the business model utilizing a label lottery according to the present invention. Preferred Embodiment

Before explanation of the present invention relating to a new business model utilizing a label lottery, terms used in the present invention are defined as follows. A label refers to an indication that contains information about a product for identification thereof and is attached to the outer surface of the product.

A bar code refers to stripes which are formed in a predetermined standard and optically recognizable. There also exist two-dimensional and three-dimensional bar code formats. A bar code label refers to a label including a bar code.

A label lottery refers to a label bearing a lottery number such as a coded random number in a bar code label, to serve as a lottery.

A lottery number refers to a coded random value which is indicated on the label lottery and previously set by a free gift provider. FIG.1 illustrates the configuration of a system for realizing the business model according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The system includes a label lottery product provider 12 that provides a product with a label lottery, an applicant 11 (including a terminal) who purchases the product with a label lottery and applies for the label lottery, and a DB server 13 located between the applicant and the label lottery product provider to control the relationship between them.

The DB server 13 includes an ARS server 13-1 for informing the applicant of predetermined information via a voice, a lottery DB server 13-2 for processing a lottery number of the label lottery the applicant enters, an SMS server 13-3 for transmitting SMS to the applicant, and a customer relationship management (CRM) server 13-4 for storing personal information of the applicant and constructing a membership DB.

FIGS. 2A to 2D illustrate first to fourth embodiment of a label lottery applied to the business model according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2A, the first embodiment of the label lottery 14 attached to a product includes a lottery number section 14-1 used for the applicant to apply for an event offering free gifts, an ARS number section 14-3 of the event sponsor, and a bar code section 14-2 having information about the product. Referring to FIG. 2B, the second embodiment of the label lottery 15 is similar to the first embodiment 14 in the configuration and arrangement, except that a lottery number 15-1 is hidden. The hidden lottery number is exposed by the chemical processing with specific ink or using other physical tools.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the third embodiment of the label lottery 16 is similar to the first and second embodiment 14 and 15 in the configuration and arrangement, except that a part of a lottery number 16-1 is hidden. The hidden part of the lottery number is exposed by chemically processing it with specific ink or scratching it with other physical tools.

Referring to FIG. 2D, the fourth embodiment of the label lottery 17 includes a lottery number section 17-5 where a lottery number used for the applicant to apply an event offering free gifts enters, an ARS number section 17-2 of the event sponsor, a bar code section 17-1 having information about the product, and a decimal display section 17-3 that represents the bar code in decimal numbers. In the lottery number section 17-5, only the places of a lottery number the applicant will apply are indicated. In case of the fourth embodiment of the label lottery 17, the applicant applies for the event with only the numbers which he or she selects and corresponds to the places of the lottery number in the lottery number section 17-5 or with the selected numbers and numbers corresponding to the places 17-4 of a part of the decimal display section 17-1 , which will be described in more detail below.

Though the lottery number section 17-5 is indicated on the label lottery in this embodiment, it may not be shown on the label lottery in the case where the applicant applies the digit numbers previously set through a public advertisement. Furthermore, the places the lottery number may be represented in simple letters.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining a business model according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

An applicant as a purchaser buys a label lottery product provided by the label lottery product provider who sells products with label lotteries at step S21 , and confirms a lottery number printed on the label lottery attached to the purchased product, as shown in FIG. 2A, at step S22. Then, the applicant makes a phone call using an ARS number designated by the free-gift provider to apply for the event offering free gifts through the ARS server at step S23. At step S24-1 , the applicant inputs his/her personal information such as his/her cellular phone number and social security number in accordance with ARS instructions. The ARS server 13-1 of the DB server stores the personal information of the applicant in the CRM server 13-4 at step S24-2. When the ARS server receives the lottery number the applicant inputs at step S25-1 and transmits it to the lottery DB server, the lottery DB server stores the received applicant's lottery number in a lottery DB at step S25-2. Here, the personal information stored in the CRM server 13-4 is used as marketing data by the free-gift provider.

At step S26, the lottery DB server judges whether or not the lottery number, inputted by the applicant and stored therein, is issued by the label lottery product provider. When the lottery DB server judges the lottery number is genuine (S27), it compares the lottery number with a winning number to check if the applicant won a prize or not at step S28 and transmits the drawing result to the SMS server. Then, the SMS server sends a message informing the applicant that he/she won a prize through SMS, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, at step S29. At step S30, the applicant confirms if he or she won a prize the moment he/she applies for the event offering free gifts through SMS. Simultaneously, the label lottery provider that receives the drawing result transmitted from the lottery DB server performs an authentication procedure for authenticating the winner of the prize at step S31. In the case where the applicant won a prize rightly, the label lottery product provider offers a free gift to the applicant and the applicant gets the free gift at step S32.

