HK40007262A

HK40007262A - System and method for updating a stored record associated with a subscriber of a program

Info

Publication number: HK40007262A
Application number: HK19130831.1A
Authority: HK
Inventors: John McGuire Matthew; Christian Strohm David; Michael Ashby Spears Ryan
Original assignee: Phrenzi Limited
Priority date: 2017-04-25
Filing date: 2018-04-24
Publication date: 2020-05-29

Description

System and method for updating stored records associated with program subscribers

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a system and method for updating stored records associated with program subscribers.

Background

Many service providers or enterprises, such as retailers, banks, and airlines, provide some form of programming that is intended to reward customers' patrons and incentivize customers to continue to purchase their goods and use their services. There are many examples of such programs that may differ in application but typically all have the goal of motivating a lead back, adding a customer, or a new customer.

One such program may be based on the principle of providing a cash back or some other form of reward as a percentage of the total amount spent by the customer. For example, many credit card companies incentivize their customers to use their cards by providing monetary amounts, airline miles, or some other form of virtual credit as a percentage of spending (typically between 0.5% and 3%).

Another such program encourages customers to continue to purchase goods or services provided by the program provider. Typically, such programs are based on the principle of offering virtual points, tokens, or obtaining a discount or voucher in return for becoming a member of the loyalty program and/or purchasing goods or services. For example, a supermarket retailer program may offer virtual points to customers in return for purchasing products. The number of points awarded may be determined by the spending point exchange rate (such as 1 point per $ 1). These virtual points can then be converted into cash coupons for the purchase of merchandise, promotional products, or even airline points from the retailer. Alternatively or additionally, the retailer may provide vouchers for purchasing items, obtaining discounts for particular types or brands of items, and other specified offers simply by becoming a member of the loyalty program.

Other programs may provide tokens or stamps for purchasing goods or services, which may be eventually redeemed for goods or services when the desired number of tokens or stamps are obtained. For example, coffee shops or takeaway businesses frequently provide programs in which a card book or a stamp book is provided for enabling a customer to obtain stamps, stickers, or tokens for each purchase. When the customer has reached the required number of stamps or other nominal tokens, the customer is entitled to free items (such as coffee or collectable items).

Airlines also provide programs to incentivize their customers to continue to use their services. Such programs are often "hierarchical" in that different customers fall into different levels depending on how often they use airline services and the total amount they spend. In such programs, customers are typically awarded virtual points or "miles" for using airline services, which can be redeemed for goods or services, including free or reduced-price airline tickets, flight upgrades, companion ticket prices, travel-related products, and hotel rewards. Customers who frequently use airline services and thus spend relatively large amounts of money accumulate large points or miles and fall into a higher tier that provides enhanced services (such as using airport lounges, boarding early, optimizing upgrades, and other benefits).

Recent advances in information technology have enabled enterprises to provide more sophisticated and sophisticated incentive scheme programs. However, such programs often replicate the standard model in a digital format and do not fully exploit the opportunities provided by computer science.

A problem with conventional programs that aim to incentivize increased customers and/or repeat customers is that: this procedure does not fully encourage all customers and take advantage of the opportunities offered by modern technology. Conventional programs focus on rewarding the spending strength of a single customer, which inherently limits the prizes or benefits available to low-spending customers, and in doing so, alienate those low-spending customers and defeat the idea of actively participating in such programs.

Thus, existing loyalty programs that measure only one dynamic (such as total spending) are relatively rigid in that the program does not allow the business to define what loyalty means to them and reward customers accordingly. Customers may be loyal to a business for a number of different reasons, and not just because of the size of the expenses at the business. While a loyalty customer of a business may be an individual who frequently purchases goods or services for the business; the loyal customers of different businesses may be low-cost individuals who recommend friends and acquaintances for the business and thereby receive additional customers who may cost more than a single high-cost customer. The loyalty program that measures total spending has no way to identify who is the referring customer or "coalition" and reward the customer accordingly.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a more suitable loyalty program that enables a business to encourage its customers to develop and develop the business of the business. Thus, there is a need for programs that provide greater flexibility for businesses to define what loyalty means to them and identify potentially loyal customers for reasons other than high spending. There is also a need for a more socially engaging program that enables businesses to more closely contact their customers and encourage them to generate additional business for the business by increasing personal costs and the frequency of costs, and also by stimulating existing customers to actively promote the business' products and services.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved programs and methods for rewarding customers of an enterprise.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer-implemented method of updating stored records associated with a program subscriber, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, one or more parameters of a sub-challenge of the overall challenge sent from an input device, the one or more computing devices including a memory, a processor, and a network interface;

the one or more parameters include a reward associated with the sub-challenge;

storing the one or more parameters in memory of one or more computing devices;

transmitting the details of the sub-challenge to a communication device accessible by the program subscriber via a network interface;

receiving, by the one or more computing devices, a verification signal from the verification device, the verification signal indicating completion of the sub-challenge by the subscriber; and is

The record associated with the subscriber is updated to include the reward.

Advantageously, the method according to the first embodiment enables a business to provide rewards to subscribers of its programs which more accurately reflect what means a loyal customer to the business. By having the business define the parameters of the sub-challenges and provide rewards accordingly, the business can customize the loyalty program to match the personality and demographic characteristics of its customers and simultaneously incentivize these customers to generate new businesses for the business by increasing customer spending and encouraging customers to promote the business' goods and services. Thus, the flexibility for defining challenge parameters and selecting customer rewards enables businesses to incentivize customers to generate new services without necessarily requiring increased customer expense. Providing the customer with a sub-challenge also enables the enterprise to introduce competing elements into the loyalty program to further incentivize the customer to actively participate in the loyalty program to earn rewards.

The authentication signal may include: identification data for the subscriber is facilitated, and data that determines that criteria for completing the sub-challenge have been met is facilitated.

The method may further include determining, by the one or more computing devices, completion of the sub-challenge based on the verification signal.

The method may further comprise: selecting a subscriber from a list of subscribers displayed on the authentication device or entering subscriber-related details into the authentication device and including identifying the selected subscriber in the authentication signal data.

The sub-challenges may include one or more of: purchasing goods or services, accessing an actual location, inviting others to access an actual location, inviting an individual to complete a task, purchasing a specified good or service, purchasing a minimum value or quantity of goods or services, viewing video content, promoting a business through social media channels, providing feedback to a business, completing a knowledgeable game, or completing a task.

The one or more parameters may further include one or more of: a time constraint, a number constraint, a reward factor, a number of points, a start time, an end time, a start date, a limit on the number of times a sub-challenge may be completed by a subscriber, or a limit on the total number of rewards that may be awarded to the subscriber for a given sub-challenge. At least one parameter may be selected from one or more preconfigured parameter types.

The reward may include: a number of virtual points, a bonus, a cash back, a collateral, a win one or more exclusive opportunities, or a combination thereof. Optionally, bonus information is displayed at any one or more of the beginning of the sub-challenge/challenge, during the sub-challenge/challenge, and after the challenge/sub-challenge is completed. The bonus information displayed during the sub-challenge may be dynamically updated during the challenge.

The communication between the communication device and the server may be over a network.

The method may further comprise the steps of: an alert is activated on a communication device accessible by the procedure subscriber to cause a specification of an overall challenge or sub-challenge to be displayed on a display of the communication device accessible by the procedure subscriber to thereby enable the procedure subscriber to participate in the overall challenge or sub-challenge.

The method may further comprise the steps of: the record of the overall challenged participating subscriber is compared to respective records of one or more other participating subscribers, each participating subscriber is ranked in order based on the respective records, and the ranking is transmitted to the one or more communication devices to display the ranking on a display of the one or more communication devices.

The sending of the verification signal verifying the completion or partial completion of the sub-challenge may be activated by the software application. The activation by the software application may be triggered by the receipt of data by the authentication device confirming the completion or partial completion of the sub-challenge by the subscriber.

The method may further comprise the step of monitoring the location of one or more subscribers.

The method may further comprise the steps of: when one or more subscribers are determined to be at or within a specified distance of a specified location, a list of the one or more subscribers is displayed on the authentication device.

The method may further comprise the steps of: when a subscriber is determined to be at or within a specified distance of the specified location, a record associated with the subscriber is updated to include the reward.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer-implemented method for verifying completion of a sub-challenge of an overall challenge by a program subscriber, the sub-challenge being associated with a reward for completing the sub-challenge, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, information related to completion of the sub-challenge, the information including data identifying the subscriber;

sending, by the one or more computing devices, an identification request to the verification device, the identification request including data for identifying the subscriber;

selecting a subscriber from a subscriber list displayed on the authentication device based on data identifying the subscriber or entering subscriber-related details into the authentication device; and is

Sending, by the authentication device, an authentication signal to one or more computing devices, the authentication signal including details associated with the selected subscriber; and is

Updating, by one or more computing devices, the stored record associated with the subscriber to include the reward associated with the sub-challenge.

The method may further comprise: determining, by the one or more computing devices, completion of the sub-challenge based on the information related to completion of the sub-challenge and/or the verification signal.

The information related to completion of the sub-challenge may include data related to an order for goods and/or services, and the data for identifying the subscriber may include a unique identifier associated with the order for goods and/or services.

The method may further include sending information related to completion of the sub-challenge to one or more computing devices.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer-based system for updating stored records associated with program subscribers, the system comprising:

one or more computing devices, the computing devices comprising: memory, a processor, and a network interface, the one or more computing devices operable to receive one or more parameters of a sub-challenge of the overall challenge sent from the input device and store the one or more parameters in the memory, the one or more parameters including a reward associated with the sub-challenge;

one or more computing devices operable to: transmitting, via a network interface, a specification of the sub-challenge including at least one of the one or more parameters to a communication device accessible by the program subscriber;

wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to update the record associated with the subscriber to include the reward upon receiving a verification signal sent from the verification device, the verification signal indicating completion or partial completion of the sub-challenge.

The computer-based system may further include one or more communication devices accessible by one or more program subscribers. The computer-based system may further comprise an authentication device for transmitting the authentication signal indicating completion of the sub-challenge to the server.

The authentication device, the input device, and/or the communication device may be the same device.

Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be explained in further detail below by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: -

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a system implementing a loyalty program in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method for implementing a challenge and/or sub-challenge of a loyalty program and transmitting a specification of the challenge and/or sub-challenge to a subscriber of the loyalty program;

FIG. 3 illustrates another portion of the flow chart illustrated in FIG. 2, including updating stored records for subscribers participating in the challenge and/or sub-challenge;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method of updating a challenge or sub-challenge using modified parameters;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the system shown in FIG. 1 and a first event of a possible sequence of events in an embodiment of the loyalty program;

FIG. 6 illustrates a second event of a possible sequence of events in an embodiment of the loyalty program;

FIG. 7 illustrates a third event of a possible sequence of events in an embodiment of the loyalty program;

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart depicting the creation of a login sub-challenge;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic representation of a system that detects communication devices in close proximity to a location and displays personal details associated with the detected communication devices known to the system;

FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram depicting creation of an invitation sub-challenge;

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram depicting creation of a target number of sub-challenges;

FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram depicting the creation of a purchase sub-challenge;

FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram depicting the creation of a social sub-challenge;

FIG. 14 shows a flow diagram depicting the creation of a video sub-challenge;

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart depicting the creation of a feedback sub-challenge;

FIG. 16A shows a flowchart depicting the creation of a task sub-challenge;

FIG. 16B shows a flowchart depicting the creation of a repudiation gold challenge;

FIG. 16C shows a flowchart depicting the creation of a knowledge sub-challenge;

FIG. 17 shows a schematic representation of the system shown in FIG. 1 interacting with a point-of-sale system of an enterprise;

FIG. 18 shows a graphical representation of a baseline bonus award model;

FIG. 19 shows a graphical representation of a prize award model based on winner differences;

FIG. 20 shows a chart comparing awarded prizes using a winner difference model with awarded prizes using a baseline model for a given number of winners;

FIG. 21 shows a chart showing the effect of changing the winner difference on the awarded prize;

FIG. 22 shows a chart of prize amount per winner versus number of winners for a given winner differential;

FIG. 23 illustrates a graph of the percentage of winners earned over baseline versus the difference in winners for different numbers of winners;

FIG. 24 shows a chart of prize amounts for each winner according to the winner differential prize distribution model, the chart being divided into three levels;

FIG. 25 shows a chart of prize amounts for each winner according to a linear prize distribution model, the chart being divided into three levels;

FIG. 26 shows a schematic representation of a user interface page for an enterprise account of the system; and is

Fig. 27 shows a schematic representation of a user interface page for a subscriber account of the system.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, a computer-implemented system 1 for updating stored records associated with subscribers of programs, such as loyalty programs for businesses that sell goods and/or services, is shown. For example, the system 1 may be used by a business to define parameters of an overall challenge that generates business for the business by customers who incentivize loyalty programs for the business by awarding virtual points for completing activities throughout the overall challenge. By awarding a prize to the subscriber with the maximum number of credits at the end of the overall challenge, the subscriber may be incentivized to complete as much of the activity as possible in exchange for the credits. In addition to awarding virtual points, the business may configure the loyalty program to cash back traditional cash, or provide store credits (store credits) as a percentage of the purchase price for purchased goods and/or services. Thus, a subscriber to an enterprise program may earn cash back or store credits even if the subscriber does not participate in the overall challenge for the enterprise or even if the enterprise does not configure the overall challenge to run for a particular period of time.

The system 1 comprises: a program server 3 for communicating with other electronic devices via a network 5, one or more input devices 7 for inputting challenge parameter data and transmitting the challenge parameter data to the program server 3 via the network 5, one or more verification devices 9, and one or more communication devices 11 accessible by subscribers of the loyalty program for communication between the program server 3 and the subscribers via the network 5. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the authentication device 9, the input device 7, and the communication device 11 may be one and the same device. For example, the computing device may be used as an input device 7 for inputting challenge parameters and sub-challenge parameters for transmission to the program server 3 and management of the loyalty program, and the same computing device may be used as a verification device 9 for identifying participating subscribers to the overall challenge and verifying completion or partial completion of one or more sub-challenges of the overall challenge.

The network 5 may be any type of communication network, such as a wide area network (e.g., the internet). Communication between the server 3, the one or more input devices 7, the one or more verification devices 9, and the one or more communication devices 11 may be accomplished using any type of wired or wireless connection, using various communication protocols (e.g., HTTP, HTTPs, TCP/IP), through a network interface, and transmitting encoded human/machine readable information (e.g., HTML, JSON (JavaScript object notation)) over the network interface. The network 3 may connect the program server 3 with any number of input devices 7, authentication devices 9, or communication devices 11.

The program server 3 is a computing device that includes a processor for performing operations and at least one memory for storing instructions for the processor to perform desired operations. The program server 3 further comprises a network interface for communicating and transmitting data between the input device 7, the authentication device 9, and the communication device 11 via the network 5. The program server 3 includes or communicates with a loyalty program database that stores program data for the loyalty program to provide to the input device 7, the verification device 9, and the one or more communication devices 11. The program server 3 hosts a universal loyalty program module that controls the features of the loyalty program, receives data related to the loyalty program and transfers data between the input device 7, the verification device 9, and the communication device 11, and updates the recorded data based on the data received from the input device 7, the verification device 9, and the communication device 11.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the term "module" refers to computer logic used to provide desired functionality for computing devices and other electronic devices as well as peripherals. Accordingly, a module may be implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or software that controls a general purpose processor. In one embodiment, the module is a program code file stored on a communication device or server, downloaded into memory, and executed by a processor, or may be provided from a computer program product (e.g., computer executable instructions) stored in a tangible computer readable storage medium, such as a RAM hard disk, or optical or magnetic medium.

The program server 3 is configured to receive loyalty program data from the input device 7, the verification device 9, and the communication device 11, respectively. The universal loyalty program module is operable to update the loyalty program database accordingly based on the received program data. The program data may include: parameters set by the enterprise for the overall challenge or sub-challenge include the subscriber's name and subscriber details of the photo, the subscriber's stored records (such as total jackpot and store collateral), the subscriber's location, a verification signal confirming completion of the tasks or actions associated with the awarded jackpot, purchase information, the prize awarded to the subscriber during the overall challenge, the prize fund for the overall challenge, and the ranking of the subscriber in the overall challenge. The program server 3 may additionally comprise data provided by an operator of the computer-implemented system 1, the data comprising: data relating to charging the business for use of the computer implemented system 1, the ranking of best performing businesses in terms of fees generated for system operators in a given month, and rewards provided to best performing businesses by the computer implemented system 1 to incentivize the business to generate more business.

The input device 7 is a computing device including: a processor for performing the operations, a memory for storing instructions for the processor to perform the desired operations, and a network interface for communicating with the electronic device over the network 5. The input device 7 may be any computing device that can be used to communicate with the program server 3 and allow input of data including parameters relating to the proposed activity for transmission to the program server 3 over the network 5. The input device 7 may additionally or alternatively include an input module that operates as a programmatic input application that provides an interface to the system 1 for an enterprise so that the enterprise may modify or create an overall or sub-challenge even while moving. Suitable input devices 7 include smart phones, personal computers, tablets, or any other device capable of communicating over the network 5 and enabling interaction with a user for inputting and communicating data over the network 5.

The authentication device 9 may be any computing device that can be used to communicate with the program server 3 and transmit data to the program server 3 over the network 5. For example, the verification device 9 may be a wireless device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a point-of-sale terminal, or other such device. The authentication device 9 includes: a processor for performing the operations, a memory for storing instructions for the processor to perform the desired operations, and an input/output device such as a display screen, a touch pad, data input keys, a speaker, a scanning device, an image capturing device, and/or a microphone suitable for language identification, to enable authentication information to be optionally input into the authentication device 9 for transmission to the program server 3. The authentication device 9 comprises an authentication module stored on an authentication device memory and operable to generate an authentication signal comprising data identifying a subscriber for transmission to the program server 3 and to display on a display screen of the authentication device 9 a list of one or more subscribers received from the program server 3. The authentication device 9 further comprises a network interface for enabling communication between the program server 3 and the authentication device 9 over the network 5.

The one or more communication devices 11 may be any computing device that can be used to communicate with the program server 3 over the network 5. For example, the one or more further communication devices 11 may be wireless devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable gaming devices, smart phones, personal computers, tablets, or other such devices. The communication device 11 may be any electronic device capable of executing loyalty program modules to allow program subscribers to interface with the program server 3. The communication device 11 includes: a processor for performing operations, a memory for storing instructions for the processor to perform desired operations, and input/output devices such as a display screen, a touch pad, data input keys, a speaker, and/or a microphone suitable for language recognition. The communication device 11 further comprises a network interface for enabling communication between the server 3 and the communication device 11 over the network 5.

The communication device 11 may include a location means associated with the communication device 11 operable to determine the location/position of the subscriber. The subscriber's location may be used to determine whether the subscriber has completed a particular task by which the subscriber or one or more acquaintances of the subscriber visit a particular location, such as a brick and mortar store of an enterprise. The location of the subscriber may also be used by the enterprise to quickly identify which subscribers of the enterprise's loyalty program are present at their place of business. The positioning device may determine the actual or relative position location based on an IP address using a satellite navigation positioning system, such as a GPS system, by using triangulation techniques (e.g., by determining the proximity of Wi-Fi hotspots), or other suitable techniques for determining position location. The location of the communication device 11 may additionally or alternatively be determined based on a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon, which is located at a known location (e.g., within an enterprise), and which is configured to transmit bluetooth signals received by the communication device and used to estimate a distance to and therefore an approximate location relative to the beacon. Alternatively, the location of the communication device 11 may be determined using one or more internet of things (IoT) sensors, such as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) sensors installed in or around an enterprise that are capable of detecting and monitoring the location of the communication device 11 in real-time without wireless communication, such as NFC, RFID, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, or by using facial recognition techniques.

The communication device 11 may include a loyalty program access module in the form of a software application "app" stored on the communication device memory, which operates as a program application for providing an interface to the system 1 for subscribers. The loyalty program access module enables the subscriber to access: information about the business loyalty program registered with the system 1; details of challenges and sub-challenges set by the enterprise to earn points and/or store collateral; details of the subscriber account, including virtual points and store credits earned at the business for a given challenge; and other subscriber details including the aggregate of the virtual points for a given overall challenge, the prizes won or to be won, and the rankings within the overall challenge.

Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the communication devices 11 may include a web browser for displaying web pages received over the network 5 from the program server 3 or a different server that stores and provides web pages associated with loyalty programs. The web page enables the subscriber to access his account and view information similar to that accessible through the loyalty program access module, including: individual cumulative virtual point totals, subscriber ranking relative to other subscribers based on virtual point totals, total cash back earned at the business and store credits, and total size of prizes available for a given overall challenge. The web page also enables the subscriber to view and participate in various sub-challenges set by the enterprise to earn virtual points.

The system 1 facilitates configuration and implementation of loyalty or incentive programs, including overall challenges tailored to a particular enterprise or institution, and including various sub-challenges set by the enterprise or institution to encourage participants of the overall challenge to perform certain tasks or to perform certain desired actions. Fig. 1-8 and 10-16 collectively show a schematic diagram of the system 1 and/or a sequence of possible events for the creation and maintenance of an overall challenge and/or sub-challenge, and participation by one or more subscribers of an enterprise's loyalty program. In addition to the overall challenge, the enterprise may configure the loyalty program to: cash back or store collateral for the purchase of goods/services is provided regardless of whether the subscriber is engaged in the overall challenge and regardless of whether the overall challenge is effective. Thus, regardless of whether the subscriber participates in the overall challenge, each subscriber may benefit from the enterprise loyalty program operating with system 1. Since the percentage of sales generated by the subscriber shopping can be used to increase the available prize offered when the overall challenge is effective, cash back or store collateral incentives have additional revenue that increases the appeal of the prize offered and thus encourage more subscribers to participate in the overall challenge.

In the depicted embodiment, the overall challenge may be configured based on three variables, namely duration (start and end dates and times), number of winners (as a percentage of total participants rounded to the nearest integer or as a fixed number), and prizes, and may be configured to include one or more sub-challenges that actively encourage subscribers to promote businesses and purchase goods/services. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other parameters may be selected as desired.

The cash back or store collateral aspect of the loyalty program may be configured independently of the overall challenge and set as a percentage of the total amount purchased. Thus, the cash-back or store collateral aspect of the loyalty program may be set to run with the overall challenge, or even when the overall challenge is not valid, and may be adjusted by the enterprise at any time independently of the overall challenge. For example, the level of cash back may be set to a percentage of each purchase, such as 1% cash back or 0% of cash back where no cash back is awarded. The business may choose to award cash back or store credits to each customer for the purchase of goods/services, whether or not to participate in the overall challenge.

