Methods and systems for an e-commerce promotions platform

Abstract

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for an e-commerce promotions platform for administering e-commerce promotions, such as sweepstakes, contests, giveaways, and/or instant wins.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of operating an e-commerce promotions platform for administering e-commerce promotions, the method comprising:
 in a computer system configured to manage an e-commerce platform that communicatively couples to a respective communication device of each of a plurality of users,
 receiving, from a first party, a plurality of parameters defining operation of a promotional activity and user eligibility for participation in the promotional activity; 
 controlling review and approval of the plurality of parameters by a plurality of reviewers according to a particular sequence of approval of the plurality of parameters, to produce an approved plurality of parameters; 
 processing the approved plurality of parameters to deploy the promotional activity to the e-commerce platform to permit participation by eligible users of the plurality of users using their respective communication devices; 
 receiving information representing performance of the promotional activity, from the e-commerce platform; and 
 processing the received information to produce a report of performance for transmission to the first party. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the promotional activity is a sweepstakes. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a geographic region, and wherein users of the plurality of users residing within the geographic region are eligible to participate in the promotional activity. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of parameters specifies an action to be performed by the one of the plurality of users in order to qualify for participation in the promotional activity. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the action to be performed by the one of the plurality of users comprises sharing an opinion with one or more members of a social network running on the e-commerce platform. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of parameters specifies a period during which the promotional activity is active. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the e-commerce promotions platform directs the e-commerce platform to repeat the promotional activity according to the plurality of parameters. 
     
     
         8 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon, one or more code sections each comprising a plurality of instructions executable by at least one processor for causing the at least one processor to perform actions for operating an e-commerce promotions platform for administering e-commerce promotions, the actions comprising:
 receiving, from a first party, a plurality of parameters defining operation of a promotional activity and user eligibility for participation in the promotional activity;   controlling review and approval of the plurality of parameters by a plurality of reviewers according to a particular sequence of approval of the plurality of parameters, to produce an approved plurality of parameters;   processing the approved plurality of parameters to deploy the promotional activity to the e-commerce platform to permit participation by eligible users of the plurality of users using respective communication devices;   receiving information representing performance of the promotional activity, from the e-commerce platform; and   processing the received information to produce a report of performance for transmission to the first party.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to  claim 8 , wherein the promotional activity is a sweepstakes. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a geographic region, and wherein users of the plurality of users residing within the geographic region are eligible to participate in the promotional activity. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of parameters specifies an action to be performed by the one of the plurality of users in order to qualify for participation in the promotional activity. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to  claim 11 , wherein the action to be performed by the one of the plurality of users comprises sharing an opinion with one or more members of a social network running on the e-commerce platform. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of parameters specifies a period during which the promotional activity is active. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to  claim 8 , wherein the e-commerce promotions platform directs the e-commerce platform to repeat the promotional activity according to the plurality of parameters. 
     
     
         15 . A system for use in an e-commerce promotions platform for administering e-commerce promotions, the system comprising:
 at least one processor for communicatively coupling to respective communication devices of each of a plurality of users, the at least one processor operable to, at least:
 receive, from a first party, a plurality of parameters defining operation of a promotional activity and user eligibility for participation in the promotional activity; 
 control review and approval of the plurality of parameters by a plurality of reviewers according to a particular sequence of approval of the plurality of parameters, to produce an approved plurality of parameters; 
 process the approved plurality of parameters to deploy the promotional activity to the e-commerce platform to permit participation by eligible users of the plurality of users using their respective communication devices; 
 receive information representing performance of the promotional activity, from the e-commerce platform; and 
 process the received information to produce a report of performance for transmission to the first party. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the promotional activity is a sweepstakes. 
     
     
         17 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of parameters comprises a geographic region, and wherein users of the plurality of users residing within the geographic region are eligible to participate in the promotional activity. 
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of parameters specifies an action to be performed by the one of the plurality of users in order to qualify for participation in the promotional activity. 
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 18 , wherein the action to be performed by the one of the plurality of users comprises an action of sharing an opinion with one or more members of a social network running on the e-commerce platform. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of parameters specifies a period during which the promotional activity is active. 
     
     
         21 . The system according to  claim 15 , wherein the e-commerce promotions platform directs the e-commerce platform to repeat the promotional activity according to the plurality of parameters.