In the meantime, when the lottery DB server judges that the lottery number, entered by the applicant and stored therein, is a fake number at step S26, the SMS server informs the applicant of the cause of application error through SMS, at step S33. The applicant confirms it through the received SMS, at step S34.

When the lottery DB server judges that the lottery number is genuine but it does not correspond to the winning number at step S28, the lottery DB server transmits it to the SMS server. The SMS server sends a message informing the applicant that he or she does not win a prize through SMS at step S35. The applicant confirms the fact that he or she is not the winner in the event offering free gifts through the received SMS immediately after the applicant applies for the event, at step S36.

Accordingly, the applicant who purchases the product with the label lottery and applies for the free-gift event can confirm whether or not he or she won a prize within a short period of time after application.

In the meantime, the applicant information input step S24-1 includes a return loop that is executed by a predetermined number of times until the applicant inputs right information at this step, in the case where an error is generated when the applicant enters his/her personal information.

Furthermore, the random number input step S25-2 includes a return loop that is executed by a predetermined number of times until the applicant inputs a coded random number correctly, in the case where an error is generated when the applicant enters the coded random number. The business model according to the invention is explained in more detail through the respective operations of the label lottery provider 12, applicant 11 and DB server 13 of the system realizing the business model with reference to FIG. 4. Here, the DB server 13 includes the ARS server 13-1 , lottery DB server 13-2, SMS server 13-3 and CRM server 13-4, as shown in FIG. 1.

The label lottery product provider 12 provides products with label lotteries to purchasers, receives a drawing result to confirm the prize winner and sends a free gift to the winner. In addition, the label lottery product provider 12 receives the membership DB including information about applicants from the CRM server 13-4 to use it as membership data. The applicant 11 buys the product with the label lottery and applies for the event offering the free gift with the lottery number printed on the label lottery through the ARS server 13-1. Furthermore, the applicant 11 receives a message informing him/her of the drawing result through SMS and then receives the free gift provided by the label lottery product provider when he/she won a prize.

The ARS server 13-1 of the DB server processes information that the applicant inputs in accordance with ARS instructions, to transmit applicant information to the CRM server and to send application information to the lottery DB server.

The lottery DB server 13-2 of the DB server stores the application information sent from the ARS server 13-1 , judges whether the received lottery number is genuine or fake. In addition, the lottery DB server 13-2 compares the lottery number judged to be genuine with a winning number to confirm if the applicant won a prize or not, and transmits the drawing result to the SMS server. Furthermore, the lottery DB server 13-2 constructs a drawing result DB to deliver it to the label lottery provider and CRM server.

The SMS server 13-3 of the DB server receives the drawing result sent from the lottery DB server and transmits it to the applicant through SMS. The CRM server 13-4 of the DB server receives the applicant information transmitted from the ARS server to construct the membership DB, stores the drawing result sent from the lottery DB server, and provides the membership DB to the label lottery provider. The membership DB uses the applicant's cellular phone number or social security number as the applicant's ID. In this case, the number of applicants can be identified accurately because each and every person is provided with unique cellular phone number or social security number. Accordingly, the label lottery provider receiving the membership DB uses it as marketing data for public relations of the event offering free gifts. In the meantime, the label lottery provider can utilize service charges applicants pay when they apply for the free-gift event through ARS as expenses for purchasing free gifts. Accordingly, the label lottery provider can reduce expenses required for holding the free-gift event so as to provide larger amount of free gifts than conventional events. In the business model according to the first embodiment of the invention, described above, the applicant applies for the free-gift event with the lottery number of the label lottery shown in FIG. 2A. A procedure of applying for the event through a hidden lottery number, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, is carried out in the same manner as the first embodiment. In the case where the applicant purchase a product with the fourth embodiment of the label lottery, shown in FIG. 2D, especially, the applicant selects only the numbers corresponding to the places of the lottery number section 17-5 to apply for the free-gift event with these numbers. Otherwise, the applicant applies for the event through the selected numbers and numbers corresponding to a part of the places of the decimal display 17-1. The procedure using the fourth embodiment of the label lottery is executed in the same manner as the business model of the first embodiment of the invention.

In the first embodiment, among the messages transmitted from the SMS server to the applicant, a message informing the applicant that the applicant won a prize, for example, is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. FIG. 6 illustrates the configuration of a system for realizing a business model according to a second application of the present invention. The system includes a label lottery product provider 22 for providing a product with a label lottery, an applicant 21 who purchases the product with the label lottery and applies for an event offering free gifts using the label lottery, and a DB server 23 located between the label lottery product provider and the applicant for controlling the relationship between them.