Additionally or alternatively, the system 1 is configured to allow businesses to offer different levels of store collateral as a reward for purchasing goods or services as a means of influencing the cost decisions of participating subscribers. For example, the universal loyalty program module of system 1 is configured to receive from input device 7 a parameter entered by the enterprise associated with providing store funds for a purchase as a fixed percentage of the cost of all products or services (substantially replicating the traditional cash back model), or as a fixed percentage of the cost of a particular type of product or service, or as a fixed percentage of the cost of a particular category of product or service. The loyalty program module is further configured to receive parameters from the enterprise related to providing store collateral incentives via the input device 7 over a time-limited period of time or in a limited number, and may optionally allow the enterprise to limit store collateral incentives to a maximum total for participating subscribers. The universal loyalty program module is further configured to update the stored records of the participating subscribers to a store collateral fund that includes any eligible costs during the overall challenge regardless of completion or outcome of the overall challenge.

In the example of a bar, the business may configure store dividend incentives by providing, for example, 5% dividend for all beverage orders, or 5% dividend for a vigorous draught beer, or 5% dividend for an entire menu. The store withholding incentives may be limited, for example, to 60 small windows (approximately exactly one hour), or may be limited to a maximum purchase amount of, for example, ten beverages. Thus, the business may adjust the store collateral rewards and the timing of the store collateral rewards to influence the spending habits of the participating subscribers by providing more collateral for the purchase of certain goods or services rather than types or categories of goods or services, optionally at different times of the day.

The duration of the overall challenge may be any length as desired by the enterprise, but in the depicted embodiment, the duration may be configured to run in one-day increments and the minimum duration is one day, set by selecting a start date and an end date. The bonus may be a store collateral for spending on the business' goods and/or services (set as a percentage of the combined spending of each subscriber participating in the overall challenge during the overall challenge), some other reward (such as a particularly attractive or valuable item), or any combination thereof. The number of winners may be set to one or more best performers (such as the best performer or the top ten performers) in the overall challenge, or may be set to a percentage of the total number of subscribers participating in the overall challenge (e.g., the top 10%). Prizes may be weighed based on the location of each subscriber in the overall challenge.

With the number of winners set to a percentage of participating subscribers, the system 1 is configured to allow the enterprise to cap the number of winners so that the prize offered is not overly thin for each new participating subscriber of the overall challenge. For example, the number of winners may be set to the top 10% of participating subscribers but capped at 20 winners, such that the total number of possible winners is limited to 20 instead of 30 (i.e., 10% of participating subscribers) even though there are, for example, 300 participating subscribers. This allows the enterprise to avoid undesirable scenarios where the number of participating subscribers is high but the combined cost of all participating subscribers is low, so that fewer bonus funds are allocated among a greater number of winners, thereby amortizing the total amount each best participating subscriber can win and reducing the incentive to participate.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any number of variables and options may be tailored to the configuration of the overall challenge depending on the needs of the enterprise.

Referring to fig. 4, system 1 allows an enterprise to modify certain modifiable parameters of an overall challenge or sub-challenge before or throughout the overall challenge and/or sub-challenge. For example, a sub-challenge arranged to start on a particular date or at a particular time may be rescheduled to a different date/time. The system 1 also allows the enterprise to modify the duration and end time of the effective overall challenge and sub-challenges.

In one example, the loyalty program may be configured to generate a 7-day running overall challenge that provides its winners with a 10% prize of the combined subscriber spending amount during the overall challenge, and the total number of winners is designated as the top 10% of the total subscribers in the overall challenge, and the prize fund is scaled such that the next winner in the top 10% receives a 10% less prize than the previous winner. Optionally, the enterprise may also configure the loyalty program to provide each subscriber with a 3% cash back for the purchase of goods and/or services.

The winner of the overall challenge may be determined based on a virtual point scoring system by which virtual points are awarded to the subscriber in return for general purchase of goods and/or services and completion of one or more sub-challenges, which may include sub-challenges related to purchase of a specified product or service, or a specified category of products or services. For general purchases of goods and/or services, the system 1 is configured to default to a set rate of one point virtual credit per fixed unit of currency spent. For example, system 1 may be configured to award a point credit for $1 at the business. It will be appreciated that this default rate may be adjusted depending on the currency of the country or region on which the business is based. For example, this ratio may be adjusted to award a point per $10 port dollars spent in hong Kong. When the system 1 is configured to default to a fixed ratio as specified by the system operator, it is contemplated that the system 1 may be adjusted such that the ratio may be changed by the enterprise for a particular overall challenge.

The winner of the overall challenge may be determined by ranking the subscriber(s) in the order of the total points awarded during the overall challenge. Since the rankings are updated in real-time by the universal loyalty program module, the leaders can be monitored and tracked by all subscribers throughout the overall challenge to enable the subscribers to determine where they are in the rankings and the number of virtual credits required to promote the rankings and obtain a more attractive prize.

Referring to fig. 8, and 10-16C, one or more sub-challenges may be included in the overall challenge and configured to increase or "boost" the virtual point number awarded to the subscriber without having to tie the sub-challenges with the amount of money generally spent at the business. Thus, subscribers who do not spend a large amount of money at the enterprise may still compete to win the overall challenge by obtaining virtual credits to complete sub-challenges. One or more sub-challenges may be configured to be included in the overall challenge at the time the overall challenge is created or during the overall challenge.

In the depicted embodiment, the sub-challenge may be configured to run for a limited time within the duration of the overall challenge, or the sub-challenge may be limited in number, i.e., by the number of times the same sub-challenge may be completed. The sub-challenges may be configured based on the number of parameters. In a first step, the start date of the sub-challenge is selected before the type of sub-challenge is selected. In the described embodiment, the sub-challenge types are limited to preconfigured types, i.e., "sign in," invite, "" purchase, "" target quantity, "" social, "" video, "" feedback, "" deduction, "" knowledge, "and" task. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that any number of suitable sub-challenge types may be selected as desired, and this list of sub-types is not exhaustive.

The configuration of the sub-challenges can be roughly divided into three parts: the first part is a conventional setting by means of which the type of sub-challenge is selected and the virtual amount of credit to be awarded (or in the case of a hedge gold challenge the amount of store hedge gold to be awarded) is specified; the second part is a limiting part where certain limiting factors (such as time limit or number limit) are specified; and a third part is a qualification part by means of which qualification criteria are specified, such as the required subscriber status, or a limit as to how many times the subscriber can participate in or complete the sub-challenge and be awarded virtual points or store collateral (in the case of a collateral sub-challenge).

The login category type relates to a location-based sub-challenge by which the subscriber is challenged to visit or stay at a location, such as a store of an enterprise. Referring to fig. 8, the enterprise may configure a logon sub-challenge to award a certain number of points for logging in or left at one location, or to configure the sub-challenge to be time-limited (i.e., run for a certain length of time with a start time and an end time (e.g., 15:00-17: 00)), or to be number-limited (i.e., to limit the sub-challenge to a certain number of "logins" (e.g., the first ten subscribers to log in)), configure the system to automatically award virtual points upon logging in, and limit the sub-challenge to be awarded once per subscriber. Advantageously, the login sub-challenge may be used to encourage subscribers to access the enterprise during times of the day when its traffic is particularly diluted.

Verification of completion of the logon sub-challenge may be based on the subscriber's location as determined by a location means of the subscriber communication device 11, and/or as manually confirmed by the enterprise, the location of the subscriber communication device 11 being related to a wireless communication device (e.g., a wireless access point, a bluetooth low energy beacon, a near field communication device, or other suitable device) located within the enterprise, the subscriber communication device 11 being proximate to one or more sensors (such as an IoT sensor located in or near the enterprise). The wireless communication device or sensor may be communicatively linked to the authentication device 9 for transmitting the subscriber detection event to the authentication device 9, or may itself be part of the authentication device 9.

In one example, when the location means determines that the subscriber is located at the location as set by the sub-challenge, the loyalty program access module of the communication device 11 may transmit a verification signal to the program server 3. In an alternative example, system 1 may be configured to periodically transmit a location request signal from program server 3 to each subscriber communication device 11 in order to periodically determine the location of each subscriber and, thus, the location of each subscriber relative to the location of the enterprise. In response to the location request, each communication device 11 may transmit an authentication signal back to the program server 3 in the form of location data including information enabling identification of the subscriber by the universal loyalty program module.

Additionally or alternatively, when the communication device 11 is detected by one or more wireless communication devices or one or more IoT sensors as being located at or around the enterprise, a verification signal may be generated by the verification device 9 located at the enterprise, the verification signal including information identifying the subscriber. When the detection of the subscriber communication device 11 indicates that the subscriber is within the enterprise, the verification device 9 may automatically transmit the generated verification signal to the program server 3, wherein upon receipt of the verification signal at the program server, the universal loyalty program module determines that the subscriber has met the criteria of the login sub-challenge, such that the stored record of the subscriber may be updated with the specified reward for the login sub-challenge.

Referring to fig. 9, the location data for each subscriber may be used by the system 1 to populate a list of subscribers currently present at or in close proximity to the business location. In the depicted embodiment, the subscriber's location is determined based on the connection of the subscriber communication device 11 to the enterprise's Wi-Fi network, the entry to which is provided by the router 12, and/or based on positioning data transmitted by the mobile communication device 11 to the server 3 over the network 5. It will be appreciated that other means for verifying subscriber location may be used as described above. The subscriber list may be displayed on the authentication device 9 of the enterprise and include a name and a photo of each subscriber to enable the subscriber to be quickly identified on the authentication device 9 by enterprise personnel. The list is updated in real time as the positioning data for each subscriber is continuously established or queried by the system 1. For example, if a business requires manual verification of a login event, employees of the business may quickly identify the presence of a subscriber by matching photos and names with subscribers located at physical locations according to the subscriber list displayed on the verification device 9. Thus, the subscriber may engage with an employee of the enterprise to confirm the login, who may quickly identify the subscriber from the subscriber list displayed on the verification device 9 and trigger a verification signal comprising information identifying the selected subscriber to be sent by the verification device 9 to the program server 3.

Upon receipt of the verification signal, the universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 is configured to determine completion of the login sub-challenge and update the stored record of the subscriber to add the awarded points to the subscriber's total. The login may alternatively or additionally be verified by the enterprise by transmitting a verification signal associated with the subscriber from the verification device 9 to the server 3. The authentication signal may be associated with the subscriber by, for example, entering an authentication code unique to the subscriber into the authentication device 9, or by scanning a code (such as a QR code) displayed on the subscriber communication device 11, and/or by selecting the subscriber from a displayed list of existing subscribers. Additionally or alternatively, a machine-readable indicia (such as a QR code or barcode) may be displayed as a printed poster within the business premises of the enterprise, or on the verification device 9 when prompted to enable the subscriber to scan the code using their communication device 11 and trigger transmission of a verification signal to the program server 3, the verification signal including subscriber identification information.

Since the system 1 monitors or detects the location of the subscriber in real time and can determine that the subscriber is proximate to a particular enterprise, the system is operable to identify not only subscribers at the enterprise but also subscribers near the enterprise. This enables the enterprise to filter its subscribers by selecting to display on the authentication device 9 only those subscribers that are within a certain distance (e.g. a radius of 100 m) of the enterprise. Monitoring the proximity of the subscriber with respect to the enterprise helps to determine the subscriber's qualification for certain sub-challenges, and also helps to determine the customization of sub-challenges based on the number of subscribers within a certain distance of the enterprise. For example, an enterprise may configure a sub-challenge to be accessible only to subscribers located at or within a certain distance of the enterprise, subscribers already located at the enterprise for a minimum length of time, or subscribers that were previously located at the enterprise but have left. Thus, system 1 enables an enterprise to customize sub-challenges to further encourage specific subscribers to remain at or return to the enterprise.

