System and method for distributing coupon content and transactional advertisements

Abstract

A system and method is provided for distributing transactional advertisement from a distribution site over a network to online publishers. The transactional data items are rendered by the online publishers, with control elements provided from the distribution site, to control use of the transactional data items on the user terminal.

1 . A system for distributing transactional advertisement over a network, the system comprising:
 a storage medium that stores data corresponding to a plurality of transactional advertisement items;   a plurality of modules, including a publisher interface module and a distribution module, the publisher interface module being accessible to a plurality of publishers over the network, wherein the publisher interface module enables individual publishers to specify one or more web properties that are to include transactional advertisement items; and   wherein distribution module is configured to select from the storage medium a set of transactional advertisement items for each web property.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of modules are configured to provide the set of transactional advertisement items for each web property to include one or more programmatically implemented restrictions or conditions as to their use by a given user who views the web property. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the transactional advertisement items are redeemable for value when converted by the user into a physical form. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the transactional advertisement items are printable into coupons. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least some of the transactional advertisement items are printable into coupons; and
 wherein the plurality of modules are configured to provide the set of transactional advertisement items for each web property to include the one or more programmatically implemented restrictions by programmatically limiting a number of instances that each transactional advertisement item is capable of being printed into a coupon by any given user or from any given device.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a printing component that is generated or provided from the plurality of modules for installation on individual terminals operated by users, wherein the printing component controls print operations that can be performed on transactional advertisement items by individual terminals on which the printing component is installed. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the transactional advertisement items are redeemable for value when printed by the users as hard copies, and wherein the plurality of modules are configured to provide the set of transactional advertisement items for each web property to be printable only when a terminal on which the transactional advertisement item has been rendered and the printing component has been installed. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the printing component is configured by a server on which at least a portion of the system operates, to operate on individual terminals of users by limiting the number of instances in which the transactional advertisement item is printed on individual terminals into a corresponding coupon. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the printing component is configured to print the transactional advertisement item to a connected default printer without display of a print wizard. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the printing component is configured to print the transactional advertisement item to a connected default printer of each user terminal on which the printing component is installed, without enabling that user to select any printer other than the connected default printer. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the printing component is configured to print the transactional advertisement item to the connected default printer of each user terminal on which the printing component is installed, so long as the connected default printer is not a printer of an excluded class. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the excluded class of printers include facsimile machines and digital printers. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the printing component, when installed on a given terminal, is operable to print the transactional advertisement item without navigating a browser of the terminal away from the web property that provides the transactional advertisement item. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the publisher interface is configured to generate a set of code that is executable on a corresponding web property to signal the plurality of modules identification information about a terminal that renders the corresponding web property. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of modules are configured to use the identification information to determine whether the terminal includes a corresponding printing component that is structured or controlled by the plurality of modules to limit a number of instances that the transactional advertisement item on that web property can be printed by the user. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the set of transactional advertisement items on a given web property are structured to be selectable to enable viewing of one or more transactional advertisements rendered on the given web property. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the transactional advertisements correspond to coupons that are redeemable for value with a particular merchant or for a particular product. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the publisher interface is configured to enable the publisher to specify one or more criteria parameters, and wherein the distribution module is configured to select the set of transactional advertisements for each publisher using the one or more criteria parameters. 
     
     
         19 . A method for distributing transactional advertisement items over a network, the method being implemented by one or more processors and comprising:
 generating, at a distribution site, a script that executes on a web property of a publisher site to trigger one or more components operating on or with the distribution site to deliver transactional advertisement items to the publisher site;   responsive to the script executing from a user terminal accessing the web property, selecting one or more transactional advertisement items for the web property; and   causing the one or more selected transactional advertisement items to be rendered on the web property, the one or more selected transactional advertisement items being rendered with control elements provided from the distribution site to control use of the transactional advertisement items on the user terminal.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein selecting the one or more transactional advertisement items includes determining the one or more selected transactional advertisement items to be relevant to a content of the web property. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein causing the one or more selected transactional advertisement items to be rendered on the web property includes sending the one or more selected transactional advertisement items to the web property with control elements that limit the number of instances in which a user or user terminal can perform a print operation on the transactional advertisement item. 
     
     
         22 . A method for distributing coupon content over a network, the method being performed by one or more processors and performing steps comprising:
 maintaining a collection of coupon content at a distribution site, each coupon content being printable to form a coupon that is redeemable by a user at a point-of-sale;   enabling a plurality of online publishers to subscribe to receiving coupon content on a web property of the publisher;   for a given web property of the publisher, selecting one or more coupon content from the collection; and   programmatically transmitting, from the distribution site, the coupon content to the publisher web property for display.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising programmatically enabling, from the distribution site, individual users to print the coupon content into a coupon using a printer that is attached to their respective terminal. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising controlling, using programmatic elements provided from the distribution site, a number of instances in which at least one of a user or a terminal can print one or more of the coupon content into coupons from the web property of the publisher. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising controlling, using programmatic elements provided from the distribution site, print operations on a terminal of a user by precluding the user from selecting a printer from a class of excluded printers. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising controlling, using programmatic elements provided from the distribution site, print operations performed on a terminal of a user by requiring the terminal of the user to install a printing component from a server of the distribution site. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein selecting one or more coupon content from the collection of coupon content for the given web property includes analyzing the content of the web property to determine which coupon content to transmit to the web property. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein selecting one or more coupon content from the collection further comprises analyzing the web property to determine how to sort the display of the coupon content on the web property. 
     
     
         29 . A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for distributing coupon content over a network, said instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform steps comprising:
 maintaining a collection of coupon content at a distribution site, each coupon content being printable to form a coupon that is redeemable by a user at a point-of-sale;   enabling a plurality of online publishers to subscribe to receiving coupon content on a web property of the publisher;   for a given web property of the publisher, selecting one or more coupon content from the collection; and   programmatically transmitting, from the distribution site, the coupon content to the publisher web property for display.