The DB server 23 includes an SMS application reception server 23-1 for receiving application information and a lottery number from the applicant, a lottery DB server 23-2 for processing the application information and the lottery number, an SMS server 23-3 for transmitting SMS to the applicant, and a CRM server 23-4 for storing personal information of the applicant to construct a membership DB.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining a business model according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The business model according to the second embodiment of the invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to SMS transmitted/received among the label lottery product provider, the applicant and the DB server, as shown in FIGG. 9A to 9E.

The applicant as a purchaser buys the product with the label lottery sold by the label lottery product provider at step S1 , and he/she confirms the lottery number printed on the label lottery, as shown in FIG. 2A, at step S2. Then, the applicant transmits the confirmed lottery number to a place corresponding to an SMS number, designated by the free-gift provider, using SMS as shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B and 9C, at step S3. Here, the SMS number through which the applicant connects with the free-gift provider in order to apply for the event offering free gifts through SMS is indicated replacing the ARS number printed on the label lottery shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D. Otherwise, the SMS number and the ARS number can be simultaneously indicated on the label lottery.

When the applicant sends the lottery number to the SMS application reception server 23-1 as the place corresponding to the SMS number, the lottery DB server 23-2 of the DB server receives and stores the lottery number transmitted from the applicant at step S4 and, simultaneously, transmits applicant information to the CRM server 23-4. Then, the CRM server stores the personal information of the applicant, such as his/her cellular phone number, to construct the membership DB at step S5.

At step S6, the lottery DB server judges whether or not the lottery number, entered by the applicant and stored therein, is issued by the label lottery product provider. When the lottery DB server judges that the lottery number is genuine at step S7, it compares the lottery number with a winning number, to confirm if the applicant won a prize or not at step S8 and transmits the drawing result to the SMS server 23-3. Then, the SMS server sends the drawing result to the applicant through SMS, as shown in FIGS. 9D and 9E, at step S9. The applicant confirms the drawing result through SMS the moment he or she applies for the event, at step S10. Simultaneously, the label lottery product provider that receives the drawing result transmitted from the lottery DB server authenticates the winner of the prize at step S11. If the applicant won a prize rightly, the label lottery product provider offers a free gift to the applicant and the applicant gets the free gift at step S12.

When the lottery DB server judges that the lottery number, entered by the applicant and stored therein, is a fake number at step S6, the SMS server transmits a message informing the applicant of the cause of application error to the applicant through SMS at step S13. The applicant confirms the cause of application error through the received SMS at step S14.

In the meantime, when it is judged that the lottery number is genuine but it does not correspond to the winning number at step S8, the lottery DB server transmits this fact to the SMS server. Then, the SMS server sends a message informing the applicant that the applicant did not win a prize through SMS at step S15. The applicant confirms it through the received SMS immediately after he or she applies for the event at step S16. Accordingly, the applicant who purchases a product with the label lottery and applies for the free-gift event can confirm whether or not he or she won a prize immediately after he/she applies for the event.

Here, the personal information is used as information for the free-gift provider to manage the applicant as the member thereof. That is, the personal information is used for the event the free-gift provider will hold, to increasingly induce applicants to participate in the event.

The respective operations of the label lottery provider, the applicant and the DB server in the system for realizing the business model according to the second embodiment of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to F I G . 8.

The label lottery product provider 22 provides products with the label lottery to purchasers, confirms the winner of the prize and offers a free-gift to an applicant who won a prize.

The applicant 21 buys a product with the label lottery, and transmits the lottery number included in the purchased product to the SMS application reception server of the DB server. In addition, the applicant 21 receives the drawing result from the SMS server through SMS, and gets the free gift provided by the label lottery product provider when he or she won a prize.

The SMS application reception server 23-1 receives and processes application information sent from the applicant through SMS, transmits the application information to the CRM server and delivers the lottery number to the lottery DB server.

The lottery DB server 23-2 stores the application information sent from the SMS application reception server, and confirms whether or not the lottery number among the received application information is genuine and whether or not the applicant won a prize, to transmit the information informing whether or not the applicant won a prize to the SMS server. Furthermore, the lottery DB server provides the drawing result DB to the label lottery product provider and the CRM server. The SMS server 23-3 receives the information about whether or not the applicant won a prize, transmitted from the lottery DB server, to send it to the applicant.

The CRM server 23-4 accepts the applicant information sent from the

SMS application reception server to construct the membership DB. In addition, the CRM server receives and stores the information informing whether or not the applicant won a prize and the drawing result. Furthermore, it provides the membership DB stored therein to the label lottery provider.