The incentive sub-challenge is related to a social network-based challenge by which the subscriber of the enterprise program is challenged to invite one or more other subscribers of the enterprise program, as well as subscribers of other enterprise programs, to "log in" to the enterprise and/or to subscribe to the loyalty program of the enterprise and/or to complete some other action (such as purchasing a minimum amount/value of merchandise at the enterprise). The loyalty access module is configured to list all subscribers to all programs so that a subscriber quickly invites one or more subscribers to participate in the challenge. It is envisaged that the loyalty program access module may be configured to access or import details of the subscriber's contacts (such as Facebook, WhatsApp, google + or the subscriber's digital phone book) from one or more other software modules running on the communication device 11 to enable sending of invitations to contacts that are not subscribers to the system 1.

Referring to FIG. 10, the invite sub-challenge may be configured to award a certain amount of virtual credits to the master player for each invitee and award a certain amount of virtual credits to the stateless or invited player if the act of inviting is complete. The sub-challenge may also be configured to: starting and ending at specific times, the main player is required to have registered the sub-challenge before sending the invitation, the invitee or stateless player is required to have not received and completed the invitation action, and the sub-challenge is limited to only one participation per subscriber if desired. The sub-challenge may also be configured to: capping the number of invitees for each primary player and thus the number of points that can be awarded; or be configured to allow any number of invitees, and thus allow the reward to allow any number of possible points. Completion of the invitation by the invitee may be verified by transmitting a verification signal to the server 3. Verification may be performed in a suitable manner, and may include: authentication by the enterprise's authentication device 9 after completing the required action (such as by the enterprise scanning or entering the master player's unique code), identification and selection of the invitee on the enterprise's authentication device 9, authentication based on the invitee's location as determined by the location means of the invitee's communication device 11, or location/connection of the invitee's communication device 11 to a wireless communication device (such as a Wi-Fi router or wireless beacon), and/or enrollment of the invitee to the enterprise loyalty program.

For the invite sub-challenge, the system 1 is configured such that the subscriber can send an invitation only if himself or herself has logged into the enterprise. The inviting subscriber thus becomes (a restricted parameter) a master player who can invite any number of subscribers to log in to the enterprise. Since the master player has logged in, they are unable to receive invitations from other master players. Each subscriber that is not logged in may be invited to log in by the host player. Thus, a primary player may invite subscribers who have not received any invitations and have not logged in ("stateless" players) as well as subscribers who have received one or more invitations but have not logged in ("invitee" players).

In verifying the invitee's login, the universal loyalty program module of system 1 is configured to change the invitee's status to one that may itself invite other stateless or master players of the invitee subscriber. The logon sub-challenge is configured such that the master player cannot become an invitee or stateless player by simply leaving the enterprise. However, the logon sub-challenge is configured such that the primary player may continue to send invitations even after having left the enterprise. The sign-in sub-challenge is further configured such that the virtual credits may be awarded to both the invitee and the master player even if the master player has left the enterprise. The sign-in sub-challenge may be further configured such that the invitee may receive a virtual credit for each received invitation at sign-in. If the sign-in sub-challenge is configured to limit the number of invitations per master player, the system is configured to recover the invitation that has been cancelled (active or passive), rejected, or failed to execute within a set time so that the master player can issue additional invitations.

In one example, the invitation sub-challenge may be configured by the enterprise to: the inviter challenge becomes accessible to the subscriber when the login sub-challenge is completed by the subscriber, awards 50 virtual credits to the subscriber when logged in thereby changing the status of the subscriber to the master player, and awards 25 virtual credits to each subscriber who successfully logged into the enterprise within the next 60 minutes in response to an invitation sent by the master player. Thus, the combination of the sign-in sub-challenge and the invite sub-challenge may be configured by the business as part of an overall challenge for encouraging subscribers to invite friends and acquaintances to the business, effectively turning the business into a social "hotspot" and encouraging increased sales at the business.

Referring to fig. 12, the purchase sub-challenge may be configured to award points to the subscriber for the purchase of specified goods and/or services from the enterprise. Parameters for purchasing the sub-challenge may include: a start time and preferably a stop time; a point coefficient for setting a number, the coefficient being multiplied by a selling price of the goods/services to determine a total point awarded; specifying an item or a particular category/brand of item or any item, regardless of type or category; and whether the sub-challenge is limited by a quantity (e.g., by the quantity by which the product can be purchased).

For a purchase sub-challenge configured with only a start time, the default configuration is that the sub-challenge ends at the end of the day it was launched, unless the subject product inventory of the sub-challenge is depleted before that. For example, for a time-limited sub-challenge, the business may configure a shopping sub-challenge starting at 21:00 and completing at 23:00 to award double points for purchasing a particular brand of wine during that time period. Alternatively, for a limited number of sub-challenges, the business may configure the shopping sub-challenge starting at 21:00 to limit awarding double points for purchasing up to 10 individual items of a particular brand of wine. Advantageously, the enterprise may configure the shopping sub-challenge to promote the sale of items that may be overstocked, i.e., will expire, or first be released on the market.

Since the system 1 has a default fixed ratio of one point virtual point per currency set for spending, the selected point factor determines the total number of virtual points awarded for purchasing a given item. For example, if the sub-challenge is configured such that the specified item is selected as a "promotion" (as known by system 1 due to information transmitted from the point-of-sale system) that costs $50 port and the point factor is set to 3 (i.e., triple points), the subscriber will receive a total of 150 points (i.e., 3x 50) when completing the purchase of the specified item. Thus, in this example, the total 150 credits awarded for the triple credit purchase sub-challenge includes 50 standard credits and 100 additional credits due to the credit factor.

Verification of completion of the purchase sub-challenge may be performed in any suitable way and may include verification using the enterprise's verification device 9 when purchasing or ordering one or more eligible items, such that a verification signal including information identifying the subscriber and the purchased item will be sent to the program server 3 for processing by the universal loyalty program module to determine completion of the sub-challenge and update the subscriber's tally. As described above, for purposes of rapid authentication, the enterprise may quickly determine the identity of a subscriber using a real-time subscriber list determined by the system to be present at the location of the enterprise and displayed on the enterprise's authentication device.

The verification process may be performed in a number of steps, by means of which the verification device 9 registers and transmits a signal to the server 3 that a qualified order has been placed and can be completed at a later stage. This allows the subscriber to ensure that they can "keep" one or more "redeems" and have the option of paying at later leisure. When paying for an order, a verification signal may be transmitted to the program server 3 so that the universal loyalty program module of the system 1 may process the points awards and update the subscriber's cumulative total. The payment, redemption, point allocation steps may even occur after the sub-challenge expires and before the day of the sub-challenge the service is closed. The system 1 is configured such that when a qualified order has been placed the subscriber can view his account and verify that the awarded points (including the points to be awarded) have been temporarily redeemed for the order to be paid. Thus, the subscriber may order the goods (e.g., using a bar tag) during the sub-challenge period and obtain the bonus points when checkout at the end of the night.

Referring to fig. 11, the target quantity sub-challenge may be configured to award points to the subscriber for spending a minimum amount (or multiple thereof) of goods and/or services from the business. Parameters of the purchase quantity sub-challenge may include: start and stop times or preset to the total business day, number of points awarded per minimum cost or target amount, and a threshold minimum cost/target amount. For example, a business may configure a number of purchases beginning at 09:00 and completing at 22:00 quantum challenge to award 100 points every $1,000 spent at the business. Thus, if a subscriber spends $10,000 at the business while the target number sub-challenge is valid, the subscriber will be awarded a standard 10,000 credit and an additional 1,000 credit according to the terms of the sub-challenge. Advantageously, the business may configure the target quantity sub-challenge to encourage the purchase of goods and/or services on days and times when the business is typically light.

Verification may be performed in a suitable manner, and may include: upon purchase of goods and/or services having a combined price greater than the set minimum cost (or a multiple thereof), authentication is performed using the enterprise's authentication device 9 to generate and transmit an authentication signal to the universal loyalty program module of the program server 3. As described above, a list of subscribers present at the enterprise location indicated on the authentication device 9 may be used to enable fast authentication, thereby enabling a more rapid determination of the identity of the purchasing subscriber. Again, validation may be a multi-stage process whereby orders may be placed that qualify for redemption but do not reward points until later before the purchase is completed, even after the sub-challenge is over. Verification of completion of the sub-challenge causes a verification signal to be sent to the universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 to update the subscriber's tally total.

Referring to FIG. 13, the social sub-challenge may be configured to award a certain amount of points for completing a particular social media-based activity. Thus, the social sub-challenge allows the enterprise to reward subscribers for sharing a particular form of media (link, picture, video, commentary, or any combination thereof) through their social media accounts and thereby promote the business of the enterprise. The sub-challenges may be configured to start or end at a particular time or be limited in number and may set the type of action that the reward virtual credit must make. In the depicted embodiment, three types of social media content for sharing may be set by the enterprise for sharing in exchange for the virtual points reward. One type of content set by the enterprise is comments shared by subscribers on social media; the second type of content set by the enterprise is pictures or videos for the subscriber to share; and a third type of content set by the enterprise for sharing is web site links. The social sub-challenge is also configured to specify a social media channel through which the subscriber must share content in order to be rewarded with points. Available social media channels are set by the system operator and may include all popular platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. It will be understood that this is not an exhaustive list and that other social media channels may be available if desired. By default, the social sub-challenge is set to reward subscribers who share specified content across all social media channels accessible to the system 1. Finally, the sub-challenge may be configured to specify how many times the subscriber may complete the sub-challenge. In the case of a social media sub-challenge, this is set to once per person by default.

Since sharing requires the subscriber to use their own social media account, the subscriber needs to link their social media account to their respective system 1 account in order to be eligible for virtual points that fulfill the social sub-challenge. The social sub-challenge is configured to award virtual points for each social media platform through which the subscriber shares the specified content. For example, the social sub-challenge may be configured to award fifty virtual points for each social media platform through which the video and the specified comment are shared. If the subscriber shares the specified videos and comments on three different social media platforms specified by the social sub-challenge, the subscriber will be rewarded with a total of 150 points.

Referring to fig. 14, the video sub-challenge may be configured to award a certain amount of points for the subscriber to view a video identified by the enterprise, such as a promotional video of the enterprise, a third party promotional video, or a promotional video of the system operator. The sub-challenges may be configured to start and end at specific times or configured to be limited in number. And then specify the link that must be shared in order to obtain the virtual points redemption qualification. Finally, the sub-challenge is configured to specify how many times the subscriber can complete the sub-challenge. In the case of a video sub-challenge, this is set to once per person by default.

Referring to FIG. 15, the feedback sub-challenge may be configured to award a certain amount of points for providing feedback by completing a predetermined survey or for providing comments about the business. The sub-challenges may be configured to start and end at specific times or configured to be limited in number. The survey link is then designated to enable the subscriber to access the survey and provide feedback thereof, which is received by the server 3 and stored in memory. Finally, the sub-challenge is configured to specify how many times the subscriber can complete the sub-challenge. In the case of a feedback sub-challenge, this is set by default to once per person.

The knowledge-based sub-challenge may be configured to award a certain amount of virtual points for completing one or more questions, such as a knowledge competition. The knowledge sub-challenge may include one or more questions provided by the enterprise or by a third party. The questions may be customized for promoting a brand or a particular product or service, or may be unspecified. Either way, the objective of the knowledgeable sub-challenge is to attract customers of the enterprise. In an example of a knowledge competition set by an enterprise, the knowledge sub-challenge may be configured to: bonus 50 credits may be awarded for each correct answer, and/or bonus 50 credits may be awarded for completing the tournament first. It will be appreciated that many variations are possible.

Verification of completion of social, video, feedback, or knowledge sub-challenges for redemption of points may be determined automatically by the system 1. In particular, if the actions required to complete the sub-challenge are performed by the web application or loyalty program access module of system 1, then the universal loyalty program module of system 1 may determine completion of the sub-challenge upon receiving a verification signal with information confirming sharing of a specified website link, picture, video or comment, confirming viewing of a particular video or confirming submission of a completed survey or comment. Upon completion of the sub-challenge, the universal loyalty program module of system 1 will update the subscriber account with the specified virtual points reward, and in the case of a sub-challenge with personal restrictions, update the subscriber's account so that the sub-challenge is no longer accessible to the subscriber.

Referring to fig. 16A, the task sub-challenge may be configured to award points to the subscriber for completing various different tasks that require manual verification by the enterprise. The parameters of the task sub-challenge may include: start and end times, details of the task to be completed, any limit on the number of times the task can be completed by the subscriber, and the number of credits awarded for completing the task. For example, a business may configure a task sub-challenge that begins at 18:00 and ends at 21:00 to award 100 points per task completed. The business may select any task, including but not limited to wearing a particular article of clothing while attending the business venue, locating a particular article (real or virtual) in the business, visiting as many business venues as possible, singing at the night of a microphone, or engaging in mental challenges. Advantageously, the business may configure task sub-challenges to encourage attendance at the business premises, add additional elements of interest to the overall challenge, and attract subscribers/customers to help promote the business through viral marketing.

Verification of completion of the task sub-challenge may be performed in any suitable manner, and may include verification by the enterprise's verification device 9 upon completion of the task. As described above, since the location of the subscriber is tracked by the system 1 in real-time, the enterprise can quickly identify the subscriber present at the enterprise or other location on the verification device 9. The employee may manually verify completion of the task sub-challenge by the user by locating the subscriber's details on the verification device 9, scanning an identification means specific to the subscriber, or any other suitable identification means. The verification of the completion of the task causes a verification signal to be sent by the verification device 9 to the program server 3 where the universal loyalty program module updates the subscriber's stored tally aggregate when the verification signal is received.

The system 1 is configured to allow third party providers to incentivize businesses to promote their goods, services, or brand(s) using a buy sub-challenge or a repudiate gold sub-challenge (fig. 16B), or any other suitable sub-challenge. The system 1 may optionally allow third party providers to access the system 1, upload product lines and indicate which product lines are available to be "promoted" or promoted in a sub-challenge in return for paying per item sold.

For example, a third party provider engaged with the system of the present disclosure for a related sub-challenge may upload its product line to system 1, and the enterprise/provider may specify which items qualify for "promotion" in this challenge. On this basis, after a sub-challenge (e.g., purchasing the sub-challenge to reach the bonus point), the business will have the ability to identify that the product item of the third party provider that was engaged has been sold during the sub-challenge, and thus generate an obligation for the third party to pay the business. It will be appreciated that the type of sub-challenge may be any of those previously described, including a refund sub-challenge to reach a store refund reward.

Thus, the enterprise will be incentivized to promote third party provider products using appropriately selected sub-challenges- (see fig. 10-16C).

The video sub-challenge provides a way for enterprises to generate advertising revenue by obtaining browsing volumes from their own subscriber base where their third parties have recently promoted videos. Thus, when creating a video sub-challenge, the system 1 is configured to allow the enterprise to select its own video (either newly uploaded or previously uploaded to the system server 3), use one of the promotional videos of the system operator, or select a third party provider video located on the program server 3. As for the buy sub-challenge, the system 1 may be configured to enable third party providers to upload video content for use as a promotion and specify a fee to be paid to the business per view in order to encourage the business to promote the third party video to the business's loyalty program subscriber base.

The system 1 also provides the enterprise with the option to create third party specified social, feedback, knowledge, or task-type sub-challenges whereby subscribers are encouraged to promote third party goods or services through social media, or to provide survey feedback, participate in knowledge-type games, or complete certain third party-related tasks in return for virtual point rewards.

As described above, businesses may be incentivized to promote third party products and services to obtain payback from third parties. Thus, the universal loyalty program module of system 1 is configured to determine when third party goods and services are used by the enterprise as a basis for a particular sub-challenge and to award the enterprise accordingly. Since the system 1 is configured to provide the ability to generate revenue for an enterprise by providing third parties access to the enterprise's customer base, the system 1 may be configured to charge a fee for a fixed amount or for a percentage of revenue generated by the enterprise.

Advantageously, this additional feature of the system 1 allows new companies to be exposed to the market and establish a customer base, allows established companies to promote new product lines or branding activities, or enables companies to promote declining reorder sales from a business.

In addition to the sub-challenges, the universal loyalty program module of system 1 is configured to provide the enterprise with the option to provide bonus incentives as part of the overall challenge, further attracting subscribers and encouraging participation in the overall challenge. The bonus incentives may include store collateral, non-monetary awards, or obtaining certain "locked" incentives or awards, such as accessing a higher level sub-challenge with the possibility of obtaining more virtual point awards. When a specified milestone is reached (such as a threshold number of virtual credits), a bonus award may be awarded by the system 1 to the participating subscriber. When the bonus incentive milestones are reached, the loyalty program module of the system 1 updates the stored records of the participating subscribers to associate the earned rewards with the subscriber's account number for future redemption.

With further reference to fig. 2 and 3, an enterprise may create an overall challenge tailored for loyalty programs to incentivize subscribers to purchase goods and services from the enterprise and to actively promote the enterprise. The business accesses its account through the input device 7 and enters the parameter data of the overall challenge into the input device 7 based on the duration (start and end dates), the winner as a percentage, the bonus fund as a percentage spent during the overall challenge, and the winner differential. Alternatively, the business may configure the loyalty program to provide cash back or store credits, either independently or with the overall challenge and even when no overall challenge is currently active. The fields of each variable are provided by a web page downloaded to the input device 7 via the network 5 or by an input module stored on the input device 7. The enterprise may also enter parameters for one or more sub-challenges to further incentivize subscribers to participate in the overall challenge. One or more sub-challenges may be created by a web page displayed on the input device 7 or an input module (software application) stored on the input device 7, either at the time the overall challenge is created or after the overall challenge is created. The parameters of the overall challenge and the sub-challenges may be changed throughout the overall challenge by one or more web pages or mobile applications on the input device 7.

Upon entering parameters of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges and validating the parameters by the enterprise, the input device 7 sends the parameters as data to the program server 3 for further processing. The program server 3 receives the parameter data and the universal loyalty program module instructs the program server 3 to store the parameter data in the program database. The universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 determines the start date and time of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges, determines the subscribers of the loyalty program of the enterprise and transmits details of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges to the subscribers, and/or associates the challenge with the account of the respective subscriber when the start date and time of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges is reached. Additionally or alternatively, the enterprise itself may transmit, by one or more computing devices, details of the overall challenge or one or more sub-challenges to subscribers of the loyalty program of the enterprise.

Upon receipt of the details of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges by the subscriber's communication device 11, or upon login to a subscriber account registered to the system 1, the communication device 11 displays the details of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges. Upon receiving the details of the overall challenge or sub-challenges, the display of the details of the overall challenge and/or one or more sub-challenges may be automatically triggered by a loyalty program access module stored on the subscriber's communication device 11 (such as a smartphone).

As outlined above, the subscriber may purchase goods or services from the business throughout the entire challenge period to earn virtual credits in addition to a designated cash back or store collateral supply. At the point of sale, an identification (such as a code or machine-readable indicia) unique to the subscriber may be scanned or entered into the verification device 9, which may be a tablet or point of sale terminal. Additionally or alternatively, enterprise authentication device 9 (such as a point of sale machine or dedicated computing device) will automatically show the subscriber's details on the screen for quick identification, since the subscriber's location is automatically detected (by a location service or some form of guard service such as bluetooth beacon, or Wi-Fi, or other suitable method) when entering the enterprise and the "login" of the subscriber list is updated by the system. Additionally or alternatively, one or more computing devices with facial recognition capabilities may be located in or around an enterprise for rapid identification of subscribers. It will be appreciated that the verification device 9 may be the same computing device (i.e. the same device as the input device 7) used by the enterprise to access its merchant account at the system 1 and input the overall challenge parameter and the sub-challenge parameters. With further reference to fig. 9, the enterprise employee may locate the subscriber within the displayed logged-in user group (a dynamic group that is updated in real-time) and select the subscriber to initiate authentication by username, picture, and, if needed, subscriber-specific identification when purchasing goods or services.

The verification device 9 transmits a verification signal to the program server 3 for processing by the universal loyalty program module, the verification signal including details of the purchase and details of the subscriber or selected subscribers from the displayed group as determined by the code or machine readable indicia. Upon receipt of the purchase details, the universal loyalty program module of program server 3 determines the completion of the sub-challenge and the virtual credit amount to be awarded to the subscriber as a function of the parameters of the overall challenge, or (as the case may be) the store credit amount to be awarded to the subscriber as a function of the parameters of the appropriate sub-challenge (e.g., the bunkering sub-challenge or the 3 rd party bunkering sub-challenge). The universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 then updates the subscriber stored records in the program database to add the awarded virtual points to the subscriber's total.

The subscriber may attempt to complete one or more sub-challenges of the overall challenge to earn additional virtual points or to earn store credits. Whether the subscriber is eligible to participate in the sub-challenge and how they participate are determined in real time by the universal loyalty program module of system 1. The system 1 is configured such that only those sub-challenges that the subscriber is or may be eligible to participate in will be shown/accessible to the subscriber. The sub-challenges may be grouped into: those sub-challenges that the subscriber qualifies to participate, those that the subscriber may become eligible to participate if he/she performs certain actions (e.g., logs into the enterprise to become the primary player), and those that the subscriber will absolutely not qualify and therefore will not be shown. For example, in the case of an invite sub-challenge, the system 1 will not display the invite option to the subscriber on the communication device 11 until the subscriber has logged in at a specified location and can thus become the master player. Likewise, system 1 will not allow the host player to receive the invitation. The limited number of sub-challenges that have been completed a quantitative number of times by the subscriber will also no longer be displayed to the subscriber.

The method of verification of completion of the sub-challenge may depend on the sub-challenge type as described above. For the login sub-challenge, the verification may be automatically confirmed based on the reception of a signal by the program server 3 indicating that the location of the subscriber's communication device 11 is in the vicinity of the sub-challenge location (e.g. the location of the enterprise). As described, the location of the subscriber device may be tracked in real-time by GPS location, Wi-Fi positioning, and/or beacon positioning systems or sensors. Authentication may also be triggered by one or more computing devices using facial recognition techniques. The login verification may additionally or alternatively be confirmed manually by the enterprise employee by entering or scanning a code specific to the subscriber through the verification device 9, or by selecting the subscriber on the verification device 9 from a list of subscribers determined by the system 1 to be present at the sub-challenge login location, and transmitting a verification signal to the program server 3 for processing by the universal loyalty program module.