FIGS. 9A to 9E illustrate SMS transmitted in the second embodiment of the business model utilizing a label lottery according to the present invention. The contents of SMS include a coded random number, transmission state, arrival of a message and a drawing result.

Although the lottery number is transmitted through ARS or SMS in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, it can be transmitted through the Internet. Moreover, though the lottery number means a predetermined coded random number in the present invention, it can be composed of digits and letters.

Although of the label lottery of the present invention is issued by one free-gift provider who sponsors the event offering free gifts in the aforementioned embodiments, a number of free-gift providers may participate in one event offering free gifts simultaneously. In the case where several free- gift providers jointly hold one event offering free gifts, for example, the label lottery used for the event can include a predetermined mark.

Although the label lottery is embodied in such a manner that a coded random number is included in KAN-13 bar code in the embodiment of the invention, it may be made in a manner that a predetermined coded random number is added to another bar code. Here, KAN-13 bar code means a bar code using thirteen digit numbers including a national number, a manufacturer, a product code and an inspection code. Korea joined EAN (European Article Number) association in 1988 to be allocated the national code number 880. KAN-13 bar code is being currently used as Korea Article Number.

In the meantime, on the basis of a census of Korea national statistical office in 2001 , a population of ages from fifteen to sixty-four amounted to 32,970,000 among Korea gross population of 47,340,000 and the number of mobile communication subscribers amounted to 30,880,000 until June in 2002. These results mean that most of people of ages from fifteen to sixty-four have their cellular phones. Accordingly, the environment where the present invention can be achieved is increasingly created as the number of people having cellular phones increases.

Industrial applicability

As described above, the business model utilizing a label lottery according to the present invention can reduce costs required for manufacturing lotteries additionally because products themselves have a lottery function. That is, the product provider can improve sales and realize an additional profit because of consumer's application for the event the product provider holds, and a consumer can reduce cost since he or she can buy a product and a label lottery simultaneously.

Furthermore, the method of applying for a free-gift event according to the present invention is carried out easier than the conventional method of participating in the event through mail or the Internet. Furthermore, applicants can confirm the drawing result immediately after they apply for the event. Moreover, the product provider can save expenses and time required for other events to be held later through once construction of the system. In addition, the product provider provides various services to members or applicants using the membership DB.

Claims

Claims:

1. A business model utilizing a label lottery, comprising steps of: transmitting a coded random number indicated on the label of a product and information about a purchaser who bought the product; storing the coded random number and the purchaser information; confirming whether or not the random number inputted by the purchaser conforms with a predetermined form, to check if the random number is genuine or not; when the random number is genuine, comparing the random number with a predetermined value, to confirm whether or not the purchaser won a prize; and when the purchaser won a prize, informing the purchaser of the result in real time through SMS.

2. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , where the transmitting step is performed through ARS.

3. The business model as claimed in claim 2, wherein the information about the purchaser includes his or her social security number and cellular phone number.

4. The business model as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a step of informing the purchaser of the cause of application error through SMS when the random number is a fake number.

5. The business model as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a step of transmitting a message informing the purchaser that he or she is not the winner of the prize to the purchaser through SMS when the purchaser did not win a prize.

6. The business model as claimed in claim 5, wherein the transmitting step is performed using the Internet.

7. The business model as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a step of utilizing the purchaser information as marketing data.

8. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a step of informing the purchaser of the cause of application error through SMS when the random number is a fake number.

9. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising step of transmitting a message informing the purchaser that he or she is not the winner of the prize to the purchaser through SMS when the purchaser did not win a prize.

10. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting step is performed using the Internet.

11. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a step of utilizing the purchaser information as marketing data.

12. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the label further includes a predetermined mark.

13. The business model as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transmitting step is performed through SMS using a cellular phone.

14. The business model as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a step of informing the purchaser of the cause of application error through SMS when the random number is a fake number.

15. The business model as claimed in claim 14, further comprising step of transmitting a message informing the purchaser that he or she is not the winner of the prize to the purchaser through SMS when the purchaser did not win a prize.

16. The business model as claimed in claim 14, further comprising step of informing the purchaser of the cause of application error through SMS when the random number is a fake number.

17. The business model as claimed in claim 16, further comprising step of transmitting a message informing the purchaser that he or she is not the winner of the prize to the purchaser through SMS when the purchaser did not win a prize.

18. The business model as claimed in claim 14, further comprising step of transmitting a message informing the purchaser that he/she is not the winner of the prize to the purchaser through SMS when the purchaser did not win a prize.

19. The business model as claimed in claim 14, wherein the informing step is carried out through SMS.

20. The business model as claimed in claim 14, wherein the transmitting step is performed using the Internet.