Verification of completion of one or more tasks, purchases, or target number sub-challenges may be accomplished using a verification device 9 of the enterprise facilitated by real-time location tracking that enables rapid identification of the user upon completion of the sub-tasks (e.g., purchase of an item at a point-of-sale terminal verification device 9). As described above, upon completion of the sub-challenge (e.g., wearing a red work clothes of the business), the employees of the business may enter or scan a code specific to the subscriber through the verification device 9, and/or select the subscriber from a subscriber list that populates a business login list as displayed on the verification device 9. The enterprise may then transmit a verification signal comprising subscriber information and confirmation of completion of the sub-challenge to the program server 3 via the verification device 9 for processing by the universal loyalty program module.

Upon receipt of the verification signal, the universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 determines completion of the sub-challenge and updates the subscriber's stored record on the loyalty program database to the aggregate of which virtual point awards are added to the subscriber.

Referring to fig. 17, to facilitate verification of the completion of sub-challenges or the award of cash back/store credits, and to enhance the customizability of the challenges, the system 1 is configured to interface with the enterprise's point-of-sale system 13, which stores item and pricing information. A PoS system typically includes one or more PoS machines 15 configured with software that communicatively links the PoS machines to one or more computing devices of a cloud-based server 17 that store data related to the PoS system. The PoS system 13 may be an enterprise's own private system or may be provided by an external PoS service provider. The PoS system 13 enables an enterprise to create accounts and upload or create menus or inventory lists using associated identification data and pricing information. For example, a restaurant business may create a menu list that includes all available food or beverage items that may be ordered, each item having a corresponding identification code and price.

The enterprise may access its PoS merchant account through any computing device 19 having an internet connection so that the enterprise can customize its account and create or modify its menus or inventory lists. PoS machine 15 accesses the menu/inventory list so that one or more individual items from the list can be identified by the business as the order is entered into PoS system 13. The identification process may include manually selecting each ordered item by the PoS machine 15 using a PoS user interface, which may include a touch screen display and/or a keypad, or scanning a machine-readable code affixed to the particular item. Upon confirmation of the order, the details of the order are transmitted to the PoS server 17 for storage and associated with the unique order identification number.

The universal loyalty program module of system 1 is configured to interface with PoS system 13 and link the enterprise's system 1 account with its PoS merchant account. By linking the two accounts, the system 1 is able to access an enterprise menu/inventory list to be stored on the program server 3. The universal loyalty program module is configured to query the PoS system 13 for the latest menu/inventory list, either automatically or upon manual request by the user of the system 1. To facilitate manual queries, the loyalty program module is configured to display a user-actuatable "synch" button on the system web manager, or to enter a module through the input device 7 that may be selected after logging into the enterprise account. The loyalty program module is configured to query the PoS system 13 upon selection of the synch button by the enterprise to obtain the latest inventory/menu list and store the list on the program server 3.

Accessing the menu/inventory list of the enterprise through its system 1 enables the enterprise to select a specific item or category of items to be promoted by the sub-challenge. For example, a restaurant may use input device 7 to access the universal loyalty program module through the web manager and create a buy-sub-challenge for the overall challenge. The enterprise may select a particular item from a menu as it is stored on the program server 3 and associate an additional reward with the selected item. Thus, the selected item is "promoted" by the purchase sub-challenge by motivating the subscriber to purchase the selected item.

In addition to enhancing the customizability of the challenge, the interaction between system 1 and the enterprise's PoS system 13 facilitates the association of orders with subscribers. As described above, the PoS system 13 assigns a unique order identification number to the subscriber order and stores this information on the cloud-based server 17 along with the details of each ordered item. When an order is created in the PoS system 13, the universal loyalty program module is configured to receive this order information, including the unique order identification number and the identification code of each ordered item, by the one or more computing devices of the program server 3 and transmit an alert signal to the verification device 9 of the enterprise requesting identification of the subscriber of the order as identified by the unique order identification code. Upon receiving the alert, the enterprise selects an appropriate subscriber from the subscriber list through the authentication device user interface and transmits an authentication signal back to the program server 3 so that the universal loyalty program module can associate the order with the selected subscriber account and update the subscriber's stored records on the loyalty program database to include the corresponding reward.

Since the system 1 has price information for each item on the enterprise's inventory/menu, the system 1 is operable to calculate the total order cost based on the items ordered and to temporarily dispense the appropriate amount of store collateral and rewards to the subscriber according to the parameters of the overall sub-challenge and the valid sub-challenge. For example, if the overall challenge and the challenge are configured to provide 1% cash back or store credits and two valid sub-challenges are in progress (i.e., a purchase sub-challenge and a target quantity sub-challenge for a particular category), the system 1 uses the order information received from the PoS system to calculate a total order amount, calculate an amount of store credits for the order amount, determine whether the total order amount exceeds a threshold for the target quantity sub-challenge, and determine whether any of the ordered items are in a category promoted by the purchase sub-challenge. The system 1 then updates the subscriber account number stored on the system database to include temporarily the calculated store collateral and to include temporarily any rewards for either of the two sub-challenges (if the system 1 determines that the two sub-challenges have been completed).

If the subscriber changes an existing order prior to payment, the business makes any necessary changes through the PoS device 15 for transmission to the PoS cloud-based server 17 so that the order information associated with the unique order identification number can be updated by the PoS system 13. PoS system 13 pushes the updated order information for receipt by one or more computing devices of program server 3. Upon receiving the updated order information, the universal loyalty program module recalculates the store collateral and rewards based on the modified order and updates the record associated with the order subscriber. Since the unique order identification number is already associated with the subscriber on the system 1, the universal loyalty program module is required to initiate a new request to identify and authenticate the subscriber.

When the confirmation program server 3 computing device or devices receive payment from the PoS system 13, the store collateral and rewards are permanently issued to the subscriber's account. In processing the payment, the PoS system 13 may query the universal loyalty query program module for a store debit associated with the customer in question. This store collateral information gives the subscriber the option to pay all or part of the order with the previously accumulated store collateral for the business. Payment confirmation (with or without use of the accumulated store collateral) is transmitted by the PoS device 15 to the PoS system server 17 for onward transmission to the system program server 3. Upon receipt of a payment confirmation of the unique order identification number by one or more computing devices of the program server 3, the universal loyalty program module updates the subscriber's stored record to an account number that permanently trusts the subscriber and any store credits for the transaction will be deducted from the subscriber's stored cumulative total. As described above, since the unique order identification number is already associated with the subscriber on the system 1, the universal loyalty program module is required to initiate a new request to identify and authenticate the subscriber to the particular order.

Although verification may be initiated by manual input to one or more verification devices 9, it is contemplated that for certain sub-challenges verification may be accomplished automatically without manual intervention by employees of the enterprise. For example, in case the verification device 9 is a point-of-sale terminal, the point-of-sale terminal may be configured to: the transaction details and subscriber identity are automatically transmitted to the program server 3 for processing, even if the subscriber is not manually selected or identified at the point of sale terminal. The universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 may be configured to determine whether a valid sub-challenge exists and whether any of the goods or services purchased by the subscriber meet the virtual points reward criteria for the valid sub-challenge. If the universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 determines that the transaction does not qualify for virtual point awards, the universal loyalty program module calculates the number of points to be awarded and updates the subscriber's stored account number in the loyalty program database accordingly.

Another example of automatic verification may include a social media-related sub-challenge in which subscribers are challenged to encourage friends and acquaintances to subscribe to loyalty programs of the business. This may include the subscriber using the communication device 11 to send a URL link with a subscriber-specific character string to a friend inviting the friend to subscribe to the loyalty program of the enterprise. Following the link, a loyalty program access module on the invitee's communication device may be initiated, or a web page may be downloaded to the invitee's communication device from the program server 3 or some other server storing the web page, to allow the invitee to subscribe to the enterprise program. The universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 may be configured to determine whether the invitee subscribes to the enterprise program, determine which subscriber sent the invitation based on the unique code, calculate the number of virtual points to be awarded to the subscriber, and update the subscriber account number to reflect the new point total.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other methods for automatic verification may be implemented without manual intervention by the enterprise, and without unduly complicating the verification process or tiring the subscriber.

The system enables the enterprise to modify the points or credits awarded for a particular transaction or completion of a sub-challenge in the event of an error.

The universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 maintains the ranking of the subscribers in order of total virtual points and updates the ranking as additional virtual points are earned by the subscribers. The ranking may be accessed by each subscriber through the communication device 11 displaying the ranking so that the subscriber can determine his location relative to other subscribers and how much additional credit is needed to win a prize or boost the ranking. The universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 is configured to determine the current prize award based on the parameters of the overall challenge and to indicate in the ranking the prize value available at each position. For example, the universal loyalty program module of the program server 3 may determine what the subscriber's virtual credit is behind each prize winner and the size of the prize available to promote the ranking. Advantageously, by providing subscribers with their real-time ranking, the bonus that may be available, and the additional virtual credit required to obtain the bonus or higher, subscribers are incentivized to participate in the overall challenge and sub-challenges to generate new business for the business.

Although a single prize may be provided for the best performer, it is contemplated in the exemplary embodiment that a greater number of subscribers may be made available for a portion of the prize to attract more than just a very small number of people who reach higher points than lower spending/participating subscribers. This may be accomplished by configuring the overall challenge to provide a bonus to a fixed number of participating subscribers or a percentage of the total number of participating subscribers. The overall challenge may also be configured to provide a predetermined prize, such as a one-time cash payment and/or one or more non-monetary prizes, or prizes that increase with participation of the subscriber (e.g., by selecting the prize as a percentage of the total sales of the participating subscriber). The overall challenge may be configured such that prizes are evenly distributed to a fixed number of winners in the baseline model, as shown in fig. 18, or, with reference to fig. 19, distributed using a winner difference model to provide a larger portion of the prize to participating winning subscribers who reach a larger number of virtual credits than other participating winning subscribers during the overall challenge.

An advantage of allocating prizes based on winner differentials is that this incentivizes the subscriber to continue to participate in the overall challenge even after the prize winning position in the ranking has been entered. The proposed method of allocating the prize of the overall challenge to the winner is described by the following equation:

wherein N is_(t,b)Is a prize paid to winning subscribers as a function of their position in the overall ranking; d is the winner difference, which is a variable percentage value representing the difference in the amount of winnings received by a given winner from its next higher or next lower neighbor; s is the percentage of the total sales of all subscribers that will be allocated to the bonus fund throughout the entire period of the overall challenge; g is the total sales of the subscriber during the overall challenge; t is the number of winners; and b is the rank of each winner, where the highest number of ranks equals the total number of winners and the lowest number of ranks equals 1, and each other rank is an integer in between.

For example, in an overall challenge configured to present a subscriber share prize, the payments to the first, second, and third subscribers are determined as follows:

first winner

Second winner

Third winner

As can be seen from fig. 20, using winner differencing ensures that subscribers participate more in the overall challenge and receive more rewards, so that higher winners are significantly more earned than the baseline model. Turning to fig. 21, it can be seen that the selection of the winner differential d can greatly influence the distribution of prizes among the differentially ranked winners, such that a higher winner differential increases the prize size of the highest ranking winner and decreases the prize size of the lowest ranking winner. It can also be seen from fig. 22 that the larger the number of winners, the greater the influence of the winner difference on the prize distribution. For example, increasing the number of winners from 10 to 50 for the winner difference d-10% only reduces the number of winners earned beyond the baseline (average share prize) by 18%; and for the winner difference d being 50%, 26% of the number of winners earned over the baseline is reduced. Despite this reduction, with reference to FIG. 23, it can be seen that even with an increased number of winners, a higher winner can still receive a relatively higher prize over baseline.

In another alternative, the price may be distributed according to a linear model as determined by the following equation:

wherein, P_(R)Is a prize, P, to be awarded to a particular ranking (e.g. 1 st) of subscribers_(T)Is the total prize to be allocated to the winning subscriber, N is the winner total, and R is the rank of the designated winner whose prize is being calculated. For example, in the linear distribution model, if the total bonus fund is $15,000 and the winner total is 5, the bonus is distributed to the first 5 winning subscribers as follows:

P₁＝5,000；P₁＝4,000；P₁＝3,000；P₁2,000; and P₁＝1,000。

The system 1 is configured to enable a fixed winner take differential (e.g., 10%) to be selected by the enterprise, or an adjustable winner take differential that varies according to the total number of winners. If the adjustable winner variance is selected for the bonus allocation method of the overall challenge and the total number of winners is set as a percentage of the total participating subscribers, the system 1 is configured to continuously adjust the winner difference according to the total number of participating subscribers and thus the total winners are continuously increased or decreased in order to continuously change the bonus award for each winning position. In one example, the adjustable winner differencing is configured to decrease according to the total number of participating subscribers, and thus the winner total increases. This has the effect of distributing the prize funds more evenly among the winning positions while still maintaining a significant prize separation between the winning positions. Thus, for a relatively low number of total winners (e.g., less than 10), the winner differential can be automatically adjusted to a relatively high percentage (over 100%); while the winner take difference may be automatically adjusted to a relatively lower winner take difference (e.g., 4%) for a relatively larger number of total winners (e.g., 100).

The system 1 is further configured to allow selection of different levels among the total number of winners of the overall challenge based on a winner difference or linear bonus distribution model. The tier total may be set by the enterprise to a fixed number (e.g., 3), or may be set to a percentage of the winner total (e.g., 10% of the total winners). The hierarchy may be configured with different numbers of winners per layer and different levels of distribution of winners in each layer such that the clearance between winners in one layer is relatively higher than the clearance between winners in different layers.

Each tier may be separated from adjacent tiers by a prize differential amount that corresponds to a significant step in the trend of standard prize differences within each tier. For example, referring to FIG. 24, for an overall challenge based on a winner differential prize distribution model, the overall challenge may be configured to allocate prizes according to a three tier arrangement in which a lowest-ranking winner of a higher tier forms a significant step in prize awards with a highest-ranking winner of an adjacent lower tier. Advantageously, by dividing the winners into different tiers, the participating subscribers are further incentivized to try to spend more and complete sub-challenges in order to reach a higher ranking and enter a higher tier, and thus obtain a higher possible bonus award.

Likewise, referring to fig. 25, an overall challenge based on a linear prize distribution model may be configured to have three levels or "leagues" with the total winners evenly distributed among the levels, and where each level has a linear trend of prize distribution among winners within that level and has a significant step up in prize awards relative to the next level. Thus, the difference in prizes awarded to winners in each tier may be $100 dollars, but for example, the difference between the highest scoring winners in the second tier and the lowest scoring winners in the topmost tier may be $300 dollars.

Since the system 1 allows the overall challenge to be configured as: with linear or winner differential prize distributions, with or without tiers, with a fixed number of winners or based on a percentage number of winners, and with adjustable or fixed winner differentials, and the enterprise can configure the overall challenge to distribute the total prize based on twenty-four possible distribution models.

The system 1 is also configured to manipulate the distribution of prizes in the case of winning positions of one or more hierarchical levels of the overall challenge and may be distributed according to different models. In one allocation method, for a linear prize distribution with a fixed number of winners, where there is a juxtaposition of specific locations, the system 1 is configured to redistribute the total prize award for the replaced locations equally to the juxtaposed winners. For example, where there are five winners in total and a total of $ 750 prize funds are allocated according to a linear model, the prize P1 would typically be paid in the following order: $250, P2, $200, P3: $150, P4: $100, P5: $50, and in the case where there are three participating subscribers listed in P3 such that P4 and P5 are superseded, system 1 is configured to redistribute the prizes for P3, P4 and P5 equally to each listed winner, such that they all receive $100 (i.e., (150+100+ 50)/3).

Alternatively, the system 1 may be configured to increase the number of overall winners by the number of replaced positions due to the juxtaposition and to allocate the overall prize fund among the new overall winners but with the juxtaposed winners receiving the same amount. For example, where five winners are initially designated and a total $ 750 bonus fund is allocated at the end of the overall challenge, and where there are three participating subscribers in juxtaposition P3 such that P4 and P5 are replaced, the system 1 is configured to increase the number of total winners by the number of replaced locations (i.e., two) such that the recalculated total number of winners is seven. The system 1 is configured to calculate the prize award for the new winner position total according to a linear model, where in this example, P1: 188, P2: $161, P3: $134, P4: $107, P5: $80, P6: $54, P7: $27, and the prize awards of P3, P4, and P5 are equally distributed to each parallel winner, so that the parallel winners each receive $107 (i.e., (134+107+ 80)/3). Thus, the total prize fund for each winning position will be assigned P1: 188, P2: $161, P3: $107, P3: $107, P3: $107, P6: $54, P7: and $ 27. In the case where more than one different winning positions are juxtaposed, the bonus funds may be allocated according to a similar calculation.

Similarly, where the overall challenge is configured to allocate prize funds according to a winner difference model, and there are one or more winning position co-ordinates, the system 1 is configured to calculate a standard prize allocation (whether fixed or recalculated by position substitution) for the total number of winners and to allocate the total prizes for the co-ordinated positions evenly. For example, where a total of ten fixed winners are specified and a total of $1,000 bonus funds exist at the end of the overall challenge, and the winner differential is set to 50%, the bonus funds are typically allocated as P1: $339, P2: $226, P3: $151, P4: $101, P5: $67, P6: $45, P7: $30, P8: $20, P9: $13, P10: and $ 9. In the case where there are four parallel P3, the system 1 can reassign the prize totals of P3 to P6 equally to the four parallel denominations, with the result that P1: $339, P2: $226, P3: $91, P3: $91, P3: $91, P3: $91, P7: $30, P8: $20, P9: $13, P10: and $ 9.

Alternatively, the system may increase the winner total by the number of replaced positions and recalculate the prize allocation for the new winner total. In the above example, the winner total may be increased by four or fourteen, so that the new prize allocation may be generally allocated as P1: $334, P2: $223, P3: $149, P4: $99, P5: $66, P6: $44, P7: $29, P8: $20, P9: $13, P10: $9, P11: $6, P12: $4, P13: $3, P14: and $ 2. As described above, in the case where there are four juxtaposed P3, the system 1 can redistribute the bonus sum of P3 to P6 equally to the four juxtaposed titles, with the result of P1: $334, P2: $223, P3: $89.5, P4: $89.5, P5: $89.5, P6: $89.5, P7: $29, P8: $20, P9: $13, P10: $9, P11: $6, P12: $4, P13: $3, P14: and $ 2.

A page of an exemplary user interface of the authentication module displayed on the authentication device 9 (such as a tablet or point of sale device) is schematically depicted in fig. 26. The authentication module user interface includes a login page to enable access to a list of customers determined by the system 1 to be located at the enterprise premises. The customer list includes a picture of each customer or subscriber and their names contained within the blocks forming the touch actuated buttons. Retrieval tools are also provided that allow businesses to retrieve their program subscribers using names, player IDs, or transaction codes. Selecting a particular subscriber opens a subscriber profile page that indicates the subscriber's available store credits and enables the enterprise to enter transaction details to be assigned to the selected subscriber. The interface enables the enterprise to enter an aggregate of merchandise sales, enter sales with exchange of store collateral, or correct collateral amounts allocated to subscribers. Upon submission of the sales details or the debit correction, a verification signal is sent to the server to update the subscriber's account with additional virtual credits and/or cash back-out, or to modify the amount of the debit stored in the subscriber's account.

A page of an exemplary user interface of a loyalty program access module that may be displayed on one or more communication devices 11, such as a smartphone, is schematically depicted in fig. 27. The user interface includes an account registration and landing page for subscribers to access and configure their accounts and register with enterprise programs. Upon logging in or registering, the access module is configured to open a page listing the enterprise programs and providing a means to enter further pages within the programs via the touch screen button associated with each enterprise. Selecting a particular business opens a business view page that provides basic details about the business, including: photos of the venue, details of the current bonus fund available to a particular business overall challenge (if running), the subscriber's current ranking in the overall bonus (if any), a "promotion" of a sub-challenge or current running as part of the overall challenge, and details of cash back and balance funds earned from the business to date.

From an enterprise perspective, a subscriber may access six different enterprise-related blocks, including: a history section, an enterprise detail section, an overall challenge detail section, a ranking page, a pending purchase section, and a sub-challenge section. When a login or invitation challenge is in progress, the subscriber will receive a login notification to alert the subscriber to start such challenge.

Additional pages within the loyalty access module may be accessed through a "wing" style button interface that may be accessed from the home page through gesture controls (such as sliding the screen from left to right). The wing panel lists a plurality of touch buttons, which in the preferred embodiment include a "my profile" button, a "player list" button, a "set" button, and a "my account" button.

The "my profile" button leads to a profile page that provides an overview of the total cash back and winnings and the number of business processes subscribed to by the subscriber. The "Player List" button leads to a Player List page that lists the other subscribers of the system 1 and enables the subscriber to make certain actions with respect to each of the other subscribers (such as saving the player as a contact, blacking out the player, or not making actions). One or more players may be invited from the player list page to participate in the challenge and sub-challenge so that virtual points may be earned by either the inviter or both the host and invitees. The setup button leads to a setup page that allows the settings of the loyalty program access module to be adjusted as needed, and also enables the subscriber to make various account-related actions (such as changing passwords, changing usernames, and deleting accounts).

The pending purchase page for the business may be accessed from the business's perspective so that the subscriber can determine how many virtual points will be redeemed when the order is completed. A "pay using store collateral" button is provided that enables the subscriber to easily and conveniently resolve pending transactions for the business using any store collateral earned from the business.

The user interface enables subscribers to subscribe to a number of different business loyalty programs, participate in challenges and sub-challenges, monitor current rankings and available bonuses, and even spend earned store credits. Advantageously, the system 1 provides a convenient way for multiple different enterprises to attract existing and new customers and generate increased revenue.

It is envisaged that the system 1 may be scaled to enable enterprises to form groups in which virtual points and credits are shared. Subscribers of the businesses within the created group may then compete for a collective bonus fund, which may be much larger than the bonus fund of an individual business.

It is further contemplated that the system 1 may be implemented to encourage businesses and customers/subscribers to compete with one another. For example, the challenge may be configured with a bonus fund for the highest earned business within a given time period. Further, it is contemplated that the system 1 may be configured to enable an enterprise to sell to third parties an opportunity to promote the third parties to the enterprise's subscriber base. For example, to obtain a fee reward, an enterprise may create a sub-challenge to promote branded goods to subscribers of the enterprise.

It is contemplated that system 1 need not be limited to a traditional physical enterprise and may also be implemented in an e-commerce environment. For example, the e-commerce platform may register an account number with the system 1 and create the overall challenge and one or more sub-challenges by transmitting the desired challenge or sub-challenge parameters to the program server 3 for processing and storage by the universal loyalty program module. The universal loyalty program module and/or the enterprise may then transmit the details of the challenge or sub-challenge over the internet 5 to the communication device 11 of the subscriber of the e-commerce platform loyalty program for their participation. Additionally or alternatively, the e-commerce website may include an indication of: the particular product on its website is the subject of the purchase sub-challenge with the corresponding reward. Then, upon receiving a verification signal associated with the subscriber indicating completion of the sub-challenge, the participating subscriber having completed the sub-challenge may be awarded virtual points by the universal loyalty program module.

In an e-commerce environment without a physical enterprise, the authentication device 9 may be a server having an authentication module that generates an authentication signal associated with a single subscriber for transmission to the program server 3 for further processing and updating of the subscriber's stored records. For example, a purchase sub-challenge may be created that includes purchasing a particular product on an e-commerce website. The e-commerce web server may generate a purchase event including details of the purchase and information necessary for the system 1 to identify the subscriber and transmit data of the purchase event to the program server 3. Upon receiving this verification signal from the e-commerce website server, the universal loyalty program module uses the identification information to identify the subscriber on the system 1, and uses the purchase information to determine that the specified product of the purchase sub-challenge has been purchased by the subscriber and updates the subscriber's stored account with the reward (e.g., 50 virtual points) associated with purchasing the sub-challenge.

It is contemplated that the system 1 may be monetized by the platform provider in any number of ranges, including on a subscription basis (additional payments including additional features), on a usage basis, or as a percentage of the total bonus offering (for the overall sales/directly added sub-challenges), or a mix of any one or more of these.

It is also contemplated that the system 1 may be implemented on a hotel or service industry, such as an airline or cruise ship. For example, the system 1 may be used to create loyalty programs with overall challenges and sub-challenges that motivate subscribers to preferentially fly or travel using the airline or cruise ship, to do certain actions while on the airplane or cruise ship, to purchase specific items, and to promote the airline or cruise ship to the subscriber's contacts through social media.

The system 1 need not be limited to a retailer, hospital, or service industry, and may be used in any environment in which it can help motivate individuals or teams to achieve a specified goal.

For example, an educational enterprise may use system 1 to create an overall challenge with an overall bonus or overall award for a best performing team or individual. The enterprise may then create one or more sub-challenges of the overall challenge for encouraging participating teams or individuals to complete a task or job to obtain the necessary rewards to qualify as best performing participants for the overall challenge, to be awarded a total prize or total reward when the overall challenge is completed.

The bonus or award may be known already at the beginning of the challenge/sub-challenge, revealed during the course of the challenge/sub-challenge (and updated if appropriate), or revealed at the end of the challenge to maximize the incentive to the participants. In the case of a prize or award modified during the challenge/sub-challenge, this information may or may not be revealed by specifying settings on the platform. It will be understood that the prizes or awards may be virtual points, actual prizes/items, store credits, exclusive opportunities, or a combination of these provided by an institution, platform, or third party without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The overall challenge may be to reach the highest number of virtual credits or tokens to complete one or more of the sub-challenges. Sub-challenges may include writing out a project or a certain number of projects, completing an allocation on a particular date, posting a minimum number of survey papers within a certain time period, or any other goal related to educating an enterprise. It will be appreciated that such overall challenges as well as sub-challenges may be used not only to motivate students to complete tasks, but also to motivate educational personnel to accomplish certain educational objectives that are beneficial to an educational enterprise. Optionally, the points obtained by the participants in the challenge may be displayed to all participants throughout the challenge to promote competition, e.g., ranking the participants on a web page "leaderboard," while being fully revealed, or partially anonymous, or fully anonymous to the participants depending on the institution's decision and corresponding updates to the underlying platform settings.

Likewise, the system 1 may be used to create overall and sub-challenges that motivate the employee to complete work-related goals within a specified time period when the traditional fixed commission per sale changes to the optimal sales clerk/slide ratio schedule.

For example, a company may create an overall challenge with financial rewards or bonuses for best performing participating individuals or teams. The sub-challenges of the overall challenge may be created with associated virtual points that may be awarded in return for completing one or more of the sub-challenges, or for completing sub-challenges that may have associated funds for refund or cash back.

For example, at a car dealer, a sales clerk may have a one month challenge, where the percentage of each car sold is factored into the overall collective prize to be distributed among the top sales clerks. (this is similar to a customer challenge where a percentage of the sales is used to build a collective prize). Points may be awarded to sales clerks for each sale of a vehicle and for sub-challenges of awarding points or store credits. Alternatively, the percentage of the sales may be immediately credited to the staff completing the sales by a cash back arrangement or a hedge gold challenge. Sub-challenges may also include completing work distribution on a certain date, writing a minimum number of items for release, attending a network event, holding a seminar, or any other task or goal that may be relevant to the work environment and may benefit the company. A team may be selected so that a stronger actor directs a weaker actor to achieve better results in the current sub-challenge. Upon completion of the overall challenge, the individual or team with the most virtual points may then be awarded the financial award or prize. It will be appreciated that the challenges may be customized to different work environments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Again, the points obtained by the participants in the challenge may be displayed to all participants throughout the challenge to promote competition, e.g., ranking the participants on a web page "leaderboard," while being fully revealed, or partially anonymous, or fully anonymous to the participants depending on the decisions of the workplace and the corresponding settings made on the underlying platform.

Similarly, the bonus or award may be known already at the beginning of the sub-challenge, revealed during the course of the sub-challenge (and updated if appropriate), or revealed at the end of the challenge to maximize the incentive to the participants. In the event that a bonus or award is specified during the challenge, this information may or may not be revealed by modifying the settings of the underlying platform. It will be understood that the prizes or awards may be virtual points, actual prizes/items, store credits, exclusive opportunities, or any combination of these, the prizes being provided by an institution, platform, or third party without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The system 1 may also be used, for example, to motivate an individual to achieve an individual fitness goal within a specified time limit. The fitness enterprise may create an overall challenge for completion of various sub-challenges by the participants, such as posting a photograph of the fitness enterprise on social media, thereby promoting the enterprise and at the same time encouraging the participants to attend the enterprise, inviting friends to attend fitness classes, attending the enterprise a minimum number of times per week, or any other goal or task related to the fitness enterprise that may help promote the enterprise, increase the use of its facilities, and help the individuals achieve personal fitness goals.

It will be appreciated that the same enterprise (or business or educational institution) may implement the aforementioned systems of the present disclosure simultaneously or sequentially-for example, a customer may be motivated by certain sub-challenges while employees of the enterprise are motivated by different sub-challenges. Thus, the same system may provide different emphasis points to encourage aggressiveness.

The above embodiments are described by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for updating stored records associated with a program subscriber, the method comprising:

the one or more parameters include a reward associated with the sub-challenge;

storing the one or more parameters in memory of one or more computing devices;

transmitting the details of the sub-challenge to a communication device accessible by the program subscriber through a network interface;

receiving, by one or more computing devices, a verification signal from a verification device, the verification signal indicating completion of the sub-challenge by the subscriber; and is

Updating the record associated with the subscriber to include the reward.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the authentication signal comprises: data that facilitates identification of the subscriber, and data that facilitates determining that criteria for completion of the sub-challenge have been met.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising determining, by one or more computing devices, completion of a sub-challenge based on the verification signal.

4. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, further comprising: selecting a subscriber from a list of subscribers displayed on the authentication device or entering subscriber-related details into the authentication device and including in the authentication signal data identifying the selected subscriber.

5. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, wherein the sub-challenges comprise one or more of: purchasing goods or services, accessing an actual location, inviting others to access an actual location, inviting an individual to complete a task, purchasing a specified good or service, purchasing a minimum value or quantity of goods or services, viewing a video, promoting a business or third party through a social media channel, providing feedback to a business, completing a knowledgeable game, or completing a task.

6. A computer-implemented method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the one or more parameters further comprise one or more of: a time constraint, a number constraint, a reward factor, a number of points, a start time, an end time, a start date, a limit on the number of times a sub-challenge may be completed by the subscriber, or a limit on the total number of rewards that may be awarded to the subscriber for a given sub-challenge.

7. A computer-implemented method as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one parameter is selected from one or more preconfigured parameter types.

8. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, wherein the reward comprises: a number of virtual credits, prizes, cash back, credits, one or more exclusive opportunities, or a combination thereof.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein bonus information is displayed at any one or more of at the beginning of the sub-challenge/challenge, during the sub-challenge/challenge, and after the completion of the challenge/sub-challenge.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein bonus information is displayed during the challenge and dynamically updated during the challenge.

11. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, wherein communication between the communication device and the one or more computing devices is over a network.

12. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, further comprising the steps of: activating an alert on the communication device accessible by the subscriber of the program to cause a specification of an overall challenge or sub-challenge to be displayed on a display of the communication device accessible by the subscriber of the program, thereby encouraging the subscriber of the program to participate in the overall challenge or sub-challenge.

13. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, further comprising the steps of: comparing the stored record of the globally challenged participating subscriber with respective records of one or more other participating subscribers, ranking each participating subscriber in order based on the respective stored records, and transmitting the ranking to one or more communication devices to display the ranking on a display of the one or more communication devices.

14. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, wherein the sending of the verification signal verifying completion or partial completion of the sub-challenge is activated by a software application.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein activation by the software application is triggered by receipt of data by the authentication device confirming completion or partial completion of a sub-challenge by the subscriber.

16. The computer-implemented method of any preceding claim, further comprising the steps of: monitoring the location of one or more subscribers.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising: displaying, on the authentication device, a listing of one or more subscribers when the one or more subscribers are determined to be at or within a specified distance of a specified location.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising the steps of: updating the record associated with the subscriber to include a reward when the subscriber is determined to be at or within a specified distance of a specified location.

19. A computer-implemented method for verifying completion of a sub-challenge of an overall challenge by a program subscriber, the sub-challenge being associated with a reward for completion of the sub-challenge, the method comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, information related to the completion of the sub-challenge, the information comprising data for identifying the subscriber;

sending, by the one or more computing devices, an identification request to a verification device, the identification request including the data for identifying the subscriber;

selecting a subscriber from a subscriber list displayed on the authentication device or entering subscriber-associated details into the authentication device based on the data identifying the subscriber; and is

Sending, by the authentication device, an authentication signal to the one or more computing devices, the authentication signal including details associated with the selected subscriber; and is

Updating, by one or more computing devices, a stored record associated with the subscriber to include the reward associated with the sub-challenge.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, further comprising: determining, by the one or more computing devices, completion of a sub-challenge based on the information related to the completion of the sub-challenge and/or the verification signal.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19 or claim 20, wherein the information relating to the completion of the sub-challenge comprises data relating to the order of goods and/or services, and the data identifying the subscriber comprises a unique identifier associated with the order of goods and/or services.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising: sending the information related to the completion of the sub-challenge to the one or more computing devices.

23. A computer-based system for updating stored records associated with program subscribers, the method comprising:

one or more computing devices, the computing devices comprising: a memory, a processor, and a network interface, wherein the one or more computing devices are operable to receive one or more parameters of a sub-challenge of an overall challenge sent from an input device and store the one or more parameters in the memory, the one or more parameters including a reward associated with the sub-challenge;

the one or more computing devices may transmit, through the network interface, details of the sub-challenge including at least one of the one or more parameters to a communication device accessible by the subscriber of the program;

wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to update the record associated with the subscriber to include the reward upon receiving a verification signal sent from a verification device indicating completion or partial completion of a sub-challenge.

24. The computer-based system of claim 23, further comprising one or more communication devices accessible by one or more program subscribers.

25. The computer-based system of claim 23, further comprising an authentication device for transmitting the authentication signal indicating completion of a sub-challenge to the server.

26. A computer-based system as claimed in any of claims 23 to 25, wherein the verification device, input device, and/or communication device are the same device.